[Callers] Calling to a square dance crowd

Meg Dedolph via Callers callers at lists.sharedweight.net
Sun Feb 21 13:08:29 PST 2016


I just had a gig like this! A friend of mine is heavily into MWSD and is
always looking for ways to cross-pollinate the scene. She asked me to come
and share an evening with the regular caller because they couldn't get a
round dance caller for that particular night. I did not have a live band; I
used recordings, and I provided my own sound gear and mic.
Here's what I learned:
1. Long swings, of even eight counts, are not intuitive and you have to
spell out exactly what you want. The one time I introduced an eight count
swing, I counted it for them so they knew how long it was going to be - and
some people did not care for it at all. It does mean that a lot of the easy
contras I have, with 16-count swings that give people a chance to recover
and get back on the phrase, do not work very well.
2. Many calls overlap, and you can use those to your advantage. I was
trying to figure out if I was going to have to teach a ladies' chain, for
example, and I asked a MWSD caller acquaintance what would happen if I said
to the group, with no explanation, "Ladies, chain across the set," and when
I realized it was exactly what I needed them to do, I relaxed a little. :)
3. Be prepared for something you say to *not* mean the same thing you
intend, even if you think you are being exceedingly precise. I can't
remember what it was - but I intended for people to end up back to back
with their neighbor, facing a new foursome. What I got was people standing
shoulder to shoulder with their neighbors in what a contra dancer might
describe as a "short wavy line" without hands.

That point about becket dances perhaps being easier to understand
progression in is something I noticed at another recent gig I called -
interesting enough that it is making me rethink what I have flagged as
"first three dances of the night."

Good luck and have fun!
Meg

On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 12:22 PM Lisa Greenleaf via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Check this out:
>
> http://www.tiac.net/~mabaker/how-contra-dances-work.html
>
> Clark Baker is a MWSD caller and a contra dancer, and he wrote an article
> explaining the differences.
>
> Lisa
>
>
> >
> > On Sat, Feb 20, 2016 at 3:28 PM, Joseph Erhard-Hudson via Callers <
> callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> > Hi Everyone,
> >
> > I've been pretty low-key on calling for several years now, just a few
> local dances a year. Years ago I did close to one gig a month at home and
> around my local region, but cut back due to busy life. Now I've accepted an
> invitation for a regular gig that's going to be a bit different, so I'm
> back on this email list, and I seek your advice.
> >
> > A few people from the nearby Western Square Dance group came to one of
> our local contra dances where I was calling, and had such a fun time they
> have invited me, and the band from that evening, to come and do a monthly
> series in their hall, promoted and sponsored by them. The band and I
> decided we'd give it a shot.
> >
> > I've had barely any exposure to Western Square Dance, but I know their
> education system is formalized, calling is improvised, and the music is
> mostly recorded; whereas in contra dancing the education is more by
> assimilation, the calling is mostly fixed within a given dance, and the
> music is live and improvised. I anticipate we may feel like strange cousins
> to each other. Do any of you have any experiences or thoughts about
> crossing over into this parallel universe of traditional dancers? I'm
> particularly concerned about how I can best help them feel comfortable with
> the way Contra Dance is done, and how I can be a gracious presence in their
> space.
> >
> > Bonus question: they want to know how to split the gate, since they
> don't have experience paying bands. Your thoughts?
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Joseph
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> >
> >
>
> Lisa
>
>
>
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