Hi all - I'm considering a wireless headset mic. It sure would be nice to
have hands free when demonstrating, teaching the introductory workshop. But
I don't see many callers using them. Is there a downside to this that I'm
not seeing, or is it just the expense? And if someone could recommend a
good one, I would appreciate it as I know NOTHING. Our local sound guy has
recommended the SHURE brand, but doesn't know a specific model number.
Also, what are your thoughts about using a monitor? We have a visiting
caller that SCREAMS into the mic and it was suggested that if he had a
monitor, he might not do that.
Any help is appreciated!
JoLaine
Interesting!
I chair the Thursday Night Dance Committee of NEFFA, which runs a weekly dance
at the Concord Scout House, in Massachusetts. I would characterize our pay as
good. Here are the basics:
1. We expect equal shares for all performers (musicians/callers). In only very
unusual circumstances will we pay different amounts.
2. Guarantee (per performer) is dependent on # of performers. 3 => $155; 4 =>
$145; 5 => $125; 6 => $104; 7 => $89.
3. Performers who travel a distance (say over 1 hour) to get to the dance get
$15 extra.
4. Bonus *is* dependent on attendance. We assume that if people came out in
droves to dance, the performers probably had something to do with it, and they
should be rewarded. For a well-attended night, it is not unusual for performers
to make around $200 each. For an exceptionally well-attended night, they might
make $300 each.
Hi all,
As I mentioned earlier, I've taken the Callers list off the distribution list for updates concerning Puttin' On the Dance (Northeast Dance Organizers Conference - Nov 11-13, 2011.) I did just send an email update to the Shared Weight Organizers list. If you're curious about what the email said, you can join the SW organizers listserv or you can look at the SW archives. Or, you can send me a message off-list and I'll add you to the POTD distribution list.
Cheers,
Chrissy Fowler
www.puttinonthedance.org
Apologies for any cross posting.
David Millstone will be in the Boston area on August 9th and has offered to
do a Chestnuts calling workshop that evening IF we can get enough interested
and available callers.
This isn't a dance but a callers-only workshop. The goal is to have a small
set of dancers so the callers can practice. We have a fiddler but would also
welcome a pianist who knows how to play Chestnuts.
Right now I'm just trying to determine if we can get enough callers so this
workshop isn't yet set in stone.
If you are a caller and have an interest in this workshop and are available
in the Boston area on Tuesday evening, August 9th, please let me know!
Thanks, everyone!
Sally Bown
BIDA board member
dancinlibrarian(a)gmail.com
cell: 502-550-5981
Hi All,
Wow! We were just discussing this very issue at our board meeting last
night, and decided we should find out what other dances do. THANKS!
The big question in my mind, is should the caller count as a band member in
the split of the receipts, or should the caller get a fixed percentage.
i.e., should the caller be better compensated for calling with a two person
band rather than a three person band, and contrariwise, should a band get a
smaller percentage of the gate because they are a smaller band? These
questions were raised by a travelling band, working with a local caller.
Here's our details :
dance: Asheville Old Farmer's Ball Thursday night weekly dance
hall: free at Warren Wilson, but students get in for $1 so we have some
cost
normal entrance fee: $6, $5 for members
sound: $125
attendance: ~200+
caller & each band member: one share of 70% of the gate after the sound is
taken out. guaranteed minimum of $100 each.
Thanks again,
Dennis
On Mon, Jul 11, 2011 at 12:00 PM, <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. Re: Caller's Fees (Dan Pearl)
> 2. Re: Caller's Fees (Jeff Kaufman)
> 3. Re: Caller's Fees (Delia Clark)
> 4. Re: Caller's Fees (Jeff Kaufman)
> 5. Re: Caller's Fees (Greg McKenzie)
> 6. Re: Caller's Fees (Rich Goss)
> 7. Re: Caller's Fees (Jeff Kaufman)
> 8. Re: Caller's Fees (Cynthia Phinney)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 10 Jul 2011 18:58:31 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dan Pearl <daniel_pearl(a)yahoo.com>
> To: "callers(a)sharedweight.net" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Caller's Fees
> Message-ID: <1310349511.8190.YahooMailNeo(a)web65704.mail.ac4.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> In answer to questions, we give $50 to the person who provides/runs the
> sound.
