Here is a minor episode for the "gigs from hell "annals. Imagine someone asks you to dinner. They ask you to bring the food. However, they won’t tell you where they live or what time dinner starts or what sort of food the guests might enjoy. When you try to contact them, they are out of town.
I was invited to call in a neighboring state with a fine band from my state. The drive would take the better part of a day and we knew that we wouldn’t come anywhere near making gas money. However, many callers and bands are willing to do ‘charity’ work for new contra communities. Generally when callers/musicians travel, they like to maximize what they offer and will do afternoon music/dance workshops, often for free. When we were first booked, we offered a variety of free workshops. After a month of receiving no response, we brought this offer up again with the caller/organizer who invited us. After three more months, another prompting email query brought a response that the caller/organizer basically didn’t have time to bother.
Twenty four hours before the dance, we had still not been informed of where the dance was or what time it started. The last email (2 months previous) from the "host" said they were looking for a new hall. Lack of information on where we might stay and the fact there was a potluck before the dance had us spending money on a pricey meal and motel in the tourist town. The caller/organizer would not be around due to another gig.
An enterprising band member finally called a local musician and got a rough idea of where the dance was to be held. What fun….5 generous and experienced folks, willing to lose money, driving a 2 day round trip to help a new caller/series. Nothing about the word "host" applies in this case.
So, in order to turn a rant into something constructive, I have composed a bare bones "invitee" form to be sent to guest bands/callers shortly after the invitation is accepted so that new callers/organizers who care about their dance communities might meet the basic requirements of a host:
Dear _________(caller,band)
Thank you for agreeing to be part of our contra experience.
Our dance starts at __, with the pre-teaching starting at ____.
The hall is located at___(map link) and will be open by_____.
Your sound person will be_____.
Usually we have about _____(number of dancers), with about ___% being experienced; of course we may have an influx of newcomers.
Our dancers are generally (comfortable/not comfortable) with a hey/contra corners in the first half.
Generally, we dance until____PM, then have a break and resume dancing until____PM.
Our dancers enjoy a (waltz, polka, hambo, swing) (before, after) break and at the end of the dance.
We have arranged for you to stay with ______. Their phone/email/address is_______
Or
Below is the contact information for reasonably priced motels near the dance hall
We will be able to pay you_$_______.
For more information about dance logistics, you may contact me (or ___) at _____.
Please let us know in advance what you will need in terms of microphones, etc.
Thank you for bringing your expertise to our dancers.
For additional goodwill, we suggest that the "host" get the following things right in communication/publicity: Spelling of the caller’s name and the band’s name, where they are from, the date for the gig (these things slipped by in our case). A thank you email would be frosting on the cake.
Hope this helps!
Hi Rickey,
I've never called Fan in the Doorway, but I do have Dizzy Dances, volume
III, in which it appears. I'll attempt to reproduce it here:
Fan in the Doorway Contra Duple Improper
Music: Three Part Slip Jig
A1 Hey for four start by passing right shoulders with neighbor (12).
Just do three quarters of a hey.
A2 Swing your partner on the gent's original side of the set (12).
B1 Gents step into the center of the set and start a hey for four by
passing left shoulders. Once again, just do three quarters of a
hey.
B2 Swing your neighbor (12).
C1 Down the center four in line, turn alone, return and fold the line.
C2 Circle left, go all the way around (9). Pass through along the set
to
meet a new neighbor (3).
Once the dance gets started, it will be very natural to pass through up and
down the set, meet a new neighbor and curve around to form a line of four
across the set to start the hey. When teaching the hey in A1, I ask dancers
to form a line of four across the set with the women back to back in the
center with everyone facing their neighbor.
The idea for this dance came from knowing that there were English country
dances done to slip jigs and from a contemporary Irish slip jig entitled
"The Butterfly" (which, by the way, is not quite suitable for this dance).
(There is more about the idea and the writing of the dance...)
I hope this helps.
