Re: [Callers] A Unique calling style

I just returned from Pigtown Fling dance weekend outside of Cincinnati, with featured caller Susan Petrick, who has a unique, effective style for teaching dances. During walk-throughs she never stops talking. The time callers often pause and wait for the dancers is instead filled usually with her telling about either the position the dancers will be after the figure, or advice about a flourish or end effects. Thus very few dances, even the more intricate ones, required a second walk-through. Susan noted her pleasant surprise rarely needing a second walk-through, noting the collective skill of the dancers, but her technique contributed. Even if during the walk-through dancers are chatting and miss the figure, they know where they should end up and correctly position themselves. I speculate that if Susan had realized what the collective skill level of the dancers would be, she might have chosen a slightly more challenging set of dances for the two general sessions (Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon) she called. This contrasts with Colin Hume's equally distinctive and effective style of making very witty remarks while teaching a dance to hold the dancers' attention. Callers can usefully copy Susan's technique. I doubt many callers can mimic Colin. Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844 _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers