Contra Callers April 2020

contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net

5 participants
9 discussions

by Rickey

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.

2 years

Re: [Callers] Festival Applications

by robertgolder＠comcast.net

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

4 years, 6 months

New Online Classes for Callers

by Dugan Murphy

I accidentally shared this to the Organizers list on Shared Weight. I meant to share it here, so sorry to anyone who is seeing this twice now. Offering online caller classes on Zoom while sheltering in place has been going pretty well. So far I've offered 6 different classes 20 times and 62 people have registered 124 times. I have scheduled a new round of classes between May 2 and May 17, including 2 new topics ("Applause-Worthy Beginner Lessons" and "Walk-Through Techniques for Mixed Crowds") that I haven't offered before, as well as an intro class for dancers with no calling experience. Unlike most caller workshops at dance weekends, these are highly structured sessions with interactive activities and visuals. I've received lots of great feedback so far, some of which I've incorporated into improvements for classes I'm repeating. They are all listed together on a calendar here: http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops Here are the individual topics: Walk-Through Techniques for Mixed Crowds (May 3 & May 13): Please experienced dancers with brief walk-throughs that get newer dancers up to speed quickly http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-walk-throu… Applause-Worthy Beginner Lessons (May 2 & May 12): Get newer dancers feeling capable and included quickly in smaller or larger crowds http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/online-caller-class-beg… Picking Good Dances (May 4 & May 16): Advanced skills in recognizing bad contra choreography and honing in on collecting good dances for your repertoire http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-good-dance… Utilizing Variety (May 5 & May 16): Learn how to design an experiential journey for contra dancers through choreographic and musical variety http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-variety-on… Challenging Dancers Just Enough (May 3 & May 15): Learn exactly what makes a dance too complex or just right for your crowd http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-complexity… Programming and Reading Dancers (May 6 & May 17): Build a great program of dances in advance and recognize signals on the fly to help you choose the right dances in the moment http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-programmin… Leading Great Community Dances (May 7 & May 17): Succeed at calling gigs with very few or no participants who regularly attend contra dance events, such as community dances, weddings, and family dances http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/online-caller-class-com… Calling 101 (May 2 and May 11): An intro to calling for contra dancers with zero experience as callers: http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/calling-101-online Are there topics not listed here that folks would be interested in seeing in the future? Please share with others who may be interested. I hope to see some of you online soon! Dugan Murphy (he/him) Portland, Maine dugan at duganmurphy.com www.DuganMurphy.com <http://www.duganmurphy.com/> www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com <http://www.portlandintowncontradance.com/>

4 years, 7 months

Country Dance Music Radio on the air

by Bob Peterson

The Country Dance Music Radio station has its first modern artist. I am happy to welcome Chimney Swift! Currently their tracks play at these hours: (BST/EDT/PST) 10 AM / 5 AM / 3 AM—Chimney Swift 3 PM / 10 AM / 7 AM—Chimney Swift 5 PM / 2 PM / 11 AM—Chimney Swift 11 PM / 6 PM / 3 PM—Chimney Swift 3 AM / 10 PM / 7 PM—Chimney Swift Please listen and support the musicians by buying their music or making donations to them. The station link is: https://radio.contracorner.com/ <https://radio.contracorner.com/>You can listen several ways: in your browser in your streaming music player on a mobile device on Twitch (with live text chat too) in Second Life (at the virtual dance hall) I would also appreciate if you can spread the word within your social networks, email lists, and whatever word of mouth you can! Drop me a line to let me know if you’re listening. Stay upbeat. Stay connected. Missing you all... \Bob Peterson (978) 496-6731 bob(a)contracorner.com

