Contra Callers

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22 participants
4374 discussions

by Kalia Kliban

This may have been discussed before, but why does the idea that they should take hands four seem to come as a complete surprise to at least half the dancers, every single freakin' time? It's not hard. You can do it while you're talking. It's a complete and total no-brainer for contemporary contras. And yet... Anyone have successful strategies for helping this process along that doesn't involve specially-trained dogs? Kalia

12 years, 7 months

hands 4 in DK

by Tom Hinds

Once I was calling at a festival in Denmark. As the dancers were milling around I announced that the first dance would be a contra. INSTANTLY contra lines were formed (literally 3 seconds). I asked them to take hands four and it was done in a maybe 4 seconds. I thought maybe I was dreaming. T

12 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Floor Manager

by John Sweeney

These days a Floor Manager (or Venue Manager) might also be responsible for, or delegate the responsibility for: - ensuring someone is one the door, greeting and taking money - making sure first timers know what is going on - health and safety - heating, lighting, power, etc. - organising refreshments - etc. That is as well as what Alan mentioned: - making sure that sets get formed - making introductions - ejecting the disorderly In other words, making sure that the dance is running smoothly, leaving the caller free to handle the dancing. My worst experience as a floor manager was handling a fatal heart attack in the middle of the dance floor! Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

12 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Taking hands four

by Dan Pearl

Around hereabouts (Boston), dancers have been observed lining up duple improper. I'd say that is a good bet upwards of 98% of the time. Usually the cross-over makes it halfway down before some cajoling from the downstream dancers gets the cross-over the remaining way. If you train the dancers to take hands four in improper circle as they join the set, then the sets will be comfortably spaced out, as well. Worth trying, I think. As a dancer or floor manager, I sometimes have done what the Scottish Country Dancers do: An individual from the top couple walks down the set and counts people off. Instead of "1, 2, 3, 4: end of set; 1, 2, 3, 4: end of set; ..." it would simply be 1, 2, 1, 2...

12 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Hands four

by Martha Wild

On Nov 13, 2012, at 7:32 AM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote: > Send Callers mailing list submissions to > callers(a)sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > callers-request(a)sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > callers-owner(a)sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Taking hands four (Kalia Kliban) > 2. Re: Taking hands four (Paul Wilde) > 3. Re: Taking hands four (Andrea Nettleton) > 4. Re: Taking hands four (Donald Perley) > 5. Re: Taking hands four (Richard Mckeever) > 6. Re: Taking hands four (Lewis Land) > 7. Re: Taking hands four (Richard Hart) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 12 Nov 2012 17:38:59 -0800 > From: Kalia Kliban <kalia(a)sbcglobal.net> > To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Subject: [Callers] Taking hands four > Message-ID: <50A1A4B3.5050705(a)sbcglobal.net> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > This may have been discussed before, but why does the idea that they > should take hands four seem to come as a complete surprise to at least > half the dancers, every single freakin' time? > > It's not hard. You can do it while you're talking. It's a complete and > total no-brainer for contemporary contras. And yet... > > Anyone have successful strategies for helping this process along that > doesn't involve specially-trained dogs? > > Kalia > > > > > On Tue, Nov 13, 2012 at 8:10 AM, Andrea Nettleton <twirly-girl(a)bellsouth.net >> wrote: > >> I like to think of it as meaning the dancers are happy, because they are >> chatting instead of fussing. I say hands four, as you line up, consult the >> band re tunes, say it again. If they still appear disorganized, I'll pick >> a random move like N Allemande L , or Cir L all the way. They think I'm >> teaching the dance, so scramble to get hands four. Then I can say, OK, now >> that you have hands 4, here's what you really do. Usually they are a >> little quicker after that. Will they ever just take hands four >> automatically? I seriously doubt it. Not in this country. The Danes are >> rumored to line themselves up silently. We are more unruly in general. >> Best luck >> Andrea >> Sent from my iPhone >> >> > > I also use Andrea's approach if the lines have formed and it's time to get going and the "hands four" request continues to fall on deaf ears - Do-si-do your neighbor is my choice - suddenly there is a great scramble - and she's right, after that people seem to notice hands four more. Martha

