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
--- Mac wrote:
This would include - but not be limited to:
circles dances
Sicilian circles
Squares
4 facing 4
triple minors
scatter mixers
other??
--- end of quote ---
also:
triplets
duple proper (including chestnuts and modern compositions in that formation)
odd formation dances (e.g., seven-person, five couples, nine-person, 3 face 3,
four couple set dances, and many more)
I regularly include dances in different formations at my home dance. I think it
makes for a much more interesting evening, and helps develop dancers' skills by
introducing them to different choreographic figures and moods. Also, completely
unfamiliar dances put folks on a more equal footing--I call them "equal
opportunity for failure dances." ;-)
The dancers who are regulars there know what to expect, and itgives me no small
amount of pleasure when experienced dancers from elsewhere show up and
automatically take hands four and cross over, only to get a warning from the
locals, "You can't assume that here."
Yes, the bulk of a typical night's program is duple improper and Becket, but
every evening has a mixer, some squares and/or triplets, often a triple minor,
and every so often an oddball dance just for the fun of it. I'm slowly
increasing the proportion of squares, and recently have been introducing
southern figures (Push Pa Shove Ma, Two Little Sisters, etc.) to this very
northern crowd. They seem to enjoy it.
The folks who want hard-core swing partner / swing neighbor in every dance
either don't come, or come knowing that this will be a little different.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
This isn't EXACTLY a mental health issue, but a few years ago there was a
male dancer in our area whose MO was to find unaccompanied young women who
looked new to dancing and uncertain, take them under his wing, monopolize
them, and become increasingly physically intrusive and obnoxious with them.
At some of the larger dances I think some of the women attending told him
off and he appeared much less frequently there but didn't disappear,
shifting his attentions to smaller community-oriented dances such as the
ones I've called regularly.
When he showed up at a public dance I was calling and started his routine,
at the first break I asked him to come outside for a private chat. I told
him what I had seen (almost completely monopolizing that particular dancer,
and pressing her and other women he met in the line closely and grasping
rather than supporting them while swinging). I told him how I felt his
behavior went counter to the norms of this and most dances, exploited the
normal trust dancers share and enjoy while in each other's arms, and in
fact, was blatant sexual harrassment. I shared the revulsion and anxiety
that other dancers had expressed to me about his presence and how that
deeply undermined their ability to enjoy participating. In conclusion, I
told him that, speaking for myself as the caller and on behalf of many
others, if any of this behavior continued, his presence would be unwelcome
enough that I would ask him to leave.
He made feeble denials and protests, but cleaned up his act for the next
couple of dances before leaving early. The next dance where I was calling at
which he turned up, I was able to speak to him before the dance started and
reminded him of our previous conversation. But before the break, he started
pushing the limits as before and I had to speak with him again. This time,
after making similar feeble excuses, he simply left and never appeared again
at any dances I called or attended.
What happens away from dances isn't really my first concern as a caller, but
as a community member I found it significant news when it was later reported
widely that similar behavior on his part in other settings had led to legal
consequences.
My only regret is that I hadn't dealt with it before it became so blatant.
Have others had to deal with this kind of situation, and if so, how?
Chip Hedler
I have had friends who were depressed who came dancing. One of the
good things about contradancing for them was that during the dancing,
because you have to pay attention and interact with people, there is
little time to think depressive thoughts, so at least for the space
of the dance their load was lightened.
I have known two autistic adults who came to the dances. They were
both at the university - bright but definitely socially challenged. I
was at first surprised because they did quite well and enjoyed it,
but I think in retrospect that it worked well because the way you
interact with other people is carefully defined for you - allemande
left, do-si-do, etc. With the one man that I knew best, small talk
was an impossibility, and distressed him, but the dancing was OK.
Luckily haven't had to deal with anyone particularly out of control,
except one man who came to the dance drunk once, and I was the
manager. I decided to suggest he sit out the dancing until he felt
better - he got angry, and I was pretty nervous, but then he just
turned around and left. Big sigh of relief.
In any event, I personally think contradancing is GREAT therapy.
Music, movement, contact with other people - as long as you have a
friendly, supportive group that helps make newcomers feel welcome and
confident, it's good for what ails you.
Martha
On Jul 7, 2011, at 9:00 AM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. mental health and dance calling (jill allen)
> 2. Re: mental health and dance calling (Bree Kalb)
> 3. Re: mental health and dance calling (Greg McKenzie)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 15:05:05 -0500
> From: jill allen <jillallen3(a)att.net>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
> Message-ID: <C6B30E88-7FF3-4C61-9CFA-ECAC3CAAF3DD(a)att.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly
> appeared one night ranting about the police and tasers. He was
> drooling and showing delusional behavior, and was still dancing.
> Most dancers didn't think much of it, but some were very upset.
>
> He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when
> he came to our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes
> on the sidewalk and greeting the children, I started feeling the
> need for a plan. I talked with the local mental health facility
> and spoke to other organizers, but you know, what can you do?
> Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a half hour conversation
> at a dance one night with him. We were just chatting, and
> something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every
> time he came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me,
> and vice versa. I found out that he had been care-taking for his
> elderly dad, who was living with him. His dad recently passed away
> while he was away at a dance weekend. He explained that his
> father's death and his guilt for being gone had triggered his
> mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to make friends with
> me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a really sweet
> person. I used to dr
> ead his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is
> still coming to dances, which seems to help him. His medications
> are better adjusted now and he blends in much better and is
> appropriate on the dance floor, for the most part.
>
> I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but why
> not first try going straight to the problem with accidental love
> and friendship.
>
> Good luck,
> Jill Allen
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 18:42:05 -0400
> From: "Bree Kalb" <bree(a)mindspring.com>
> To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
> Message-ID: <92215C3FFBA84A9AB01D7D42E3466820@BreeHomeLaptop>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> What a lovely story, Jill. Although I'm a mental health
> professional I'm
> often unsure how to include dancers with obvious problems. You've
> provided
> an inspiration.
>
> Bree Kalb
> Carrboro NC
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: jill allen
> Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2011 4:05 PM
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
>
> We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly
> appeared one
> night ranting about the police and tasers. He was drooling and
> showing
> delusional behavior, and was still dancing. Most dancers didn't
> think much
> of it, but some were very upset.
>
> He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when
> he came to
> our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes on the
> sidewalk and
> greeting the children, I started feeling the need for a plan. I
> talked with
> the local mental health facility and spoke to other organizers, but
> you
> know, what can you do? Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a
> half hour
> conversation at a dance one night with him. We were just chatting,
> and
> something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every
> time he
> came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me, and vice
> versa.
> I found out that he had been care-taking for his elderly dad, who
> was living
> with him. His dad recently passed away while he was away at a dance
> weekend. He explained that his father's death and his guilt for
> being gone
> had triggered his mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to
> make
> friends with me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a really
> sweet
> person. I used to dr
> ead his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is
> still coming
> to dances, which seems to help him. His medications are better
> adjusted now
> and he blends in much better and is appropriate on the dance floor,
> for the
> most part.
>
> I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but why
> not
> first try going straight to the problem with accidental love and
> friendship.
>
> Good luck,
> Jill Allen
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Wed, 6 Jul 2011 18:31:55 -0700
> From: Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] mental health and dance calling
> Message-ID:
> <CAFqkWLtshhmp_+C-2utra9vzdEQ3AwUWaEamr9a0XyLBB_ugRg(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Thank you Jill! What a wonderful story!
>
> I am going to chime in with one of my own stories. I have been
> observing
> the dances for years and there are many stories. This one is not as
> delightful as yours.
>
> Years ago a man started attending a dance where I called often.
> After about
> a year some women complained to me that he seemed to always have
> whiskey on
> his breath. He also always seemed to be lost during the dances.
> Some women
> started avoiding him. I decided to take some action and had a casual
> conversation with him one night. He mentioned that my calling was
> always
> very clear but that he often got confused with other callers. I
> thanked him
> and mentioned--in a lighthearted way--that, for me, I get confused
> if I've
> had one or two glassess of wine. He didn't say anything.
>
> He kept attending dances, but a bit less often. About six months
> later
> someone told me that he had committed suicide. I have always
> wished I could
> have handled that one a little better. I still feel that it was a
> lost
> opportunity. Now I am living with a therapist so this kind of
> thing is much
> more salient to me.
>
> - Greg McKenzie
>
> **************
>
> On Wed, Jul 6, 2011 at 1:05 PM, jill allen <jillallen3(a)att.net> wrote:
>
>> We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly
>> appeared
>> one night ranting about the police and tasers. He was drooling
>> and showing
>> delusional behavior, and was still dancing. Most dancers didn't
>> think much
>> of it, but some were very upset.
>>
>> He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when
>> he came
>> to our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes on the
>> sidewalk
>> and greeting the children, I started feeling the need for a plan.
>> I talked
>> with the local mental health facility and spoke to other
>> organizers, but you
>> know, what can you do? Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a
>> half hour
>> conversation at a dance one night with him. We were just
>> chatting, and
>> something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every
>> time he
>> came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me, and
>> vice versa.
>> I found out that he had been care-taking for his elderly dad, who
>> was
>> living with him. His dad recently passed away while he was away
>> at a dance
>> weekend. He explained that his father's death and his guilt for
>> being gone
>> had triggered his mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to
>> make
>> friends with me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a
>> really sweet
>> person. I used to dr
>> ead his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is still
>> coming to dances, which seems to help him. His medications are
>> better
>> adjusted now and he blends in much better and is appropriate on
>> the dance
>> floor, for the most part.
>>
>> I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but
>> why not
>> first try going straight to the problem with accidental love and
>> friendship.
>>
>> Good luck,
>> Jill Allen
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 83, Issue 3
> **************************************
We had a gentleman coming to our dances for years, who suddenly appeared one night ranting about the police and tasers. He was drooling and showing delusional behavior, and was still dancing. Most dancers didn't think much of it, but some were very upset.