4 years, 8 months

Re: Folk Alliance International - Webinar this Friday on Livestreaming

by Bob Peterson

I’m listening now. Their focus is live streaming. There’s been some good advice already. I’ve already launched a similar effort to stream recordings provided by community dance musicians. It’s been slow trying to get musicians so for now I’m streaming public domain recordings of community dance music, with loads of traditional international, waltz, contra, and more. You can find out more, listen, and even chat (on Twitch and Second Life), here: https://contracorner.com/radio <https://contracorner.com/radio> I hope you’ll listen during the day. And encourage musicians to provide fresh, modern music! \Bob Peterson Billerica, Massachusetts, USA bob(a)contracorner.com (978) 496-6731 > On Apr 14, 2020, at 10:31, Emily Addison via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > > Hi fellow contra callers, > > You might be interested in the following webinar that Folk Alliance International is offering THIS FRIDAY on livestreaming. The webinar is primarily for professional musicians but I know some folks are running caller collective gatherings or workshops online and I think there likely will be lots of helpful information. > > I know some of the panelists and they are top notch (e.g., Someone from Canada's national arts centre is on the list. They are working with artists across all of Canada to make high quality livestreams from their homes.) > > The webinar is free. > More info below :) > > Emily Addison > Writing from Ottawa, ON > > FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/214039146704193 <https://www.facebook.com/events/214039146704193> > > <https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8984945545523426574?source=facebo…> > Webinar registration: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8984945545523426574?source=facebo… <https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8984945545523426574?source=facebo…> > > > "CommUNITY Online Episode 2 - Live Streaming: Earning a Living and Reaching Fans". > During this webinar, viewers will learn from experienced panelists what options are available for presenting livestreamed concerts, how to promote effectively and connect with fans, what options live music venues have for presenting artists online, how to effectively set up to present an online concert, and how to generate income from livestreaming. > > Panelists: > > Crys Matthews and Heather Mae, artists and online presenters of Apart Together > Dan Mangan, artist, co-founder of SideDoor Access > Heather Gibson, Executive Producer, National Arts Centre (Canada) > Jonathan Byrd, artist, creator of Shake Sugaree Residency > > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net

4 years, 8 months

Folk Alliance International - Webinar this Friday on Livestreaming

by Emily Addison

Hi fellow contra callers, You might be interested in the following webinar that Folk Alliance International is offering THIS FRIDAY on livestreaming. The webinar is primarily for professional musicians but I know some folks are running caller collective gatherings or workshops online and I think there likely will be lots of helpful information. I know some of the panelists and they are top notch (e.g., Someone from Canada's national arts centre is on the list. They are working with artists across all of Canada to make high quality livestreams from their homes.) The webinar is free. More info below :) Emily Addison Writing from Ottawa, ON FB Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/214039146704193 <https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8984945545523426574?source=facebo…> Webinar registration: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/8984945545523426574?source=facebo… "CommUNITY Online Episode 2 - Live Streaming: Earning a Living and Reaching Fans". During this webinar, viewers will learn from experienced panelists what options are available for presenting livestreamed concerts, how to promote effectively and connect with fans, what options live music venues have for presenting artists online, how to effectively set up to present an online concert, and how to generate income from livestreaming. Panelists: Crys Matthews and Heather Mae, artists and online presenters of Apart Together Dan Mangan, artist, co-founder of SideDoor Access Heather Gibson, Executive Producer, National Arts Centre (Canada) Jonathan Byrd, artist, creator of Shake Sugaree Residency

4 years, 8 months

UK folk Sales

by Colin Hume

Forwarded by Colin Hume Hi all, You may recall, late last year, an announcement was made regarding a change of management at FolkSales UK. Derek Appling has now handed the reins over to us and we are finally in a position to recommence the services that they have provided for so many years. We currently have a Facebook page which we intend to act as a form of communication around publications and festival venues that we hope to attend. You can find this using the link below, we would love to have you follow this page... https://www.facebook.com/Folk-Sales-UK-111488120439353/ We can also be contacted at the following email address; JandDGrainger(a)folksales.co.uk Please feel free to contact us via email or Facebook to discuss wants/needs/requirements/future publications and we will do our best to respond promptly but, given these current difficult times there may be delays in processing requests. We look forward to continuing the great work that Ann and Derek began. Kind regards, Genni and Darren

4 years, 8 months

Re: New Topics: Online Caller Classes

by Winston, Alan P.