12 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Ron Nelson wants to share new pictures with you

by Dhuntdancer＠aol.com

Is this spam?? Donna "Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we're here we should dance." -unknown In a message dated 11/9/2012 11:51:59 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, callerman(a)hotmail.com writes: Zoosk Hi , Ron Nelson sent you an invite on Zoosk. [1]View Invite This message was sent by a Zoosk user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people send you emails through Zoosk, [2]click here You have received this message at the email address: [3]callers(a)sharedweight.net Copyright 2007-2012 Zoosk, 989 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA. [4]Privacy Policy References 1. https://www.zoosk.com/signup/friend?invite-token=085215f872d1a8c65184295254… N_70_00_en_00_US_01_S_20121109_16_E 2. https://www.zoosk.com/optout.php?with=callers%40sharedweight.net&key=b5adc2… 3. mailto:callers@sharedweight.net 4. http://www.zoosk.com/privacy _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

12 years, 7 months

Ron Nelson wants to share new pictures with you

by Ron Nelson

Zoosk Hi , Ron Nelson sent you an invite on Zoosk. [1]View Invite This message was sent by a Zoosk user who entered your email address. If you'd prefer not to receive emails when other people send you emails through Zoosk, [2]click here You have received this message at the email address: [3]callers(a)sharedweight.net Copyright � 2007-2012 Zoosk, 989 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103 USA. [4]Privacy Policy References 1. https://www.zoosk.com/signup/friend?invite-token=085215f872d1a8c65184295254… 2. https://www.zoosk.com/optout.php?with=callers%40sharedweight.net&key=b5adc2… 3. mailto:callers@sharedweight.net 4. http://www.zoosk.com/privacy

12 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Circle mixers for newbies

by tavi merrill

Re: "First Turn in May", i called it for a beginner-heavy crowd in Montague, MA recently (about 10 first-timers and several more inexperienced dancers out of 50 total). Timing on the allemandes didn't seem to be an issue. One thing i really liked about that dance was the opportunity to use it as a teaching tool for allemandes (eg, offering style points followed by intensive use of allemande, and being able to point out that weight-sharing makes a big difference in tight timing). Also, thanks to the clear corner/partner relationships, there seemed to be less confusion about direction of progression than i've observed in similar allemande/weave-heavy mixers under similar experience level conditions. tavi

12 years, 7 months

Dancing in the Provo, Utah area?

by Kalia Kliban

Hi all I'll be in Provo from December 8-14th. Is there any dancing in that neck of the woods? Contra or ECD would be great. I'm taking a class there and would love to have something to do in the evenings. I'll have a car so could travel a little ways if needed. Kalia ps Hi Frannie! Nice meeting you last night.

12 years, 7 months

Re: [Callers] Circle Mixers for newbies

by colin＠colinhume.com

On Mon, 5 Nov 2012 10:34:59 -0500, Luke Donforth wrote: > First Turn in May has 3 allemandes in the A2, with the B1 being a > balance and swing. North Shore Mixer does something similar, but > goes to a DSD. > > Do you not worry about the timing? I've been at several new dancer > orientations where the caller stressed the 8 count phrasing as a > way to keep track and demarcate the moves; I've even used it myself. That's generally true, but in this case the writer knows that an allemande doesn't take the full 8 steps so he's able to fit three moves into the normal time for two. If you did just two allemandes in the 16 beats you'd find it very slow. > Is it just not an issue? Do new dancers get through 3 full > allemandes in 16 It's an issue but it's not a problem! The issue is teaching people to give weight, and you can encourage them to do this by saying, "If you bend your elbow and give some weight in the turns, you'll be there right on the beat for the balance". Of course this presupposes that you're doing some teaching! Colin Hume Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://www.colinhume.com -------------------------------------------------------------------- myhosting.com - Premium Microsoft® Windows® and Linux web and application hosting - http://link.myhosting.com/myhosting

12 years, 7 months

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Contra Callers