17 Dec
2009
17 Dec
'09
6:57 p.m.
What happens when the cubs don't think they're cubs any more, but are? I
think that was possibly the problem that Lindsay brought up.
In other words, what is the proper way for the dance leadership to get
callers to continue to practice and learn? I'm guessing the very best
callers do that anyway, and the newish callers do it because they have to,
but what can we do to get people who have become comfortable with their
skill level but are not actually doing the kind of job we want, to get
excited again about "continuous improvement"?
M
E
On Thu, Dec 17, 2009 at 1:12 PM, Laur <lcpgr(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
Keeping cubs together sharing an evening with each
taking turns managing
the programing for an evening - less of an open mic and more of an
multi-caller event - helps on a number of levels.
Laurie
--- On Wed, 12/16/09, Lindsay Morris <lindsay(a)tsmworks.com> wrote:
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--
For the good are always the merry,
Save by an evil chance,
And the merry love the fiddle
And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
From: Lindsay Morris
<lindsay(a)tsmworks.com>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Cub Callers
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2009, 2:13 PM
Could be that we just put the cubs
into the rotation too early.
Sad to trash the democratic freewheeling nature of some
groups, but maybe we
need a vetting committee - or some less formal bar to
people getting up on
stage.
Lindsay Morris
Principal
TSMworks
Tel. 1-859-539-9900
lindsay(a)tsmworks.com
On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 2:06 PM, Martha Edwards <
meedwards(a)westendweb.com>wroteote:
How bad would it have been to have the board
basically
put its foot down
and, after one of the not-very-great evenings,
suggest
that the next time
that person is asked to call, they prepare just
half a
night, or a third of
a night?
I'm curious - how did you "bring along" the new
callers? Was there
a
teacher/student relationship, or more of a
peer-to-peer setup? I ask
because
we have a bunch of cubs - I'm one of them - and it's
always been
peer-to-peer, with input from experienced callers
only
from time to time.
To
a certain extent, we critique each other. When one of
us manages to screw
up, we have a friendly enough atmosphere at our
Calling Parties that we can
admit it, figure out what to do better, and move
on.
We've been at it for
almost two years, and are only slowly moving into
the
rotation, mostly at
shared caller nights until someone is
"ready", and
even then, not as often
as the regular callers.
So far, it seems to be working. I hope that we don't
develop a situation
such as the one you described! We should remain
on our
toes, just in case.
Interestingly, we previously had a couple of regular
callers whose dances
broke down often enough that it was becoming
noticeable, but after the cub
callers started calling, it happened less often!
I'd
like to think that the
improvement was less from the competition than
from
the fact that more
people were paying attention to the callers'
art, and
so what had become
somewhat routine took on renewed energy.
M
E
On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 9:48 AM, Lindsay Morris <lindsay(a)tsmworks.com
half-a-dozen "cub callers"
a few
wrote:
> Our dance group brought along a group of > years ago.
>
> It was a bad thing.
>
> After they got into the calling rotation at our
weekly dance, they never
> wanted to get off, of course.
> Our really good callers got to call less often;
the new callers only got
to
> call a dance once every 3 months, so they never
got any better. The
dance
> was plagued with inexperienced and not-very-great
calling for years.
>
> Sorry to offer problems without solutions, but
this well-intentioned
> debacle
> has stayed on my mind. Seem like this is the
place to share the
> "cub-callers" problem.
>
>
> Lindsay Morris
> Principal
> TSMworks
> Tel. 1-859-539-9900
> lindsay(a)tsmworks.com
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 10:42 AM, Delia Clark
<delia_clark(a)comcast.net
> >wrote:
>
> > David,
> > Let's do one of these for VT/NH!
Aren't you just the guy to
organize
> it!!
> > ;-) OK, I would help -- how about you
put me in charge of organizing
> > supplies for the schmoozing part!
> > Delia
> >
> > On Dec 15, 2009, at 9:25 PM, Katy Heine
wrote:
> >
> > Hi, David--
> >>
> >> Ever since the "Ted's Triplets" marathon
eight years
ago, we in
Central
> >> New
> >> York have had an annual callers'
gathering on different themes.
These
> have
> >> been more an opportunity to share
repertoire than for older, more
> >> experienced callers to mentor
younger,
less experienced callers--so
> really
> >> not a parallel to what you're talking
about, but maybe of
interest
> anyway.
> >>
> >> The topics over the years have included
dances in unusual
formations;
> >> "living room dances"
(i.e., dances for
small numbers of people); the
> Gene
> >> Hubert legacy; English for contra dance
callers; and calling for
> community
> >> dances, weddings, and one-night-stands.
The next one (March 6) will
be
> >> "Zesty Contras," which
will be dances
from Larry Jennings' first book.
> >> (Many
> >> of us have the book on our shelves but
have not actually mined it
for
> the
> >> gems that assuredly lie within.)
> >>
> >> These annual workshops are a great
opportunity for the community of
> >> regional
> >> callers to come together to schmooze,
share, and enjoy each
other's
> >> company.
> >> I strongly encourage callers everywhere
to give it a try!
> >>
> >> --Katy Heine
> >>
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net
> >> [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net]
On Behalf Of David
Millstone
> >> Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 6:48
PM
> >> To: Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> >> Subject: [Callers] Callers' workshop
> >>
> >> Dear fellow dance callers,
> >>
> >> I have an opportunity coming up next
spring to lead a day-long
workshop
> >> for
> >> dance callers. It'll be a small group,
perhaps 10-12 people,
with a
> range
> >> of
> >> experience. Some will have had only 2-4
years of active calling
while
> >> others
> >> may
> >> have had 20 years or more. These will be
folks who are comfortable
with
> >> contras
> >> and with traditional squares. They will
know each other already.
They're
> >> open to
> >> a wide variety of topics and teaching
methods.
> >>
> >> I've been invited to address just about
any topics that are near
and
> dear
> >> to
> >> me,
> >> so I'm relishing this prospect.
> >>
> >> At the same time, I'd like not to spend
an entire day on a
soapbox.
With
> >> that in
> >> mind, I'm soliciting opinions from this
group-- rather than,
say, the
> >> trad.dance.callers listserv--
because
this Shared Weight group
includes
> >> some
> >> callers on the less experienced end of
the spectrum.
> >>
> >> So, what are topics that _you_ would
like to see in a workshop?
Assuming
> >> that
> >> one already has the nuts and bolts of
programming an evening,
teaching
a
> >> dance,
> >> and delivering the calls in good
fashion, what skills would be
useful
to
> >> address?
> >>
> >> Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
> >>
> >> David Millstone
> >> Lebanon, NH
> >>
_______________________________________________
> >> Callers mailing list
> >> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> >>
> >>
> >>
_______________________________________________
> >> Callers mailing list
> >> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> >>
> >
> >
<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
> >
> > Delia Clark
> > PO Box 45
> > Taftsville, VT 05073
> > 802-457-2075
> > delia_clark(a)comcast.net
> >
> >
> >
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>
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>
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--
For the good are always the merry,
Save by an evil chance,
And the merry love the fiddle
And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
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