Hi,
I am wondering if you have any dances for low numbers of dancers (perhaps 6
or less), when most or all of the dancers are beginners and adults. I am
also wondering if you have any dances (presumably different dances), that do
not require choosing a partner and are good openers for beginner adults.
Thanks as always to all,
Rickey Holt.
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
The post on walk-throughs for new dancers got me thinking about
recruiting new dancers. This straddles dance caller and dance
organizer, but I'd like to hear people's responses.
I'm curious about people's experiences recruiting new dancers. I've
seen several dances that do a lower cost for first time dancers to try
to lower the barrier for entry. Has any group tried doing a coupon for
a discount when they come back a second time?
I feel like the venues for dances are usually such that folks don't
randomly wander in. If folks show up for a first time, they've decided
to come (or were brought). Does knowing there is a discount for first
timers help make them come? When there is a discount, how often do the
first timers know that coming in? I'm pondering the scenario where you
charge full price for the first time, when they've committed to coming
out, and then give them a coupon to come back at a discount price
their second time.
I know a lot of people who tried contra once and were hooked, and I've
seen people who try for a little bit and then never come back. Is it
worth trying to up the likelihood of a second experience, at what
fractional cost for the first? Or should the focus be on that first
experience, and making the barriers for entry as low as possible?
If a group has the resources, then it can just say that the first two
dances are cheaper, but I feel like giving someone a reminder,
business card sized, with the website to check for more information,
is a nice way of having them think about the dance at least once more.
Do callers doing one night gigs announce local dance options if they
know them? Or do you only talk about it with the folks who come up and
ask? Presumably if a caller has been brought in, the organizer of the
party knows the folks at the party and the local dance scene. Is it on
the caller or the organizer to spread information about other chances
to dance? And do you broadcast wide, or focus on the folks who seem
really in to it. I think culturally, at a societal level, we've lost
the sense that we can dance after our 20s at things besides weddings,
which is a real shame.
--
Luke Donev
http://www.lukedonev.com
Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
> To present a "barn dance" using recorded music sounds
> pretty shabby. If we hold to our standards I think the dance form
> will benefit from that.
Geez, Greg. Shabby? Sigh.
In my calling practice, I'm all about holding to my standards and I earnestly strive to support live musicians (and even the occasional dead one).
I imagine that's the case for every single person on this list.
However, I am also concerned with giving non-dancers a joyful experience, and with earning a living. If it's either a dance for them/gig for me with recorded music or no dance/gig at all, I choose the former, with absolutely no ethical pangs whatsoever. It's not like it's murder or theft or assault or an ethical lapse of that magnitude. But if some other caller would rather hold to different standards, well then, that's their choice. (Again, it's not on the order of egregious ethical lapses if they choose to withhold a joyful dance experience from others.)
Now, as far as benefitting our dance form and simultaneously supporting dance musicians, well there are dozens more ways** to do that than giving a fiddler a single paid gig, including these: (**And no single person can do all of these things all the time.)
1 - Produce a dance series which (a) pays musicians and callers well, both in dollars and in positive feedback for their efforts (b) carries on our dance form, (c) provides an opportunity for non-professional performers to play/call, (d) contributes to general joy in world, e=etc
2 - Serve in an organization which (a) promotes our dance/music form, (b) provides opportunities for people to learn from one another, (c) sells recordings/books/supplies connected to our dance form, (d) produces events for experienced and neophtye dancers/callers/musicians, e=etc
3 - Promote our dance form through individual efforts such as (a) advocating for worthy compensation, financial & otherwise, for self and co-performers whenever possible, (b) purchase and use recordings by dance musicians and books by callers, (c) learning new aspects of the tradition, (d) supporting others who are doing this work, e=etc
Now, this last point leads to a recent personal mission of mine. Lately it has been troubling me that many of us in our traditional dance/music subculture* choose to point fingers or name-call or criticize practices which aren't exactly like ours or otherwise belittle or tear down our peers. (*Yes, folks, remember it is a SUBculture, as in a MINISCULE proportion of the larger whole.)