I'm writing as a happy attendee of several of Dugan's classes. I really enjoyed the classes I took - Dugan had organized them so they work really well over Zoom, and they work well for mixed levels of experience - and even as a pretty experienced caller I felt that I learned something and was exposed to things I hadn’t thought of before. Dugan has introduced a couple of new classes and I’ve eagerly signed up for them. It’s also just fun to get to geek out with other callers and see their faces / hear their voices. Heartily recommend. -- Alan ________________________________ From: Dugan Murphy via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Thursday, April 2, 2020 10:16 AM To: contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Subject: [Callers] New Topics: Online Caller Classes A couple weeks ago I announced on here that I decided to offer some online caller classes. Then 29 people registered 54 times for 4 different classes scheduled 8 times over 9 days. I'm calling that a success! So I developed two new classes ("Leading Great Community Dances" and "Programming and Reading Dancers") and scheduled them along with the classes I've already done. Each of the 6 classes is scheduled twice between April 8 and April 21. - Calling 101: An introduction to contra dance calling for experienced contra dancers with zero calling experience http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/calling-101-online - Picking Good Dances: Advanced skills in recognizing bad contra choreography and honing in on collecting good dances for your repertoire http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-good-dance… - Utilizing Variety: Learn how to design an experiential journey for contra dancers through choreographic and musical variety http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-variety-on… - Challenging Dancers Just Enough: Learn exactly what makes a dance too complex or just right for your crowd http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-complexity… - Programming and Reading Dancers: Build a great program of dances in advance and recognize signals on the fly to help you choose the right dances in the moment http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-programmin… - Leading Great Community Dances: Succeed at calling gigs with very few or no participants who regularly attend contra dance events, such as community dances, weddings, and family dances http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/online-caller-class-com… They are listed together here: http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops At the links above you can find descriptions of each online class and online registration for each one. Let me know if you have any questions about the classes. I hope to see your face online soon! Dugan Murphy Portland, Maine (he/him) dugan at duganmurphy.com<http://duganmurphy.com/> www.DuganMurphy.com<http://www.duganmurphy.com/> www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com<http://www.portlandintowncontradance.com/>

4 years, 8 months

New Topics: Online Caller Classes

by Dugan Murphy

A couple weeks ago I announced on here that I decided to offer some online caller classes. Then 29 people registered 54 times for 4 different classes scheduled 8 times over 9 days. I'm calling that a success! So I developed two new classes ("Leading Great Community Dances" and "Programming and Reading Dancers") and scheduled them along with the classes I've already done. Each of the 6 classes is scheduled twice between April 8 and April 21. - Calling 101: An introduction to contra dance calling for experienced contra dancers with zero calling experience http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/calling-101-online - Picking Good Dances: Advanced skills in recognizing bad contra choreography and honing in on collecting good dances for your repertoire http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-good-dance… - Utilizing Variety: Learn how to design an experiential journey for contra dancers through choreographic and musical variety http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-variety-on… - Challenging Dancers Just Enough: Learn exactly what makes a dance too complex or just right for your crowd http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-complexity… - Programming and Reading Dancers: Build a great program of dances in advance and recognize signals on the fly to help you choose the right dances in the moment http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/caller-class-programmin… - Leading Great Community Dances: Succeed at calling gigs with very few or no participants who regularly attend contra dance events, such as community dances, weddings, and family dances http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops-info/online-caller-class-com… They are listed together here: http://portlandintowncontradance.com/workshops At the links above you can find descriptions of each online class and online registration for each one. Let me know if you have any questions about the classes. I hope to see your face online soon! Dugan Murphy Portland, Maine (he/him) dugan at duganmurphy.com www.DuganMurphy.com <http://www.duganmurphy.com/> www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com <http://www.portlandintowncontradance.com/>

4 years, 8 months

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Contra Callers April 2020