Contra Callers

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4372 discussions

Re: [Callers] easy ONS dances where partner is kept? - report

by Tina Fields

"Let us know how it goes!" Alan Winston requested, after so many of you kindly expounded on your favorite ONS dances that are not mixers. So here's the report: The "Me and My Cowboy" Girl Scout father-daughter dance was unlike anything else I'd ever called before. The hall was packed with 130 parent-child couples wearing nominal cowboy gear (bandanas, cowboy hats/boots, checked shirts). It was decked out like old west movies, with hay bales, cow horns, and a "Wanted!" booth where you could stick your face in for a photo. (That was great - our fiddler, Jon Berger, looked like a rabbi on the lam.) The band was one I've worked with numerous times before - fiddle, piano, & horns. It was so wonderful to be able to provide employment for my friends! Our planned sound man couldn't make it, but he loaned us the equipment anyway. I transported it and our pianist set it up & ran it, having been a professional sound engineer for 6 yrs in times past. The participants were really into it. I felt touched by the sight of these dads gleefully dancing with their daughters. What a blessing in these girls' life. And they earned a badge! (I want a dancing badge now, don't you?) I opened with a little hash circle dance which I led from the floor, to get them out there and teach them the basic moves. The program then went: 1. Circassian Circle (altered to be a Sicilian keeper) 2. Sicilian Circle of Fun 3. Weaver Jig (longways set) 4. I Want to Be Near You (singing square) 5. White Mt Reel (longways set) Break (had a few brief ones already too) 1. Sasha! (scatter mixer) 2. Four Around Four (longways set) 3. Le Brandy (longways set with a goofy component) I had originally planned to also include Galopede, Do Si Three, and/or Virginia Reel in the second half. The program wound up being shortened and simplified, as (1) they needed more short breaks than I'd anticipated, and (2) problems ensued: my mic sound left something to be desired, plus (3) the dancers, excited, kept talking through the teaching and dancing both, which made it rough to move the dance forward and to keep them together. For example, one of the longways sets lost the sequence of moves, and even though I kept calling, they wouldn't do what I said; they just floundered around making up a new one. They had fun and likely never even knew they were screwing up, but I felt somewhat frustrated by my inability to get them back on track. In hindsight, I wish I'd simply made the overt point that it's very important to still listen to the caller after the dance begins. That's my biggest takeaway for future ONS gig improvement. They really might not have known to do that. Ultimately, the evening was a success. The girls and their dads all had fun. The Girl Scouts organizers were happy with us, and to show it, they gave us a very sweet tip - each of the envelopes containing our pay were taped to boxes of Thin Mints!

14 years, 1 month

Re: [Callers] FInding a Source for Dutch Crossing

by David.Millstone＠VALLEY.NET

The original Dutch Crossing was written by Ernst van Brakel and was first published in Colin Hume's "Dances with a Difference 3." The dance was originally set to a tune "The Merry Lads of Ayr" from the RSCDS book #1, but then Colin Hume composed a tune for it. That version of dance has directions on Colin's website here: http://www.colinhume.com/inst6.htm#DutchCrossing You can find Joseph Pimentel's variation, "Yankee Dutch Crossing," in his Cardinal Collection book, which is available from CDSS. In most camp settings, callers set aside an hour or so for a Dutch Crossing Workshop. At one camp, I had already taught many dancers Rod's Quad #2 (Rod Linnell), another 8-couple dance, and th other caller who taught Dutch Crossing felt that it went much more quickly because people had experienced the other one first. David Millstone Lebanon, NH

14 years, 1 month

FInding a Source for Dutch Crossing

by Sarah Ziegi

Hello all, I'm new to the listserve- I'm a caller from Syracuse, NY and was wondering if anyone out there could help me out. I've been meaning to learn to call Dutch Crossing for a while now, and an upcoming dance weekend that I'll be at is hoping to include it in their program. I've danced it and watched videos of it and I have a pretty good idea how I'm going to teach it, but I was wondering where to find a hard copy source for the dance. I found one online by Colin Hume that seems to be the English version, which I guess is the original? Is the version typically taught at contra weekends Joseph Pimentel's Yankee Dutch Crossing? Is there a website or a book out there that has a written form of the dance? Thanks for any help, Sarah VanNorstrand

14 years, 1 month

Fwd: Callers Insurance 2011-2012

by Chris Weiler

-------- Original Message --------Hello callers! CDSS Caller's Liability Insurance forms and fees for they year beginning May 1 2011-2012 are now online at http://www.cdss.org/callers-liability-insurance.html. Please, if you have events you need covered in the first three weeks of May, use the e-mail form/pay by credit card option. Fees for basic insurance have not been increased this year, but there is now a $10 fee per additional insured. Thanks, Jeff Martell Sales and Group Services Manager

