Contra Callers

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4404 discussions

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

by Tina Fields

Beth said, >>>"I "teach" people to listen to me during the first dance. I start with a big >>>circle. I teach the group the following: Walk to the left, walk to the right, >>>go into the center 3 steps, come back and do-si-do. After that I start the >>>music and call hash of those. I also add promenade on the fly during the >>>dancing. I once had a caller say to me "I would never patronize a group by >>>teaching them circle left and circle right." But he didn't really get the >>>point: I'm not teaching circle left and circle right. The purpose of the first >>>dance of the evening is to teach them to listen to the caller.  Since the >>>dance is hashed, they never know what is coming and they must listen. Saying >>>"listen" doesn't work, you teach them to listen with your voice. Making them >>>listen is the key. If you get them on board at the beginning the evening >>>everything else will go well."<<<<SNIP more good stuff >>> Yes, I agree completely - and that's what I did. By saying I began with a "hash circle dance" I meant something very similar to your method: we did circle L, R, into the middle w/ a shout, do-si-dos w/N & P, plus allemande and swing, with variations. And they were into it. But still, a few dances later, once the dancers had been walked through a dance and also done it a couple of times to the music, one line got off & it was clear that they weren't hearing my prompts (due to sound glitches), or weren't heeding them if they did hear them. Their excitement fed their cheerful chattering, so that was overall an okay thing - after all, who wants a deathly silent barn dance? (Yeah, Beth, I'm with you about the 'tude!) So I didn't know what to do besides keep calling and go over there to physically prompt some big group moves like "head gent leads gents single file around the line of ladies now" as well, which I did. Their being off, plus talking a lot, plus the sound weakness is what made me think that it would have been a good idea, when I taught the next one, to overtly mention the importance of continuing to listen to the caller. (I don't know, though, as I didn't think of that till the dance was over.) Would you do something else in this case? Writing this after musing over your commentary, I think now maybe I should have initially hash-called more over the music in real time. I did it fully w/o music and a couple of times through with, but didn't do it long up to tempo, so maybe some of the dancers got the idea that once the music started, they were on their own. Hm. Thoughts, ideas, more strategies welcome. These little things can really affect a dance! David M. then brought up the shrewd strategy of not letting ONS dancers sit down (meaning they might stay away forever). Again, I agree - I've experienced that too, and am totally on board with the plan to continually "dance for 45 minutes before they cut the cake". Yet in this case, even though I held that intent (albeit with two planned halves as the organizers wanted 1.5 hours of dancing), a couple of times the dads bolted for the cool drinks in the kitchen as soon as a dance stopped! So I just let it go with their flow, then called them back for another dance after a little while when their faces seemed less red again. :-> And they came. Their daughters did need to earn their badges, after all. Given that behavior, would you do something different? If so, what? Beth, also thanks for the tip about Marian Rose's books. Tina

14 years, 6 months

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

by David.Millstone＠valley.net

I'll just add one thing to Beth's comments: She said, "Short teachers are important" and she cited Tony saying, "Keep them moving." Part of the "keep them moving" idea, in my mind, is to follow one dance immediately with another. Don't let 'em sit down. They just finished a dance and applauded the band... get 'em lined up /squared up / circled up right away while the energy is there. I learned from Dudley when booking wedding gigs to insist on 45 minutes of dancing before the cake is cut... after that, who knows if you'll be able to gather up enough for the dancing to resume. David Millstone

14 years, 6 months

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, 6 months

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, 6 months

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, 6 months

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, 6 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, 6 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, 6 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, 6 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, 6 months

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