11 Apr
2011
11 Apr
'11
5:16 p.m.
There are certainly many things that make a caller good or even great. One I
don't find mentioned very often is their role as an entertainer. When I first
started calling I attended a workshop with Fred Park and he emphasized this. It
stuck with me even though I don't think I have ever heard it mentioned by anyone
else.
I don't mean acting strange or telling jokes - but just connecting with the
dancers and having fun. If you can let the dancers see you are enjoying
yourself it is contagious. We do hear of the band and the dancers building
excitement as they 'feed of each other' The same is true between the caller and
the dancers.
If you find yourself paying more attention to what's going on in the card in
your hand than what is happening on the floor - you are not connecting with the
dancers and they notice that.
Relax, have fun and allow the dancers to follow your lead. Think of the really
great callers - they all do this very well. I could name examples - but I would
leave out too many who deserve to be mentioned.
Mac
________________________________
From: barb kirchner <barbkirchner(a)hotmail.com>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Sent: Mon, April 11, 2011 9:41:06 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] What makes a caller a great caller?
also flippant, but true:
good teaching and an open mind.
best comment i ever got "she can holler so pleasantly to get us to do what she
wants!"
so - learn to holler pleasantly.
and it's absolutely true that a very mediocre caller can have a fabulous night
with a good band, but it's darned hard for a caller to overcome a bad band. so
don't forget that the musicians are more important than you are. working WITH
whatever they want to do will almost always lead to the best experience.
good luck!
Date: Mon, 11 Apr 2011 08:54:00 -0500
From: grant(a)grantgoodyear.org
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] What makes a caller a great caller?
On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 3:13 AM, Will Kruse <sideways(a)wcrews.net> wrote:
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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?
What makes a great caller? A great band.
Okay, that's the flippant answer, although there's a certain amount of truth
to it. If the band is awesome, the caller can just get out of the way, and
everything will work for an awesome evening. (That's even more true if
there's a great crowd, as well. The special event that brings out all of
the experienced dancers, and greatly increases the ratio of experienced to
beginner dancers, is easy to call.)
I'm a good caller, but not a great one. The great callers I know (Lisa
Greenleaf, Chris Kelly, Linda Leslie, and Joseph Pimental, to name just
four) can (seemingly) effortlessly fix a set that's just starting to fail
with a few gentle words over the microphone. They can miscall a dance (even
the great ones are human) and fix it on the fly. They're not only good
teachers of the dances, style, and etiquette, but also in tune with the
crowd to know both when and what to teach. And then there's usually
something extra special about each one. Chris Kelly exudes calm, even in
the midst of a train wreck, without reducing the energy level of the dance.
Joseph has a program for the evening, a backup program, and a mental set of
safety-net dances, but the dancers never know because he'll make the night
awesome fun regardless. Etcetera.
-Grant-
--
Grant Goodyear
web: http://www.grantgoodyear.org
e-mail: grant(a)grantgoodyear.org
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