Cis Hinkle
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:40:46 -0400
From: "Rickey" <holt.e(a)comcast.net>
To: <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Teaching Fan in the Doorway
Message-ID: <8E0DE1D3F569415CB02D95737A5D4012@maxx>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi all,
I recently danced Fan in the Doorway by Gene Hubert, called and taught by
Lisa Greenleaf at this year?s Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. I have been
asked to see if I can teach and call it at a local dance and I would love to
try, but the notes I have are not enough. If you have taught this dance I
would love your suggestions. We would dance it to ?The Butterfly? a three
part slip-jig. Here is what I have:
A1 Hey ? starting with your neighbor by the right shoulder, men go over and
back. ? I assume that you start the dance with the twos between the ones
facing their neighbors of the opposite gender. Is this correct? How do the
men get over and back in 12 counts, while the women only end up going over
to the other side. I have seen such things elsewhere but the set up was
different.
A2 Swing partner
B1 Again Hey ?, this time the men start the hey and by the left shoulder.
Same question, how do the men get over and back. This time you end up with
your neighbor. Since at the start of the hey your neighbor is where your
partner was in A1, the answer to how this works in A2 must be the same as it
is for A1
B2 Swing neighbor
C1 Down the hall for 3 counts, turn alone for 3 counts, back up the hall for
3 counts, fold into a circle for 3 counts.
C2 Circle left once for 8 counts and pass through to new neighbors for 4
counts. I assume that turning alone in a down-the-hall four-in-line that
was formed from a neighbor swing sets it up so that your partner is again on
the other side of the set from you. Is that correct? Is there difficulty
getting from the pass through, which is an up and down move, to the hey
which is an across the set move? Do you have hints for the dancers to help
with this transition?
Anyone with experience of this dance who can help me to understand it and
perhaps also can help me teach it would be a true dance angel. I do not have
access to dancers who I can work this out with in time. The gig is this
Friday.
Rickey Holt,
Fremont, NH
------------------------------
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Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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End of Callers Digest, Vol 67, Issue 8
**************************************
Hi all,
I recently danced Fan in the Doorway by Gene Hubert, called and taught by
Lisa Greenleaf at this years Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend. I have been
asked to see if I can teach and call it at a local dance and I would love to
try, but the notes I have are not enough. If you have taught this dance I
would love your suggestions. We would dance it to The Butterfly a three
part slip-jig. Here is what I have:
A1 Hey ¾ starting with your neighbor by the right shoulder, men go over and
back. I assume that you start the dance with the twos between the ones
facing their neighbors of the opposite gender. Is this correct? How do the
men get over and back in 12 counts, while the women only end up going over
to the other side. I have seen such things elsewhere but the set up was
different.
A2 Swing partner
B1 Again Hey ¾, this time the men start the hey and by the left shoulder.
Same question, how do the men get over and back. This time you end up with
your neighbor. Since at the start of the hey your neighbor is where your
partner was in A1, the answer to how this works in A2 must be the same as it
is for A1
B2 Swing neighbor
C1 Down the hall for 3 counts, turn alone for 3 counts, back up the hall for
3 counts, fold into a circle for 3 counts.
C2 Circle left once for 8 counts and pass through to new neighbors for 4
counts. I assume that turning alone in a down-the-hall four-in-line that
was formed from a neighbor swing sets it up so that your partner is again on
the other side of the set from you. Is that correct? Is there difficulty
getting from the pass through, which is an up and down move, to the hey
which is an across the set move? Do you have hints for the dancers to help
with this transition?
Anyone with experience of this dance who can help me to understand it and
perhaps also can help me teach it would be a true dance angel. I do not have
access to dancers who I can work this out with in time. The gig is this
Friday.
Rickey Holt,
Fremont, NH
Hi,
I am looking for a stand that attaches to a mic stand to hold my
cards. I have seen some callers with one. Does anyone know
what I am talking about and where to purchase one?
Send responses to aawoodall(a)verizon.net.
Thanks.
