I can only speak with reference to calling at NEFFA, as I have never applied to DownEast. As some of you may know that Linda Leslie is NEFFA's program chair, I will note that the program chair does not select performers for contra sessions.
Regarding NEFFA 2007, the following notice is now posted at http://neffa.org/perf_app.html - The Program Committee is not prepared to take your application at this time, since it is too late to apply for this year's NEFFA Festival. Please note that the application to perform is always available during the month of September, with a deadline in October. If you'd like to get an e-mail notice of application availability, send a blank e-mail to NEFFA_Performers-subscribe(a)yahoogroups.com
So you can note on your calendar that September is a good time to check the NEFFA web site, and also arrange for a notice to pop up in your e-mail.
The NEFFA application invites you to come up with a briefly-described theme for your session, with a title of 20 characters or less. IMO, use your own judgment as to how important the theme is. If you are offering a concept that's really meaningful to you, don't be afraid to describe it. If what you really want to do is just call some hot contras, then IMO I wouldn't go overboard on the theme.
Unlike Northwest Folklife, callers and bands apply SEPARATELY to the New England Folk Festival. And I believe that this is a very good thing for beginning callers who hope to have a chance at getting onstage. This mix-and-match policy gives a fresh perspective for experienced performers, and can be an eye-opening experience for newcomers who may get to work with seasoned veterans. I will never forget calling at NEFFA with Northern Spy, a band that has worked with caller David Millstone for 25 years. And where was David during this session? Out on the floor, happily dancing to the music of his own band. NEFFA's selection process made that wonderful hour possible for me.
For what it's worth, the first year I successfully applied I asked for a "Festival Orchestra" slot, which means that instead of calling a themed, hour-long session I called two dances in the Main Hall with the assembled orchestra and then got off the stage as the next Festival Orchestra caller had a turn. IMO, the key here (as well as in submitting a session proposal) is to choose dances that you know by heart, can teach well, fully believe in, and love to share with a crowd. You don't want to have second thoughts as you approach the microphone.
If you're wondering why performer applications are required so far in advance of a festival, note that NEFFA may have 1700 performers, many of whom perform in multiple sessions (perhaps performing alone, and with a participatory dance group, and also with a concert performance group!). You can't doublebook a performer (or larger groups to which she may belong), you have to give her time to move from one venue to another, plus a bunch of other scheduling etceteras that would drive me loony to contemplate further. How scheduling was done in the days before computers is beyond me.
--
Robert Jon Golder
164 Maxfield St
New Bedford, MA 02740
(508) 999-2486
Hi
I saw a 48 bar dance called Beatrice by Erik
Hoffmann - intrigued me.
I am planning to use it in December --- spoke with the
band about a 48 Bar tune set.
Never called a 48 Bar dance before ----
anything tricky about it - aside from the length
issue - staying focused for that extra section?
thanks for any insights.
Mavis L McGaugh
510-814-8118 (answering machine-leave message)
____________________________________________________________________________________
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Thanks to everyone who so generously sent me suggestions for easy dances to use in the fourth slot that I, as a new caller will call at our Toronto Country Dancer's dance that Bev Bernbaum will be calling next Saturday.
I have attached a Word document that has all the dances, some of which are annotated with teaching notes.
I have two requests: I need the details of two dances: First Hey by Paul Balliet, and "Kiss of a Lifetime" bu Peter Stix (I could not find either through an internet search. [A suggestion: Please post the info to the whole list, so once someone has sent the info, others need not bother. Thanks!]
The other request is for suggestions on how to teach a hey. (I am a little bit terrified.)
Please note, that I have not chosen a dance yet, but need to do so by tomorrow, so I cam open to suggestions from the list I sent (including the two above) and any other dances that you think are suitable. [Note: If I am too terrified to teach a Hey, then Bev has graciously offered that I can choose another easy dance, so I am open to suggestions on that front as well.]
Thanks for 'Sharing the Weight', and helping me out! I have learned a lot from you out there in List Serve Land so far, and I am looking forward to more!
Jillian Hovey
Facilitator of Sustainable Community Planning and Design
The Sustainable Living Network
& Sustainable Living Books
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
416-410-7581; fax 416-654-8917
Draft Web Sites:
www.sustainablelivingnetwork.orgwww.sustainablelivingbooks.comwww.jillianhovey.com
email: jillian(a)permaculture.net
I have B2 as
Ladies chain, star left.
Very different feel.
-ag
> Date: 26 Mar 2007 15:50:54 EDT
> From: David.Millstone(a)valley.net (David Millstone)
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Dead Cats and Mellow Dances
>
> Dead Cat Bounce
> by Nathaniel Jack
> Formation: duple improper contra
>
> A1 Balance and swing neighbor
>
> A2 Men allemande left halfway,
> Partner allemande right 1x
> Men start hey for 4
> (Men go halfway, but women ricochet back to the
> side where they start by
> meeting in the center and pushing back with both
> hands.)
