23 Apr
2015
23 Apr
'15
1:59 a.m.
On the question of paying attention:
A while back, in one of these e-groups, someone pointed out that we
contra dancers keep talking about "community." This post pointed out
that we contra dancers go to a dance, and, often forsaking applause (yet
another topic...), run off to find our next partner and line up for a
dance. This posting compared that to country-western dance, or swing
dance, where they would sit around a table and talk, get to know others
through chatting, and not dance every dance, but have other social
things happen. It got me to thinking:
Often, after people have lined up, they talk with each other, their
partner, their minor set, or other people around them. Often callers
strive to get everyone to shut-up so they can start the dance. I've come
to believe this time of conversation is the main time we get to know a
little about each other and is thus a "community building time."
My practice now is to say into the mic in a regular talking voice, "Are
you ready?" If the general banter keeps going on, I wait a couple beats,
and say, again, "Are you ready?" After two to four times of asking the
question, someone will say, "Yes!" Then another might do a loud,
"Shhhh!" When people finally quiet down, I teach the dance.
~erik hoffman
oakland, ca
On 8/4/2014 10:26 AM, barb kirchner via Callers wrote:
sometimes when dancers aren't paying attention,
it's because there are
too many other things going on in the hall.
sometimes it's the band warming up or sound checking, but i've seen
all kinds of things going on - bake sales, people on their mobile
devices, a group of beginners coming in who don't yet know dance
etiquette, or maybe the dancers are having trouble hearing you.
sometimes musicians talk loudly behind the caller (i'm a musician and
a caller) and it's hard to understand the caller because the chatter
can be heard through mics or pick-ups.
you can't fix some of those things, but you can address retail events
in the hall, cell phones, sound system, etc
are your experienced dancers modelling good dance etiquette? are you
teaching efficiently, or are you spending so much time talking that
people lose interest?
sometimes, i just start the walkthru anyway. as soon as people
realize that most people are starting to swing, they get a little more
interested :-)
cheers,
barb
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Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 13:05:57 -0400
To: maia.mcc(a)gmail.com
CC: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention
From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
It depends why the dancers aren't paying attention. Are there lots of
experienced dancers, such that the walkthrough isn't really necessary?
Are they ignoring walkthroughs the first time through because they
know there will be a second one? Are they just having a lot of fun
with their friends and prioritizing that above listening to the
caller? How does the dance go once it starts?
A few strategies I might try:
* Not bother with the walkthroughs entirely. If the crowd is ignoring
the walkthroughs because as a whole they don't need them, then just
call the dance. This means only picking dances that can be called
no-walkthrough, but there are still a lot to choose from.
* Give the dancers a bit longer between dances before starting the
walkthrough. If they're chatting with neighbors and catching up, let
them do that for a bit. Then once you start the walkthrough go
quickly.
* Ask the band for rolling starts, where they play music under the
walkthrough. This makes it harder for people to talk and feels more
like dancing. You don't have time to explain complex things, so you
have to give that up, but it's much more forgiving than straight-up
no-walkthrough.
On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers
<callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> At Falcon Ridge this weekend, I saw a couple of different styles
of dealing
> with that frustrating state of affairs when
50%+ of the hall just
isn't
> paying attention to the walk-through.
I'm curious if you all have any
> particular strategies you employ here, thoughts on how to deal
with this,
how to
get the attention of the hall, etc.
In dance,
Maia
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