But, whether it's chestnuts/modern, squares/contras, old-time/northern, totally-trad/non-trad-envelope-pushers, young/old, fast/slow, straightforward/flourishes, catering-to-hard-core/focusing-on-neophytes, recordings/live music, kids/adults, no-swings/2-swings or whatever the supposed conflict or failing, every single flavor of these callers/musicians/dancers is ADDING SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL TO THE WORLD, and that, my friends, is something I think ought to be honored and appreciated.
So what I've been doing (and, perhaps tiresomely, encouraging others of my caller/musician friends to do) is focusing on that thought in CAPS, especially when a caller or musician or dancer does something that annoys me, or isn't what I'd do, or has some sort of minor failing in my opinion, or is getting more attention than I think their work merits, etc. So I'm working to quiet the outward expression of my critical thoughts, and simultaneously to look for and reinforce the positive instead.
Because really, even an offering that I might rate with a B- or C+ or even D grade is disseminating traditional dance & music values in the larger culture, and every bit of disseminating can benefit all of us in the world.
Well, that was a bit longer than I envisioned. As David Millstone quoted, "If I'd had more time, I'd have written a shorter letter."
Maybe some other time I'll outline my "Dance as Social Change Agent" theory. Or maybe not.
Cheers,
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
website www.chrissyfowler.com
dance series www.belfastflyingshoes.org
telephone 207-338-0979
Hi Bill,
Wow, thanks! It sounds like the resource at UNH will soon be expanded significantly because of your help.
The lists of dances from the 1988 and 1989 weekends that Roland has put up were made by Ted Sannella, before anyone started making a full syllabus for the event. The first syllabus was the one that you scanned from 1990. I did not know (and was excited to learn) that Roland had found Ted's list from 1989, and so it was not reflected in my index. After receiving your note yesterday I updated the index to include 1989. Meanwhile, I happen to have Ted's list from 1993, and so that year is already reflected in the index. I sent Roland a scan of that list along with the updated index, so I suspect those two pieces will go up on the UNH site pretty soon.
It is even possible that recordings were made of one or more of the missing years. If so, I have no doubt that they will surface eventually and be used to make a more complete record. (That is, in fact, how the 1997 syllabus was made.)
This may be more detail than most people need or want. The short version is that the Ralph Page weekend's online resource is getting better and better over time. What fun!
David Smukler
>
> Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:19:08 +1200
> From: Liz and Bill <staf186(a)ext.canterbury.ac.nz>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Ralph Page Syllabi
> Message-ID: <4C49264C.3050805(a)ext.canterbury.ac.nz>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Hi David(s) and others,
>
> I agree with you all that the Ralph Page syllabi are a fantastic
> resource. Especially so for me being at the end of the world here
> in NZ.
>
> David Millstone suggested I contact UNH library and ask about
> earlier years.
>
> Roland the librarian in charge of the Ralph Page collection
> has been very helpful and has started to scan more syllabi.
> He said it may take awhile as the scanning produced multiple
> large files which need to be combined, and he has other
> work to do.
>
> Since I'm retired, I offered to help him from here. So today using
> the power of the internet I've been remotely accessing the university
> of Canterbury (where I am still an 'associate' ) to process files
> Roland sent me for 1990, 1991 and 1995.
>
> So now there are text based pdf documents available - they are
> searchable and not too large. I've uploaded them back to Roland, so
> they should appear on the web
> www.library.unh.edu/special/index.php/ralph-page-dance-legacy-weekend
> very soon.
>
> He will send me 1994 and 1996 soon, and the search is on for 1992 and 1993 if
> they exist.
>
> Note that 1988 and 1989 are there now, however they are only one page
> programs with details.
>
> Cheers, Bill
> MY FAVORITE, MOST USEFUL, MOST USED RECORDED MUSIC:
* All recordings (& books) produced by New England Dancing Masters
(Peter & Mary Alice Amidon, Andy Davis, Mary Cay Brass & many other fine musicians including Becky Tracy, Keith Murphy, Sam & Stefan Amidon & Thomas Bartlett)
http://www.dancingmasters.com/
*Sweets of May & White Mountain Reel - recordings (& books) by Dudley Laufman
These have recently been combined into a single volume which looks quite terrific
http://laufman.org/
* Recordings by musicians local to my area (or the area of the gig) and inspiring at least one on-mic comment about these talented musicians in the neighborhood.