>
> Dan
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:01:14 -0400
> From: Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Caller's Fees
> Message-ID: <20110711110114.GB28127(a)melfpelt.swarpa.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
>
> Dan Pearl wrote:
> >
> > In answer to questions, we give $50 to the person who provides/runs
> > the sound.
> >
>
> Thanks!
>
> I've made a summary chart:
>
> http://sccs.swarthmore.edu/~cbr/news/2011-07-08.html
>
> Jeff
>
David, I do so hope I can get to your dance sometime!
~ Becky Nankivell
Tucson, Ariz. & Long Beach, Calif.
David wrote:
> My home dance bills itself as a contra dance, but I think of it as a country
> dance, and that term in my mind encompasses more than long lines. Even within
> the strict contra designation, there are proper and improper dances, duple and
> triple minors, and I believe that each has a valid place in a program. I
> remember a dancer who started at our local dances and then, after several years,
> went cautiously out into the broader world, to one of the more distant hot (or
> cool) venues. She reported that she had had a great time and then added, "There
> one thing I don't understand. All they did, the whole evening, was hands four
> improper or Becket dances. The whole night!"
>
> David Millstone
> Lebanon, NH
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 83, Issue 9
> **************************************
>
HI all - I'm a fairly new caller and so far have only called improper duple,
beckett, and 4x4. Where does one learn to call these other options? I
haven't even ventured into squares because I don't know how to call them and
don't know where to learn. I bought Nils and Ralph's book, but just reading
a book doesn't give me the confidence I need to venture into different
formations. In fact, a local caller recently called two squares that were
disasters and another beginning caller and myself looked at each other,
laughed, and swore we would NEVER call a square!!
JoLaine
--- JoLaine wrote:
I haven't even ventured into squares because I don't know how to call them and
don't know where to learn.
--- end of quote ---
Tony Parkes includes a discussion of squares in his his Contra Dance Calling
text book:
http://hands4.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1&Itemid=7
Calling so-called "New England squares" is much the same as calling for a contra
dance; figures fit the phrasing of a typical AABB tune. Ted Sannella's two
collections (Balance and Swing, Swing the Next) contain many examples of these
style of dances, as well as examples of his triplets, and the syllabi of the
annual Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend, available online, are a valuable
resource for more such dances. Ted Sannella's booklet on Calling Traditional New
England Squares is available from CDSS:
http://www.cdss.org/product-details/product/calling-traditional-new-england…
res-bookcd.html
It deals especially with how to call breaks and gives scores of examples of
appropriate breaks for a square. As a bonus, the $17 purchase price includes a
CD of live recordings of Ted calling 15 squares, which provides you with an
excellent model from which you can learn timing from a master.
You already have the Ralph Sweet book; the singing squares in that volume
provide a ready-made script to follow. You jst sing the correct words and folks
do the dance... no need to figure out the timing, since that's already built
into the lyrics. Caution-- singing squares may take a little longer to teach,
since the dancers need to be doing the figure at the same time as you're singing
out the command. This is different from the prompting style you're used to with
contras, where the action is called out several beats before the dancers do it.
> just reading a book doesn't give me the confidence I need to venture into
different formations
That's where a house party is a great idea. Invite some other callers and a
bunch of friends who like to dance and who are willing to be guinea pigs, roll
up the proverbial or literal rug in the living room or dance in the kitchen, and
practice.
There are also opportunities to learn more by attending dance camps: CDSS
frequently offers classes on calling squares at its camps at Pinewoods or Timber
Ridge, and Bob Dalsemer runs an intensive callers' class at the John C. Campbell
Folk School in Brasstown, NC. Finally, one can always seek out an experienced
caller to act as a mentor. Sometimes it's possible to get funding for such
apprenticeships through a state arts council, and CDSS offers support for such
projects as well.
David Millstne
Lebanon, NH
