Re: [Callers] "Techno" / "Crossover" (etc) Musician & Callers Alert

@Greg and other non-facebook users: Putting on "Techno" contra dances - my experience over the last 2 years Will Loving April 3, 2013 at 1:31pm The following is in response to a question on the Contra Dance FB page about how to plan/run/manage a "techno" contra dance. Introduction Over the last couple of years I've organized a number of dance events, including ContraEvolution, which often go by the name "techno" contra dance in the Northeast US but also are referred to as "Crossover", "Livetronica", "Electro-acoustic", and, for fully pre-recorded music events, "Electroflow" in other areas. (thanks to Peter Clark for some of those terms.) When other contra dance organizers ask me about putting on one of these dances I try to start with giving them a sense of what dancers think of or expect and then follow up with the some important notes on logistics, safety and technical issues. There are two main components that I think distinguish these dances from a more traditional contra dance: 1) music that includes one or more of the following: looping, beat mixes, sampling, remixing, unusual instrumentation, non-32-bar music, the use of non-traditional music or musical references, particularly in terms of samples; 2) lowered lights and "club" or "theatrical" style lighting. Music In my experience, what is considered "techno" or "crossover" music runs the gamut from Perpetual e-Motion on one end of the spectrum, where the music is entirely live but there is extensive use of electronics to modify and loop the music, to what Jeremiah Phillip Seligman and Eileen Thorsos do, using fully pre-recorded music tracks. (Eileen, to my knowledge uses more traditional though still very modern music such as the Peatbog Fairies, while Jeremiah mostly works with Top 40 remixes. I believe Jeremiah also sometimes does some remixing on the spot). In between those two extremes are groups like Firecloud (Julie Vallimont's group) and Phase X (Christopher Jacoby's group) which use pre-mixed samples, beats loops but then play lives instruments such as keyboard, fiddle and guitar on top of that. Firecloud also recently added an effects artist DJ Nanocannon (Andrew Hylinsky) who is creating and adding electronic effects live and in coordination with the music and the dance. I would say that the biggest considerations around music are the additional challenges for the caller and the loss of spontaneity that comes with a fully pre-recorded gig. Having an experienced caller is very important, especially if your music source is still figuring out what they are doing. The music is frequently not 32-bar square and it sometimes drops down to just a beat loop, so for the caller and the dancers there is no clear A1 to start the dance again. Callers, including very experienced ones, have sometimes had to resort to counting, though the musicians sometimes have electronic ways of counting the beats and tracking the start of the dance. The lack of clear A1, A2, B1, B2 as with more traditional music also means that the caller may need to call longer before dropping out, will need to be ready to jump back again if they see things starting to fall apart across a darkened room, and may in fact have to simply call all the way through on most dances (also see note below on higher proportion of inexperienced dancers). The other major concern about some techno dances is the potential loss of that magical interplay between musicians, caller and dancers that happens with live music. With fully pre-recorded or DJed music, that ability for the band and caller to inspire and be inspired by the dancers is lost. It is a loss not just for the dancers but also for the caller who may wind up sitting by her or himself on the stage because the person doing music has joined the dance knowing that the recording will eventually end on it's own. (This had a very dispiriting effect on at least one very experienced caller that I know.) This of course is only an issue with fully pre-recorded music and the positive side of the tradeoff is that dancers get to dance to current music that they know and often will sing along with, which is really fun. For the Downtown Amherst series, we provide a mix of "techno" experiences including occasional fully recorded music events, but in terms of programming, our organizing committee leans toward music that includes live instruments in additional to electronic and or pre-recorded sources. "Club" or "Theatrical" Lighting For lighting, we learned early on to avoid bright flashes like strobes and fog. We also make sure to have background "wash" lighting along the walls and near the sitting area using torchieres and PAR cans turned toward the walls. Our lights are heavy on Black lights (I highly recommend the Chauvet brand panels, available new or on eBay) and dot lasers that create swirling patterns on the ceiling and walls. Depending on who is managing the lighting we've also had various other kinds of lasers that make swirling colored patterns and beams. You can find someone locally who does this kind of things for a living, just be clear with them about things like fog and strobes. You will lose dancers if you have either of those present. The biggest issue about lights is that many techno dances are simply too dark. This is a problem for both the callers and the dancers. The callers cannot see well enough to be able to track what's going on, even during the walkthrough, and have expressly communicated that to me. And, the dancers cannot see each other well enough to dance safely. The safety issue is of particular concern because techno dances tend to attract a high proportion of new and novice dancers who often have a hard time maintaining position and knowing where to go even in a fully lit room. Techno dances also attract a higher number of dancers who will try flourishes such as extravagant dips at inadvisable times and without good awareness of their fellow dancers. They will then be imitated by the very new and less experienced dancers who want to try that very cool move they just saw someone do. Mix