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
This is a fun one where people make circles and baskets of any size -
very friendly. I usually start them in a big circle and balance it.
http://chrispagecontra.awardspace.us/dances/index.htm
Thanks for a great dance, Chris.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events, Instructional DVDs and
Interactive Maps
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Contra Dancing in Kent
Re Star Crazy:
I remember dancing a square where all of us ended up holding the right
hand of our opposite - forming a lattice rather than a star - and then
drawing the lady/man/shorter one/taller one under the star, starting at
the bottom pair of hands.
Anyone know the dance?
Of course some bright spark worked out how to hold hands so that no pair
of hands was lowest!
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events, Instructional DVDs and
Interactive Maps
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Contra Dancing in Kent
To add to the history that Bree offered, the last time Honor Among Thieves was
posted on this most excellent list (by John McIntire), Alan Winston took it
further back yet. So the whole story, as I can put it together from what
everyone has said, is as follows:
Alan said that the 'chase' figure was originally found in Playford’s 1701 ed,
Cheshire Rounds, a longways duple minor formation like contra. It then migrated
across the sea to become incorporated into Appalachian dancing. Ted Sanella
encountered the move in these old-time southern Appalachian square dances, and
in the mode of artists everywhere, nabbed it to incorporate into modern American
contra - the first to do so with this particular move. Then in 1986, Penn Fix
took Ted's dance and added a P-Sw for all, to appeal to modern contra tastes.
What an interesting dance biography! Thanks to all of you scholars.
Tina
Hi,
Please could you let me know how to find the ECD list
mentioned earlier.
Thanks.
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 &
07802 940 574
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Contra Dancing in Kent
Applause for this topic and these suggestions. It seems to me that taking care and spending a few extra seconds when replying to messages requires some of the skills that make a good caller: consideration for your audience, attention to detail, careful and deliberate choices. By the same token, an occasional lapse is always forgiven graciously since we all make mistakes.
Bree Kalb
-----Original Message-----
>From: Chrissy Fowler <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com>
>
>Thanks Bill for bringing up this reminder of listserv courtesy!
>
Bree Kalb, LCSW
301 W. Weaver St.
Carrboro, NC 27510
919-932-6262 ext 216
Regarding the Use of Email -- Please Note: Although I use a firewall and my
computer is password protected, my emails are not encrypted. Therefore, I
cannot guarantee confidentiality of email communication. If you choose to
communicate confidential information with me via email, I will assume that
you have made an informed decision and I will view it as your agreement to
take the risk that email may be intercepted. Please be aware that email is
never an appropriate vehicle for emergency communication. If you are canceling an appointment less than 48 hours in advance, please also leave me a voice mail message at my office.
I made a folder called callers list. I put all my digests in there. I
changed to receiving individual posts. today I got a digest, and two single
posts. All of them went to my main inbox. None of them went into the callers
list list that I created. the Google help info I read told me noghing about
how to ridirect. I'd appreciate help from someone here about directing this
list's mails into the proper place. Thanks!
Keith Tuxhorn, Austin
Thanks, Lisa!!
~ Becky Nankivell
Lisa wrote (in part):
Date: Sun, 27 Mar 2011 21:31:36 -0400
From: Lisa Greenleaf <laleaf(a)verizon.net>
For Neffa medleys and the more popular crowded hall events at the
Festival, I advise callers to avoid any figure that requires all
dancers to be in the center of the line at one time: R and L Through,
Pass the Ocean, Pass through, Star Promenade, Cross Trail Through.
Promenades work because you can instruct dancers to go in tandem.
Whole Heys aren't satisfying in such conditions, either; usually, half
Heys work, but as I found out at Rehoboth, not when there isn't much
side-to-side room. Similarly, Ladies Chain can be painful to watch,
and Mad Robin-type actions can be dangerous.
Figures that do work are Lines Forward and Back (with an appropriate
caveat about backing up too far or too vigorously), Stars, Waves,
Allemandes, Circle Balances and Petronella Twirls (but not California
Twirls), and whole set Circles. It's limiting, but if you have a hot
band, you can have them vary the style of music to add variety.
When it's as crowded as it was in Rehoboth, it's the caller's
responsibility to remind people to stay aware of their minuscule dance
space; several times I urged people to be careful on Balance and
Swing: "There's someone behind you!" and on twirls out of Ladies
Chain. When I had to stop that one dance, I also said, "We're having
an energetic right now without a lot of room. If someone bumps into
you, say, "Careful!" and if you do the bumping say, 'Sorry!' And a
smile is always a great way to deliver the message." Some people need
to have such niceties modeled for them, so why not go ahead and show
them how it can done well.
Lisa Greenleaf
