[Callers] Medleys

[Bob Stein via Callers]

A contra medley is a string of several different dances with no breaks and no walk throughs.  This idea was pioneered by Susan Elberger and the first was done, I believe, at the New England Folk Festival (NEFFA) weekend in April 1984.   These sessions proved very popular there.  Indeed, it is necessary for the callers to be easily heard and the sound people have to adjust so that occurs.   The challenge, like that in MWSD, is thinking and reacting quickly to new situations.   One of the best medleys I danced had each dance being done only twice, so things changed all the time.  But, even messing up in a medley can be fun.  I remember one medley at NEFFA where one of the middle callers was so faint we could not hear what they were saying.   So the entire room made sure to do something and progress each time through the music and were ready when the next caller started and we knew what to do.   It was a blast.

Bob

> On Apr 17, 2016, at 2:18 PM, Jonathan Sivier via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> 
>   That would be medley of tunes during the course of a single dance. Some bands do this all the time, some occasionally and some never.  I think what is being discussed here is a medley of dances (the figures), which may or may not include a change of tunes.  Typically the caller will select a small set of dances, say 3, and call each of them a few times before switching to the next dance.  If you coordinate with the band you can have them change tunes at the same time you change to a different dance.  Sometimes you will return to the initial dance at the end to finish out the medley.
> 
>   As has been mentioned this means that the dancers need to be listening because the dance will change and they can't zone out as is sometimes the case.  So if the caller can't be heard clearly this can be a problem.
> 
> Jonathan
> -----
> Jonathan Sivier
> Caller of Contra, Square, English and Early American Dances
> jsivier AT illinois DOT edu
> Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
> -----
> Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
> A: It depends on what dance you call!
> 
> 
> On 4/17/2016 1:08 PM, Rod and Chris Krehbiel via Callers wrote:
>> I am assuming that a 'medley' in contra dancing means that the band will
>> play a series of different songs--usually 3--in immediate succession
>> with no noticeable break between them, but that the dancers will
>> continue to dance the same figure that they began with the walk-thru.
>> And that once the dancers have 'mastered' that figure, they eventually
>> will not need any further verbal cues from the caller, even though the
>> music changes. Is that correct, or do some have a different definition
>> of "medley"?
> 
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