Andrea
So...I was at a dance yesterday evening and Bob Dalsemer was calling.
We did a dance with a circle R, new N circle L progression, and Bob used
a way to teach it that was elegantly simple and effective, and that I
had never heard anyone else use.
After the circle R 1x, you're on the side with your neighbor, with your
partner across the set from you. Instruction was that you now have one
hand with your neighbor. Take that hand and give it to your partner.
Face new N. Circle L.
It took what (while still a really fun progression) can be a very
"disconnected" progression and reintroduced a connection to your partner
that took you through the progression, and also helped keep folks
oriented by turning with your partner while actually keeping (one or the
other) hand with them the whole time. Suspect that posts like this are
the answer to the "You know you're a caller geek when...." (you get
excited about a teaching tip in a dance). ;-)
On another note from the same dance....does anyone have Traveler's
Welcome by Jim Kitch? We did it last night, and I really enjoyed it,
but I didn't get a chance to stop to write it down until after the dance.
Jack
I ordered mine from Elderly Instruments. It is really great! See here:
http://elderly.com/accessories/items/MSSS.htm
Suzanne
-----Original Message-----
>From: aawoodall <aawoodall(a)verizon.net>
>Sent: Mar 6, 2010 8:35 PM
>To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>Subject: [Callers] card stand for callers
>
>Hi,
>I am looking for a stand that attaches to a mic stand to hold my
>cards. I have seen some callers with one. Does anyone know
>what I am talking about and where to purchase one?
>Send responses to aawoodall(a)verizon.net.
>Thanks.
>Andrea
>_______________________________________________
>Callers mailing list
>Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
I've never called DuQuoin Races, but I frequently use Ted Sannella's CDS Reel, which also has an 8 ct swing that ends in the middle of the phrase.
I always say to the band, "This has an 8ct swing that ends half-way through the phrase in A1, so can you give me tunes with very clear 8 ct chunks in the A? Also, if you can emphasize the endpoint of the swing, and the start of the long lines, it will really help the dancers remember." I also tell the dancers "This part is especially fun when you remember to end the swing just in time to surge forward for the long lines."
Probably because of these two things, the lines are pretty much together and on-time after the swing. (At least, they're as together and on-time as w a 'typically timed" swing that's followed by llf&b.)
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast ME
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
website www.chrissyfowler.com
dance series www.belfastflyingshoes.org
telephone 207-338-0979 cell 603-498-3506
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http://clk.atdmt.com/GBL/go/201469229/direct/01/
I have been trying to work out how Orace Johnson's becket contra works.
I have the dance from the year 2000 syllabus of the New England Dance Legacy
Weekend, in other years also called the Ralph Page Legacy Weekend.
*Du Quoin Races *by Orace Johnson (1991)
As called by: Laura Johannes
Formation: Contra, Becket formation
Reels: *Gravel Walk/Molly Rankin's/Sarah's New Tune *(Sarah Hydorn)
A1- Balance ring, pass through to an ocean wave
And balance again, allemande right 3/4 to form long waves (men facing out,
women in)
A2- Balance, women cross set to where partner is standing as men turn into
the place of the
woman on their right. Form new long waves with the women facing out and the
men in.
Balance, “rotate” again (men walking across set, women looping around to the
right)
B1- Swing partner on the side (the same side you started on)
Circle left halfway, roll away with a half sashay to trade places with
neighbors (across set)
B2- Circle left halfway, roll away with a half sashay to trade places with
partners (along set)
Circle left halfway, and shift left along the set to face new neighbors
To “pass through to an ocean wave," begin to pass through across the set.
Ladies catch each other's left hand and
turn just 1/4 as the gents cross all the way, turn right, and take partners’
right hands to form wavy lines-of-4 across.**
I don't seem to get far as after A1 I have partners beside each other in the
long wavy lines. In A2 the ladies should cross to their partners place. I'm
sure David Smukler hasn't made a mistake in his record of the dance, but I
cant find my mistake. Can anyone help me?
John Tuck
