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
I try and call the dances of Rich Blazej whenever I can and this one's a
Halloween favorite, re-done as "Werewolves and Zombies".
*Garfield's Escape* -- circle of couples PLUS ONE EXTRA in the center
(Garfield)
A1 All into the center EIGHT steps and back, menacing the Garfield
A2 Circle left, circle right
B1 Women (werewolves) promenade single file to the right, while men
(zombies) "star" by the right -- each man puts his right hand on right
shoulder of the man in front - including Garfield.
B2 Caller hollers "Escape!" ("Boo!", or maybe "Braaaiiins") and all men
run to the outside and swing with a woman in the outer circle. A new
Garfield remains in the center.
Rich himself named this after Garfield the comic-strip cat, way back when
he was cynical and funny (the cat, not Rich).
"The single man remaining at the end of the dance is entitled to a pan of
lasagna and some fresh kitty litter".
My favorite normal tune for this is the minor jig Coleraine, played at a
slightly slower lurch-y tempo, but if I'm lucky the band'll do the Alfred
Hitchcock theme.
Have fun, just thought I'd share -- and I'd love to hear how it goes if you
do it, and what variations emerge.
Cheers,
Amy
As it happens, I'm calling a regular contra evening in a few weeks and I'm
going to experiment, right off the top of the beginner session, by playing
a tune (i.e. start music, then say "welcome")
https://youtu.be/O0AW6MQXX0Y
(Don't worry, the 3/4 quickly changes to jigs. I've listened to many tunes
to accompany this idea - Pop, Motown, Celtic - and this tune seems to
provide the musicality and the clear phrasing useful for this exercise, and
continuity with what they'll hear while dancing later.)
have the dancers listen for phrasing and then (repeating) in a big circle
holding hands:
L/R 8
F/B 8
L4/R12
F2/B2/R4
L OR R 6/2 the other way.
i.e. introduce them to a few ways of slicing up a musical phrase in ways
they will encounter with contra figures.
Finish off with a maze of F/B/L/R 8 OR 16
My contention/hope/observation is that I have never seen an intro session
that actually introduces new dancers to the music and, therefore, they have
no connection between music and figures when the band actually starts
playing later. My hope is that, by first laying a musical foundation, the
newbies will try to sync the movements they learn to the music they heard
first.
We'll see.
this idea might work for your situation.
On Sat., Aug. 17, 2019, 16:16 , <callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
wrote:
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> 1. Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Linda S. Mrosko)
> 2. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (David Harding)
> 3. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Bob Peterson)
> 4. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Winston, Alan P.)
> 5. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Colin Hume)
> 6. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Woody Lane)
> 7. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (jim saxe)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 23:40:27 -0500
> From: "Linda S. Mrosko" <elmerosko(a)gmail.com>
> To: Callers List <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Brain Dead - Need Suggestions
> Message-ID:
> <
> CAHC5Bqfhhvs7hVYSPXGcMvoZFfRt8kntmKE8A2rSFYb90oV8Vw(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently
> inspired to do this and am asking for help.
>
> Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens and
> their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that encourage
> really paying attention to beat counts?.throw in some music education in
> addition to fun."
>
> So I'll do my standard ONS dances for this group to recorded music that has
> very good beat counts and distinct phrasing. That's not the problem. The
> problem is *"throw in some music education." *I don't need a dissertation,
> just bits and pieces. The dance is only 1-1/2 hours long followed by ice
> cream.
>
> I've got a job that keeps me pretty busy and am training for a new job
> that's taking up a lot of my time and I just can't think anymore.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> --
>
>
>
> *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*
>
> *102 Mitchell Drive*
>
> *Temple, Texas 76501*
> *(903) 292-3713 (Cell)*
> *contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*
>
> *www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
> buttons, t-shirts, & more)*
>
May I first compliment Becky on her phraseology. Terrific post.
As for an alternate name: given that it is a variant of a California Twirl,
a group figure as it were, how about Polyfornia Twirl?
Just a thought.
