29 Dec
2010
29 Dec
'10
11:28 a.m.
Oy. Truncated swing + inscrutable tune + nervous caller? Yeah, that one
often = off the music.
This is where having an experienced band can really help -- if the
bandleader is watching and has "marked" the last/first moves in his/her
head, and if they're comfortable playing extra A's or B's or skipping a
phrase, they can help you get back on.
There's lots of ways to make this happen - hand signals for 1, 2, A, B, Top,
and Extra are useful if you're comfortable with that sort of thing, but
usually? We in the band can smell your fear and see the whites of your eyes
and usually know when something's up, so if you stare imploringly at us
while Very Clearly Enunciating
"Here comes the top of the dance, so allemande your new neighbor NOW"
... we'll get it.
-Amy
PS : The funny thing is, the aspiring "hot" bands can't always adjust
easily
-- they've got cool arrangements already set, or they only ever play for
high-level dances. Us old fart bottom-feeder folks who play for
local/beginner/family/community/one-shot dances are used to having to
compensate for on-the-floor weirdness, and the uber-experienced top bands
can handle anything, but the ones on the way up sometimes have a hard time
adjusting. Be ready to help them.)
PPS: If you're doing a medley with one caller and can't alternate voices,
have the band switch tonalities (major to minor or vv) when they change
tunes, it'll provide a good obvious contrast.
On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 8:33 PM, Linda Mrosko <elmerosko(a)gmail.com> wrote:
Good advance. I believe 5 callers will work just as
well as 6, calling
each
dance 5x through. If you're just calling it yourself, 2-3 dances work just
fine. If you are mixing Improper w/Becket, I recommend you put the Becket
last.
When I was still a rather "green" caller at a dance weekend, I was asked to
call dance #4. Dance #1 & 2 went well, but the caller for dance #3 didn't
study his dance and had the dancers do a long swing instead of a short
swing, so we were instantly off the music. I knew what was happening
because I was watching the dance that caller #3 was screwing up and thought
I could fix it. About halfway through his turn, he realized he had been
calling the swing wrong and tried to "fix" it. I was instantly lost on how
to correct the problem and the experienced caller leading this caller
challenge wasn't much help. It helps to have an experienced leader listen
to the calling "as well as" the tunes to help correct mistakes like this.
On Tue, Dec 28, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Lisa Greenleaf <laleaf(a)verizon.net>
wrote:
I'm sending along my modified guidelines for
the New England Folk
Festival
medleys,
which are comprised of 6 dances done 6 times through each (the last is
done
either 5 or 7). The 21 minute medley was
originated at Neffa by caller
Susan Elberger.
--Lisa Greenleaf
Neffa Contra Medley reminders
1. You need to have 6 callers, one for each dance. We’ve found that
it’s
best to have 3 women and 3 men alternating, so
that there is good vocal
distinction between callers. The callers need to be competent in this
format. In years past, some callers have frozen or have not worked out
their word choices to fit the format. You can have only 3 or 4 callers
if you space them in such a way that each dance is called by a
'distinctly difernt voice.
2. If you are choreographing as a group, remember to strive for flow
from
one dance to the next. It’s OK to give the last
round of one of the
dances
a different ending so that it can go into the
next dance (ie you can
manipulate the last round so you can go from proper to improper or
improper
to Becket), but please do this gimmick only once
in the medley. There
are
no walk throughs, so complex sequences are not
appropriate.
Just the fact that the medley is a half hour of non-stop dancing is a
thrill
for most folks, although they do enjoy mastering the transitions from one
dance to the other.
3. Send a draft of the medley to your callers and any advisors.
Once you receive approval on your sequences,
send out the medley to your callers. Ask them which dances
they would feel comfortable calling.
4. Assign dances to the callers. Remind callers of the no-walk thru
format
and
advise them to writeout their cues ahead of time, paying attention to
timing. The first time
through the dance the calls must come extra early!
5. Consult with your band leader for tune selection. The band will play
a
total of 6 tunes, each 6 times through (the last
dance is either 5 or 7
times). it can often be effective to mix jigs and reels, but this
depends
on the dances and on the band. In general, you
do want to work towards a
climax by the last dance. However, bands need to be aware that
when they change tunes, the dancers really have to
be able to hear the caller, so this is not the time for the horn or drum
section (!) to
play loudly. There may be time for a waltz, so make sure the
band is ready for it; it will probably be very short.
6. Make sure your performers know where to meet you and at what time.
Have
extra copies of the medley available.
7. Talk with the sound man before you go on. It may be helpful to list
the
callers in order of appearance and make notes about soft voices.
Our sound guys have done this before, so they're usually prepared, but
it never hurts to check.
8. As the sets are forming, remind the dancers that the session is rated
X
for expereinced, the dances will not be taught
and that they will keep
the
same partner for the next 23 minutes or so. Each
dance will be called 6
times and the 6th time they will hear a new voice, which is the cue to
pay
attention as the next sequence will be a new
dance. Encourage them to
move
down and get in the correct formation (hands 4,
1s crossed over, eg).
Most
dancers are familiar with the medley, so there is
no need for lengthy
explanations. It’s a nice idea to introduce the band and the callers, or
you may do this afterward.
9. Designate a counter and band cuer to keep track of how many times
through each dance (usually it’s the last caller who does this). A
notebook
with flip pages with numbers 1-6 is very helpful; put the 6th page and
number on a different color as a visual cue for the band.
Lisa
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--
*Looking forward,
Linda S. Mrosko
7302 CR 2829
Mabank, Texas 75156
(903) 451-5535 (H)
(903) 288-4401 (cell)
www.towerwebsites.com/dancinglinda
*"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least
once."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
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