* I also have used KGB's Volga Notions (because the cd jacket claims in Russian, "Danceable but no chestnuts").
For SPECIFIC Tunes/Songs required for a specific dance:
* New England Chestnuts by Rodney & Randy Miller
two cd re-release available at Great Meadow Music
http://www.greatmeadowmusic.com/
* Lissa Schneckenburger's gorgeous new cd, Dance, is almost all chestnuts.
http://lissafiddle.com/
* Lloyd Shaw Foundation
Amazing resource, zillions of recordings & cue sheets and more. They set up a download site for you, once you request your recordings.
http://lloydshaw.org/Catalogue/CatHome.htm
* I recently found Amazon Music Downloads very useful
-Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME
Dan's comment about having lots of 5x and 7x cuts reminded me...
Something I didn't mention in my earlier post on this subject is that for many
one-night stands, you don't often really long cuts of music. You can do
Gallopede 9 times through and folks are plenty happy to stop. If they're really
long lines, instead of having just one couple chassez down the set at the end of
B2, you can send the top two couples galloping down.
It's a differen tmentality than at a contra dance with dancers who do this
regularly, folks who are looking to get in the groove. Squares, longways set
dances, circle dances, and novelty dances as Beth points out. At camp gigs I
usually toss in Cotton-Eyed Joe and/or the Macarena and, more recently, the
Cupid Shuffle. Don't need to teach a thing... just put on the music and let the
kids take it away. They're having fun.
There was a time-- and not so long ago-- when I wouldn't dream of doing any of
that, and finally diagnosed myself with a case of
more-traditional-than-thou-itis. Realized that people hiring me for those
one-night stand situations weren't asking for a bit of pure-from-the-well
traditional dance... they were looking for me to assist them in having a good
time with their friends and relations.
I agree that live music is great to bring to a party and that's always my
preference. There's a different kind of energy that comes with it, it's part of
the tradition, it employs musicians, it gives folks who aren't dancing something
else to watch, and it's much easier to get the musicians to speed up or slow
down or to add one more time, not to mention having them be able to play backup
when someone wants to get up to sing a song. All part of making the party
happen.
David
While I vastly prefer using live music, I call my share of dances with recorded music, and have for decades.
Some people have cited some good recordings. Listen to recordings that are *almost* suitable, but can be made suitable by lengthening, shortening, excision of an "interesting but undancible" round, etc. Use audio editing software such as Audacity (free) to make things the way you want. As a result, I have a collection of cuts from 5x to 7x (lots of those), 8x, 9x, 11x and 15x.
I keep my music organized on my laptop and accessed by the MIT Folk Dance Club player. See http://home.comcast.net/~a1penguin/ for details on that. It is mostly bug-free, but it is free.
You don't need tons of material right away. Build it up as you go along.
Dan
Hi all -
Have any of you called for a dance without a band? I've gotten a query about
calling a barn dance, but their budget is teeny tiny, so they asked if I could
call to CDs. I know this is quite possible; my dad used to call square dances to
records, but those records were specifically made for dancing to. Most contra
music tracks I have only last at most ~3 minutes. I could theoretically splice
the tracks together to make a repeating loop, but this is a lot of time
investment and also, how would you know when the music would stop, in order to
go out? Would you try to guess, or just unceremoniously turn the thing off, or
do the "mood fade?" (And no, sadly, I'm not like Alan Furth or Erik Hoffmann,
folks who can call and play guitar/fiddle/banjo//etc. well at the same time.)
Do you have any strategic ideas? Thanks!
Tina
OK fellow callers, shall we compile a nice big list/thread to serve as
reference to those in need, since this seems to keep coming up? Hit that
reply-with-quote button and let's share/compare...
(I'm leaving my answers off so this can be an easy template)
MY FAVORITE, MOST USEFUL, MOST USED RECORDED MUSIC:
Albums specifically recorded to be danceable for contras:
Albums specifically recorded to be danceable for other formations:
Albums not specifically intended for live dancing, but nonetheless
containing enough good material to be worth buying for that purpose:
Single tracks on otherwise not-always-danceable albums:
Non-contra recordings that work for dancing (klezmer, swing, etc):