Ken
>
>
FYI
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Calvin <calcampbl(a)gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 27, 2019 at 9:47 PM
Subject: SIO/SD Magazine
To: SquareDanceModules <SD-Modules(a)googlegroups.com>
I have two full sets of Sets-in-Order/Square Dance Magazine. One set is
new magazines. It is one of the sets that Bob Osgood saved for caller’s
associations. The second set of magazines are all in red binders by year.
It has been well used, but the binders protect the individual magazines.
There were 444 magazines published between 1949 and 1985. I weighed the
packages that contain the new magazine and they totaled up to about 135
pounds. They are in eight bundles. It would cost about $80-100 to ship
them media mail in the U.S.
If you don’t want the set personally, consider finding a college or
university in your area that will take them. I did this with Colorado
State University. At the time I made my donation, there were only five
other libraries in the U.S. with complete sets.
I would really hate to see these magazines end up in a dump, but that is
likely destination of I can’t find a home for them.
--
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.
Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently
inspired to do this and am asking for help.
Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens and
their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that encourage
really paying attention to beat counts….throw in some music education in
addition to fun."
So I'll do my standard ONS dances for this group to recorded music that has
very good beat counts and distinct phrasing. That's not the problem. The
problem is *"throw in some music education." *I don't need a dissertation,
just bits and pieces. The dance is only 1-1/2 hours long followed by ice
cream.
I've got a job that keeps me pretty busy and am training for a new job
that's taking up a lot of my time and I just can't think anymore.
Any suggestions?
--
*Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*
*102 Mitchell Drive*
*Temple, Texas 76501*
*(903) 292-3713 (Cell)*
*contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*
*www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
buttons, t-shirts, & more)*
Each year for the past four years I have called a dance for adult attendees, and a few family members, at an adult chamber music camp. Some campers also play the tunes, all selected to be AABB and with B part contrasting with A part.
I have never had a roomful of people who needed less coaching on dancing with the structure of the tune. I bet that was pretty true when they were kids, too.
Richard Hopkins
hopkinsrs(a)comcast.net
850-544-7614 cell
Sent from my iPad
> On Aug 17, 2019, at 4:07 PM, callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net wrote:
>
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> callers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Linda S. Mrosko)
> 2. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (David Harding)
> 3. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Bob Peterson)
> 4. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Winston, Alan P.)
> 5. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Colin Hume)
> 6. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (Woody Lane)
> 7. Re: Brain Dead - Need Suggestions (jim saxe)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 16 Aug 2019 23:40:27 -0500
> From: "Linda S. Mrosko" <elmerosko(a)gmail.com>
> To: Callers List <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] Brain Dead - Need Suggestions
> Message-ID:
> <CAHC5Bqfhhvs7hVYSPXGcMvoZFfRt8kntmKE8A2rSFYb90oV8Vw(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Although I've been calling forever and I know things, I'm not currently
> inspired to do this and am asking for help.
>
> Been hired to lead a dance for a music school -- ages 5 and up to teens and
> their parents and my contact asked if I could lead "dances that encourage
> really paying attention to beat counts?.throw in some music education in
> addition to fun."
>
> So I'll do my standard ONS dances for this group to recorded music that has
> very good beat counts and distinct phrasing. That's not the problem. The
> problem is *"throw in some music education." *I don't need a dissertation,
> just bits and pieces. The dance is only 1-1/2 hours long followed by ice
> cream.
>
> I've got a job that keeps me pretty busy and am training for a new job
> that's taking up a lot of my time and I just can't think anymore.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> --
>
>
>
> *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*
>
> *102 Mitchell Drive*
>
> *Temple, Texas 76501*
> *(903) 292-3713 (Cell)*
> *contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*
>
> *www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
> buttons, t-shirts, & more)*
>
I would think that the play party type “dances” would be good for getting them to equate certain melodies/and perhaps the beat to movement.
I second Sasha and others like that.
If I were doing this I’d incorporate some drumming but that may not be for you. However, if anyone is interested there’s a ton of resources on YouTube on how to introduce this age group to drumming/percussion.
Would it be a good idea to find out what the in tunes are for this age group are and use that music as a starting point?
Lastly I hope they are paying you well for your efforts!!!!! Sounds like a real chore.
Tom
