Re: [Callers] Calling from memory?

I am pleased to see this topic get some attention.  I have always tried to call without cards.  I go over all my dances and alternates before the evening starts.  Some I have memorized and some I am just familiar with enough to get by with a quick review while the dancers are lining up for the next dance.  By thinking of the whole dance where each piece has a purpose, rather than a series of unrelated figures they are much easier to remember - and remember to think about the transitions from one move to the next - that is what the dance is really all about.  When I do forget something - it is usually a figure that doesn't change the dancer's position and seems to have no real purpose other than to use up more music (like LL forward and back in some dances - but not in all of them). Easiest to remember are those with a good story line and a distinctive figure - and simple one night stand types.  The plain vanilla ones are not as easy.  I do find that many of the dances are committed to memory after I have called them from a short review a few times.  A few years ago a caller cancelled on us and we did not get the message until 5 minutes after we were supposed to start.  I just jumped on stage and started calling from memory and made it through the whole evening programming on the fly.  I got lots of compliments and then realized the dances I have memorized are most of my favorites - so it was sort of a greatest hits night. Over the past few years we have developed several new callers in our community.  I have encouraged them to reduce their reliance on cards with very limited success.  I think they are capable but lack the confidence to try on just a couple dances each evening.  The freedom you get to work with the dancers is worth the effort.  It is surprising that reading off a card is just as prone to mistakes as calling from long or short term memory. I was in a workshop with Fred Park when I first started calling where he spoke of the role of the caller as a performer.  If you attend a play where the actors walk around reading from scripts that would certainly diminish the entertainment value.  I feel the same is true (to a lesser extent) for the caller. Mac McKeever ________________________________ From: Maia McCormick <maia.mcc(a)gmail.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 2:12 PM Subject: [Callers] Calling from memory? Do you do it? Or use cards? Do you think it's important to commit dances to memory? Do you memorize your entire collection, or just a few? (And if just a few, which sorts of dances are the most prudent to memorize?) Peace, Maia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers