[Callers] More on Programming

[Perry Shafran via Callers]

See, this is what I mean, when I get advice from some callers that say one thing and advice from other callers that say the complete opposite.  

I figure that there are lots of different people on the floor.  Some people LIKE squares, believe it or not.  Whenever I see squares called, yeah, there are some people who head for the sidelines, but generally I see dancers on the floor having a good time.  So I learned some time ago that for everyone who grumbles about a square being called, there are 10 others who love it.  

As for insisting that every dance has two swings AND the neighbor swing MUST come before the partner swing, that seems to be a personal preference rather than a hard and fast rule.  I think that most dancers don't really care which one comes first.  I went to a dance weekend this past weekend where there were more than a few dances with no neighbor swing, and it appeared that everyone had a great time dancing.  

I have long been taught that variety is the spice of life, and people do enjoy squares mixed in with a contra, as well as varied choreography.  Varied choreography makes the dance interesting.  Hard and fast rules limit the choreography that you can do and excludes many all-time great dances that might have a neighbor swing or a partner swing first (like Joyride and Ramsay Chase).  And let's not even talking about throwing in an occasional chestnut in there - we have to get rid of all those wonderful dances because they are "boring" by today's standards.  (Except to those folks who love them of course!)
Perry
      From: Cary Ravitz via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
 To: Shared_Weight_Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> 
 Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 10:34 PM
 Subject: Re: [Callers] More on Programming
   
Why swings in every dance - because that is a huge part of the contra experience, a swing with the person that you asked to dance.

Why should the partner swing follow the neighbor swing - because this is an art form, not an exercise routine. The storyline of a contra is the uniting of partners, not the the breaking up of partners (that's my preference anyway). And in practical terms, I want to be with my partner at the end of a dance to thank them quickly before finding another partner.

"Squares are just like contras, only you have to listen" - this is not correct.

Some things that people to not like about squares -

  less movement/music connection due to lack of strict phrasing
  having to listen to the caller breaks the movement/music connection
  teaching time
  mixer squares breaks the partner connection
  visiting squares leave people "out of the dance" for long periods.

I find squares and contras completely different.


On Wed, Jun 24, 2015 at 11:47 AM, George Mercer via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

I may not be a good example or even that good a caller, but ... I like swings, I have no need to have a neighbor swing in every dance and most certainly don't care where in the dance the neighbor swing happens.  That's making up rules for the sake of having rules.  I like the buzz step, but to put it mildly there are many dancers with whom a buzz step is impossible, difficult or merely uncomfortable.  I teach a walking swing and sometimes demonstrate a buzz step with a little time for practice. Far too many callers and beginner workshop instructors teach a buzz step in a way that promotes bouncing, which in turn makes swinging difficult or worse. I've also heard more than one caller-instructor tell dancers that to "give weight" (an inadequate term) they should lean back. Just kill me. As a dancer, I often combine a walking swing-with a buzz step -- especially if we have gotten out of sync with the music. I come down on to the floor when I think it's required. On two occasions recently while dancing, the person I was dancing with said, "Well, this a dance the caller has never actually danced before. If she or he had, she or he wouldn't have chosen it." Amen.  I was at an dance recently where a mixer was called near the end of the evening. I'm not sure what that was all about. Once early in my limited calling career,just as the first dance got underway about 20 newcomers walked in. I then called several dances without swings, just to get them acclimated to moving in rhythm and with the music.  I'll never do that again.  I was too cautious and shouldn't have been. I honestly was afraid the experienced dancers were going to hurt me. And they say I can't learn.  Perhaps my biggest peeve on the dance floor is the experienced dancers who insist on sharing their bad dance habits (swinging backwards, excessive and unexpected twirling -- I almost wrote twerking --, inappropriate dipping, showing how athletic and fancy they are, etc.) with new dancers rather than helping them learn the basic fundamentals, timing and courtesy. I love squares. Not everyone does, but I often explain to people in my square, "squares are just like contras, only you have to listen."  And finally, callers, please stop telling people that when they reach the end of the line, "they're out."  This seems to encourgae dancers to think, "Well now, I don't have to pay attention." While they are on the floor they should "stay in the dance." That just may be me.  Thanks, George




-- 
Cary Ravitz
caryravitz at gmail.com



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