>
> B1 Circle left
> Partner swing on the side
>
> B2 In long lines, forward and back
> Women gypsy once and a half
---------
Adina Gordon
828.230.9266
emailadina(a)yahoo.com
http://www.adinagordon.com/
____________________________________________________________________________________
Don't get soaked. Take a quick peek at the forecast
with the Yahoo! Search weather shortcut.
http://tools.search.yahoo.com/shortcuts/#loc_weather
Hi all,
This is actually two separate questions. First: Does anyone have the dance
called "Dead Cat Bounce" (or something like that)? Second: There is a
category of dances that is common at contra dances now that might be called
mellow dances. I mean the ones often done to smooth, slinky music. They
tend to be quiet and smooth. Mostly I am interested in when you schedule
these in an evening. Assume that dancers are mostly experienced. If you
have some dances like this to share I, of course would love to see them and
if you have good mellow tunes to suggest, that would be great, but mostly I
am curious how you approach scheduling them into the evening. Finally,
barring naming specific tunes, what do you say to the musicians, old or
young, so that they know what you want?
That's a lot of questions, so thanks in advance.
Rickey Holt.
Thank you all who gave me such good suggestions for a mother son dance
earlier, and thank you all who have given me smooth, bluesy, slinky ....
tunes and dances and thoughts on how to schedule them. The mothers at the
mother's sons dance all danced, without being under contract to do so (as
was suggested by some). We had the mothers dance with their sons, which
helped a lot. "Jump, Jim Joe", "White Mountain Reel", (see Dudley's book),
and "La Bastrange" were all big hits. The waltz was something to see.
Thanks again to you all,
Rickey Holt
Fremont, NH
Rickey asked when we schedule mellow dances in an evening. I'll put such a dance
immediately after (or before) a single dance or series of dances that are more
energetic. The more relaxed tempo acts as a breather, to give some dancers
(think of folks who are older, for example) an opportunity to continue dancing
and to catch their breath; such a dance/tune also makes an exciting dance that
follows all the more exciting by contrast. Thus, for example, toward the end of
a first set, I might program something at moderate tempo, then a dance with
higher energy, then something more mellow, and then finish up with another
high-energy (but not too complex) dance.
One such tune that I often request for a particularly elegant dance that I like
to call with experienced dancers is Coleman's March.
We were discussing Erik Weberg's dance Joyride on this list not long ago, and
that's another dance that, in my opinion, works nicely with a slightly slower
tempo. Depending on how quickly dancers move through the hey, it can have a full
16-count swing, and the more relaxed pace allows dancers to enjoy the whole
swing without racing.
Keep in mind that the actual speed of a particular tune, measured in beats per
minute, might be the same as another, but one might have lots of eighth notes or
sixteenth notes, whereas the other could have many whole or half notes. The
second one may strike dancers as more relaxed, in the same way that calls with
fewer words may seem more relaxed than the same dance called with lots of busy
patter.
David Millstone
------
Dead Cat Bounce
by Nathaniel Jack
Formation: duple improper contra
A1 Balance and swing neighbor
A2 Men allemande left halfway,
Partner allemande right 1x
Men start hey for 4
(Men go halfway, but women ricochet back to the side where they start by
meeting in the center and pushing back with both hands.)
B1 Circle left
Partner swing on the side
B2 In long lines, forward and back
Women gypsy once and a half
I'd like to know if anyone knows the name and author of the following dance.
A1 Do si do neighbor
Actives swing.
A2 Actives down the hall and turn alone
Return and cast off with neighbor.
B1 ?
B2 Long lines forward and back
Inactives swing
The inactives make up the B1. During the cast off, the inactives tell the
actives what the move or moves are.
Thank,
Tom
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> Today's Topics:
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> 1. Website searching (Seth Seeger)
> 2. Re: Website searching (troll.wright(a)verizon.net)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:17:03 -0400
> From: Seth Seeger <seth(a)seeger.ws>
> Subject: [Callers] Website searching
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Message-ID: <A50B065D-E30E-470E-ACA0-B1A9C0B0D91B(a)seeger.ws>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I'm pleased to say that I've finally gotten around to getting the
> search functionality working again! From the website (http://
> www.sharedweight.net) you can once again search the mailing list
> archives.
>
> -Seth (quiet, but still here!)
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 22:29:25 -0400
> From: "troll.wright(a)verizon.net" <troll.wright(a)verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Website searching
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Message-ID: <380-22007362422925953(a)M2W009.mail2web.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
>
> HI Seth - how timely! Our email is down and we can only send out to those
> who write to us and I need your snail mail address. Thanks! Nell
> Original Message:
> -----------------
> From: Seth Seeger seth(a)seeger.ws
> Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:17:03 -0400
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Website searching
>
> Hello everyone,
>
> I'm pleased to say that I've finally gotten around to getting the
> search functionality working again! From the website (http://
> www.sharedweight.net) you can once again search the mailing list
> archives.
>
> -Seth (quiet, but still here!)
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> End of Callers Digest, Vol 31, Issue 11
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HI Seth - how timely! Our email is down and we can only send out to those
who write to us and I need your snail mail address. Thanks! Nell
Original Message:
-----------------
From: Seth Seeger seth(a)seeger.ws
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 17:17:03 -0400
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] Website searching
Hello everyone,
I'm pleased to say that I've finally gotten around to getting the
search functionality working again! From the website (http://
www.sharedweight.net) you can once again search the mailing list
archives.
-Seth (quiet, but still here!)
_______________________________________________
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Hello everyone,
I'm pleased to say that I've finally gotten around to getting the
search functionality working again! From the website (http://
www.sharedweight.net) you can once again search the mailing list
archives.
-Seth (quiet, but still here!)
