I commend the Glen Echo Friday Night Dancers lesson outline to you for a very successful lesson plan. I have no idea what the attendance is like now but 10 years ago when I was dancing/calling/teaching the lesson there would be 25-50 new dancers each week with by a similar number of regulars who came to the lesson to help. The lesson ran from 7:30-8:15 pm and the dance from 8:30-11:30pm.

It is worth noting that the lesson was very light on figures and concentrated on other aspects which were considered much more important for new dancers to have a successful and enjoyable time.. New dancers were encouraged to wear a button that identified them as such and regular dancers were good at inviting dancers with buttons to dance. These buttons were also available for returning dancers who wanted them. It was also considered unacceptable for a caller to have more than 1 walk through!

Michael Barraclough
[currently outside Manchester UK, previously VA/MD and Phoenix. AZ]
On 15/09/2023 12:14, Mary Collins via Contra Callers wrote:
We in Western New York, well some of us, just attended a callers' workshop. The focus was specifically on the "lesson", a term I avoid since we advertise "no lesson needed". 

The attendees each gave figures that should be taught during the 15 - 30 min. "lesson".  They ranged from 4 - 15 + moves. I was actually surprised and dismayed at how much information (and talking at) is shared by some. 

I think that the KISS idea is applicable here. I attend and absorb the George Marshall introductory sessions as often as possible and use his as my model.

Giving weight in circle, alemande, do-si-do, star, circle, right & left through (to get courtsey turn), swing and now I have added positions of Lark & Robin. There are techniques that are not outlined here such as how I teach partnering & progression that are incorporated within the others.

Much of what some wanted to teach IMHO belongs in the dance line where it actually makes sense. I also, when there are beginners in the lines, actually teach a new harder move during the walk through, much I must say to the chagrin of experienced dancers. My belief is that those that don't know, learn, those that do get to help which is what they want to do and those that think they know, may get better.

So now having used many words let's dance! 😁

Mary Collins


On Thu, Sep 14, 2023, 11:14 AM Tony Parkes via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

Bravo, Michael! (I’ve bolded, below, the point on which I want to agree wholeheartedly.) I’ve believed this for years, and had no way of knowing what percentage of active contra callers agreed. I dare to hope that, as Michael is known for writing and advocating difficult sequences, his opinion will carry added weight.

 

Over the decades, I’ve seen the number of contra “basics” increase dramatically – from about 12 in the 1960s, when many groups got started, to at least 36 today. I’ve worried that the modern contra world has been going down the same path as modern “western” squares did. There’s always a gap between what a first-timer can grasp in one night and what a dancer needs to know to be comfortable at a dance series. But if “basics” are continually added, the gap gets ever wider, until a lesson or a series of lessons is needed. Western squares started with 6 lessons in the late 1940s; currently the Plus program (the prevailing club level in most parts of the US) contains 97 “basics” and (coincidentally) is recommended to be taught in 97 hours, or about 50 lessons. (Most clubs insist that their callers take less time, which results in new dancers not learning the calls adequately.)

 

We contra and trad square callers are nowhere near the excesses of MWSD. But even 36 “basics” are too many for an activity that supposedly anyone can join in without lessons. Some sequences – maybe even some moves – should be reserved for workshops. I’m glad to see an influential modern contra caller speaking out on this.

 

Tony Parkes

Billerica, Mass.

www.hands4.com

New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century

(available now)

 

 

From: Michael Fuerst via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2023 4:11 AM
To: Helle Hill <hellehill@yahoo.com>
Cc: Shared Weight Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
Subject: [Callers] Re: New Terminology Question

 

Jeff's suggestion of "facing star" works perfectly, and merits becoming the standard term used for discussions about and written descriptions of dances. However, such occasionally used figures must always be explained during walk-throughs, so the caller can designate, for the duration of the dance, any appropriate name. (I think I have used "funny" or "silly" star in the past.) The point being that dancers should need to understand the names of a dozen or so basic figures (such as F&B, allemande, promenade, star, chain, right and left, circle, shoulders round, hey, and maybe several more) and that callers should need only  basic figures to teach any dance.

 

On Wed, Sep 13, 2023 at 8:58 PM Helle Hill via Contra Callers <contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

With all the changes to the "old" terminology, I am wondering what a "Gypsy Star" is now called.

 

Thank you.

 

Helle Hill

 

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