He continued to come to every dance, Contra and English, but when he came to our sweet little Family Dance and was smoking cigarettes on the sidewalk and greeting the children, I started feeling the need for a plan. I talked with the local mental health facility and spoke to other organizers, but you know, what can you do? Well, somewhat accidentally, I had about a half hour conversation at a dance one night with him. We were just chatting, and something magic happened. I got to know him really well. Every time he came to a dance, I talked with him. He began to trust me, and vice versa. I found out that he had been care-taking for his elderly dad, who was living with him. His dad recently passed away while he was away at a dance weekend. He explained that his father's death and his guilt for being gone had triggered his mental issues. I don't know if it helped him to make friends with me, but it sure helped me! I found him to be a really sweet person. I used to dread his presence, and now I look forward to seeing him. He is still coming to dances, which seems to help him. His medications are better adjusted now and he blends in much better and is appropriate on the dance floor, for the most part.
I am sure that this approach won't work for all situations, but why not first try going straight to the problem with accidental love and friendship.
Good luck,
Jill Allen
A Surgeon General report states:
"The current prevalence estimate is that about 20 percent of the U.S.
population are affected by mental disorders during a given year."
http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/chapter2/sec2_1.html
What impact do mental health problems have upon callers? Do you have a
personal experience with a specific individual? Do you consider the number
of depressed, paranoid, or otherwise troubled people in the hall--many of
whom have been struggling with stressful life changes?
How do callers approach this issue?
Do you consider this to be beyond your responsibility?
Do you think that this affects your success as a caller? (In the "average"
dance hall there is likely to be at least one individual who is currently
paranoid...to at least some degree. How will they respond to negative
comments from the caller?)
I would be interested in your experience and how you approach this issue.
- Greg McKenzie
A while ago, i was intending to call a 4x4 (The Warm Up) at our
local dance, the Chicago Barn Dance, but thought it might be nice to
use a dance that accomplished the same thing (swinging both opposites
during the sequence) but not using the star or a hey. Another idea to
incorporate was the give and take, which seemed a good move for the
standard introductory figure of many 4x4s. What i came up with is
called Villa Olivia (where i wrote the dance):
Villa Olivia
4x4 Tom Senior note "buddy" in your line of 4, (same
gender person) and the direction you face.
A1. Lines go forward, Men draw opposite back to swing (Give and
Take), end the swing facing your buddy across the line of direction of
the dance.
A2. Make and ring, balance, twirl right one place (as in petronella),
swing opposite #2. End facing across to your buddy.
B1. Right and left across, ladies chain 1/2, turning to end facing
partner. (in the direction of progression)
B2. Lines go forwrd, Women draw partner back to swing. End swing
facing original direction.
Perhaps you may find this useful.
Tom
--
Tom Senior
Dance while you can.
see my website: http://marblechimes.com/
The sharing of info on this thread has been great, and certainly helped
me a lot (and I know I'm not alone here). Thanks so much to all. My
calling experience has been more in the free or food paying level, and
when playing in a dance band for a new dance series we've been paid
$10-15 each from the proceeds of the Swing Dance night since the
contra/square night hasn't made enough money yet. So I'm happy to hear
others are paid sometimes and will aim to that goal in our own series.
If anyone has any input for ONS gigs that would be nice, too.
On a different level than the ongoing series, an annual week-end
traditional music festival in the region may pay festival callers
$200-250 for part of the Friday night dance plus one or two hour long
workshops during the weekend. Plus they get free admission and meals.
It varies a lot because the bands and callers are usually also
contracted for other performances at the festival. There have been in
the past a few single dance events where the caller was paid $50-75.
Bands may be paid $200-500.
Summer cheers,
Sue Robishaw
Thanks Clark. Looks like it is indeed defunct, unless/until somebody is
willing to take on hosting duties for it.
From your link, I was able to find the webpage of Russell Owen, who
used to maintain American Country Dances Online. He has just recently
shut it down; he has this note on his webpage:
Note: if you are looking for American Country Dances On Line: I shut
down 2011-06-13 as I did not have time to maintain it. If you wish
to host it please contact me.
Russell Owen
University of Washington
PO Box 351580
Seattle, WA 98195-1580
rowen uw edu
Russell's webpage is at
http://www.astro.washington.edu/users/rowen/
-- Mark
> From: Clark Baker<cmbaker(a)tiac.net>
> To: Caller's discussion list<callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] American Country Dances Online
> Message-ID:<DD011E0F-7948-46CB-BFEE-21A1868A668F(a)tiac.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Not a perfect answer, but perhaps this will help...
>
> http://classic-web.archive.org/web/*/http://arcserve.astro.washington.edu/d…
>
> On Jun 26, 2011, at 7:51 PM, Mark Widmer wrote:
>
>> Does anyone know what became of the website American Country Dances Online? It used to be at
>>
>> http://arcserve.astro.washington.edu/dances/
>>
>> It was a useful way to find dances when I was a newer caller, and I would like to pass it on somebody. But it is either defunct or has moved elsewhere.
>>
>> Mark Widmer
>>