14 years, 2 months

What makes a caller a great caller?

by Will Kruse

Hello from Seattle! I'd love to hear your thoughts on what separates good callers from great callers? Is it their selections of dances? That they call their own dances? Their ability to compose an evening of dancing? Their personal charm? Their connection with the band? Their intimate knowledge of how the dance, the music, and the dancers all flow together? I'm especially interested to hear from dance organizers what they look for when they consider booking a caller? I suspect this second question may have a separate answer from the first :-) Curiosity abounds as my mind begins to explore the calling space :-) Will "now, from Seattle!" Kruse

14 years, 2 months

ONS Dance - Accretion Reel

by John Sweeney

This is a fun one where people make circles and baskets of any size - very friendly. I usually start them in a big circle and balance it. http://chrispagecontra.awardspace.us/dances/index.htm Thanks for a great dance, Chris. Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574 http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events, Instructional DVDs and Interactive Maps http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Contra Dancing in Kent

14 years, 2 months

Grid Squares Contra

by Liz and Bill

Hi Everybody, I tried a simple grid contra that Bob Isaacs gave me at our dance last Saturday. It was a great success. It was easy to teach, and the dancers loved it. It's really more like calling a contra than a square. We didn't have a big grid as we only have 24 dancers, but the movement around the floor was still interesting for the dancers. I'd been in communication with Bob Isaacs after I saw the grid squares videos taken by David Millstone of the grids session at Dance Flurry. For a long time, I've been interested in the way such dances move people around the floor, so Bob's dances intrigued me. Here is a video of the dance we did http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnXvIiDLYCQ My post of a few days ago was my attempt to get a thread going, but maybe I came across a bit snide. I'm sorry if I did, I was attempting a bit of humour by alluding to the previous post and my own 'geekiness'. Cheers, Bill

14 years, 2 months

Neffa mobile app

by Lisa Greenleaf

Hello callers- Many of you will be at the new England Folk Festival this weekend. Well guess what-- NEFFA has gone mobile! Festival schedule, maps, alerts, more on your iPhone/Android. Use your mobile to get the free app from Conventionist http://cvi.st/getit I look forward to seeing you at the Thursday contra and then at the Festival. Lisa Greenleaf

14 years, 2 months

Apps for callers?

by JoLaine Jones-Pokorney

I have settled on using Google Docs spreadsheet to manage my dances. For the most part, it works really well. The only limitation I've encountered is I can't search the entire document, only one tab at a time. Each tab is a different dance and I have a format for entering the dance and the teaching script. As a fairly new caller, I thought it was important to write out my teaching script word-for-word concentrating on clear and concise. It has been a great help! I'm really good at reading so it doesn't sound like I am reading it word-for-word and now that I have called a while, my clear and concise script is committed to memory for the basic moves. I can also share my google doc with bands and other callers I am working with. I can call it up on my netbook or smart phone if I'm in a situation where I need to call a dance unexpectedly. I do not use the netbook or phone to call from except in an emergency. I print them out on a full size sheet of paper and put them in a three ring binder in order for the evening, back-ups are available in a pocket in the binder. I place the binder on a music stand so I can be hands-free and only glance at it when needed. I can make notes all over the piece of paper and then go home and update the spreadsheet so the next time I print it off, it will have my most current notes. I also use a google doc for keeping up with the programs I've called, when, where, what, band, pay, etc. If anyone would like to see my google doc, I'd be glad to share. JoLaine

14 years, 2 months

Re: [Callers] Calling for dancers with disabilities

by Chrissy Fowler

Hi all, I'm calling a couple of community dances this summer for a non-profit that mentors adult artists with varying developmental disabilities. A high proportion of the dancers will be their clients, or other similarly-disabled clients of the parent organization. The mentors and other agency staff will be on hand to dance as well. We're all very excited that this is happening, and I want to be sure it's a successful experience for the dancers, especially those with disabilities. Thanks for generous suggestions thus far! I wanted to clarify that these are not primarily folks in wheelchairs. Their disabilities include Down Syndrome, autism, and mental illness, and the parent agency's mission is to assist adults and children with disabilities to obtain a full and inclusive life in their chosen community. I'm working on this with the agency staff too, but also wondered if any of my caller peers had direct experience with creating a successful dance experience for folks with such disabilities. Chrissy Fowler Belfast, ME

14 years, 2 months

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