12 Sep
2013
12 Sep
'13
11:28 a.m.
On Mon, Sep 09, 2013, Grant Goodyear wrote:
Erik Hoffman used to call traveling squares that I always thought worked
very well.(*) He picked dances with main figures that were easy to teach,
high energy, and that quickly built up to include the entire set. He'd
offset the predictable main figure with hash-style breaks. As with pretty
much everything else, a good caller makes all the difference....
One reason I don't like squares at contra dances (and I'm responding here
because of the "hash-style breaks" comment) is that my hearing makes it
*horrible*. Hard enough at regular square dances where good callers make
sure the music is sufficiently under their voice for better hearing --
at contras the music is considered (and is!) important enough that it's
usually mic'd higher.
In addition, my experience is that the average level of enunciated
clarity is significantly lower for contra callers, partly because it just
doesn't matter as much, leading to a feedback loop. (To the point that
even during the walkthrough, without music, for most contra callers, I'm
not really paying much attention to what they say.)
This also applies to live-called and no-walkthrough contras, but at
least with those I can usually catch up quickly enough after two or three
rounds (I'm *very* good with visual and kinesthetic learning).
Another factor that makes squares more difficult is that you're dancing
with eight people. Even a minimally experienced contra dancer knows how
to fix a breakdown in the foursome, just progress and dance with the next
couple. Not possible in a square except for experienced square dancers
(and that goes double with the typical mixer-style square where you
progress partners).
The final factor that kills square dances for me at contras is that
contra calling is almost exclusively pure calls (like MWSD patter).
Squares at contra dances are usually trad singing calls, so picking the
calls out is exponentially more difficult.
As a reminder, my hearing is significantly worse than most people (deaf
with cochlear implant), but balance that against the fact that I'm a
competent and experienced dancer: people with any significant hearing
impairment with less competence/experience are going to have similar
problems. Although the contra community has done way better than the
square and IFD communities at bringing in new blood, it definitely has
aged, and there are probably more people now with hearing impairments.
--
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/
<*> <*> <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html