Re: [Callers] Medleys

The Medley is a special case of the "no walk-through" slot which incorporates more than one dance. For my money, a nice mini-medley is three dances coordinated with the three tunes that the band plays. By "coordinated" I only mean that when the tune changes, the dance sequence changes, too. When do you program them? During an "Experienced Only" evening, anytime (except maybe the first slot, when the sound system is still being balanced). During a community dance (lot of beginners -- mixed/low level of dancing), never. The general rule is that you want to ADD fun, excitement, spontaneity and energy to the event. If you wind up adding frustration, panic, anxiety and failure to the event, then you have chosen the slot poorly. Since they are no-walk-thru, you don't teach them, per se. However, excellent and special calling is required of no-walk-thru dances. I have led a workshop at NEFFA describing how you do this, and here are some highlight recommendations: 1. Get the call out early, and fill in with patter to preserve the timing. Usual prompt: ___ ___ ___ ___ THOSE two LAdies CHAIN acROSS No walk-thru: ___ ___ ___ ___ LAdies CHAIN acROSS the SET 2. Put recovery information in between calls: PARTner SWING [ on the men's home side ] 3. Keep the calls up, especially for similar sequences. Make sure you select material that is achievable by you (as a caller) and the dancers without a walk-thru. Keep it straightforward (embracing contra tropes) and fun. Dan