all that together in a dark and crowded room and you will definitely have the potential for more, and more severe, injuries. Having seen dancers seriously injured and knocked nearly unconscious in fully lit rooms, it's important to seek a balance between fun club lighting and enough light for both the callers and dancers to see each other well and stay oriented on the floor. Black lights are really fun if you can get enough of them going. They light up people's clothing (you can include a mention of that in the publicity - "wear you best black light clothing") and teeth and make it easier to see. We have a stack of yellow highlighters near the door and on the stage for anyone who wants to write or draw on their skin (many do) and people also bring glow bracelets and necklaces. At our annual ContraEvolution event, we also had Eve Christoph doing body painting with UV-reactive paints which was really fun. Other Considerations: Sound Equipment and Volume For any techno event, you should have a good sub-woofer. If you don't normally use one for your dances you should get one for any techno dance you put on. Check with the musician(s) as they sometimes have their own and if they don't or can't bring it to your gig you should rent one. Having heart-thumping sub-bass is really part of the "techno" sound environment. For ContraEvolution 2012 at the Guiding Star Grange, Ed Howe (who does professional sound as well as being half of Perpetual e-Motion) actually setup two sub-woofers. Having a sub-woofer or doing a "techno" contra dance does not however mean that the sound needs to be overly loud. Properly done sound can provide the thump of the bass line and the beauty of the live music without reaching a decibel level that leaves people heads hurting. Badly done sound - electronic or traditional, even at a reduced volume can still feel "too loud" because it's not balanced properly. That means you need to have a knowledgeable sound person for your techno dance, someone who really knows what they are doing and how to fine-tune for your hall. Ed Howe, Bob Mills and Dan Richardson are masters of this but there are many others who have the knowledge and experience to make it sound great at the lowest necessary level. Be in communication with the performers about volume and your expectations be aware that the musicians often have the ability to adjust gain before it hits the sound board. You may find it louder than intended even though the board settings haven't changed. Additional Thoughts and Comments Age: Is cross-over or "techno" contra only for younger dancers? I can answer that with an unequivocal "no". While marrying the words "techno" and "contra" and "dance" together is a definite draw for younger dancers, we have dancers of all ages and experience level coming to these dances. At last nights Downtown Amherst techno dance with Ed Howe and Julie Vallimont playing, we acknowledged and honored the 80th birthday of John Leonard who has been a regular at our dance. And I know that we have at least one other octogenarian as well as plenty of people in their 40s through 70s. They are welcomed and appreciated by our younger dancers. Attracting younger/newer dancers: This really a much longer discussion, but I get asked this question a lot so I'll just put it out two questions for you to consider: 1) How many people under 30 or 35 do you have on your organizing committee? I think it really comes down to that. If you have young people who are involved and have a say and a stake in how the dances run then you will see more of them at your dances. The Downtown Amherst Organizing Committee has roughly eight members. I'm 56 and the rest are under 30. Publicity is a good way to start. I know of one dance that started attracting many younger dancers after an under 25-year-old took over doing publicity. 2) Is your dance located where students can easily get to it and get home by walking or reliable bus access (especially late at night)? This is also key, especially as gas prices get higher. You may wish to consider finding another location closer to students and young people and either alternating the location or running a second dance each month in a more student/young people friendly location. Doing outreach to Universities and Colleges is also a good idea. Offer a discount if they bring a van load, go to the college and run an on-campus intro dance, get listed in the off-campus activities listings, and most importantly, find someone on-campus who is willing to organize and promote and possibly learn to drive the van. Appendix & Other references Musical Performers This is a short list of the folks I know of who play or call for techno dances. Please message me with additional performers that you consider to be "techno" oriented and where they are based. The caller list is simply those that I know of who have done and enjoy techno dances (not all callers do). Any experienced caller could do one I'm sure if they were interested. Music DJ Improper (Jeremiah Phillip Seligman - DC Area) Ed Howe & Julie Vallimont Duo (Boston/Maine) Firecloud (Julie Vallimont, Andy Reiner, Andrew Hylinsky - Boston Area) Jordy Williams (Asheville, NC) Julie Vallimont & Max Newman Duo (Boston Area) Perpetual e-Motion (John Cote, Ed Howe - from Maine) Phase X (Christopher Jacoby - NJ/NY Area) Callers Brian Hamshar (VA) Clinton Ross (TN/NC) Diane Silver (NC) Donna Hunt (Phila., PA) Eric Black (CA) Erik Erhardt (CO) Janine Smith (MD area) Jesse Edgerton (NC/TN) Laura Winslow (NJ?) Lisa Greenleaf (MA) Maggie Jo Saylor (NC) Noah Grunzweig (OR) Ron Blechner (MA) Steve Zakon-Anderson (NH) Tina Fields (CO) Wendy Graham (CO) Will Mentor (NH) For an interesting history of the techno contra evolution, see Alex Krogh-Grabbe's CDSS blog post at: http://blog.cdss.org/2011/06/crossover-contra-dancing-a-recent-history/ Also check out Ryan's Contrasyncretist blog at: http://www.contrasyncretist.com --------------- Thanks to Ron Blechner, Peter Clark and Alex Krogh-Grabbe for input and suggestions on this article. On Wed, Jul 24, 2013 at 8:14 PM, Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> wrote: