6 Feb
2008
6 Feb
'08
2:34 p.m.
This happens a lot and I have a couple of approaches to it.
First, if most of the dancers know what they are doing (and there is no
knot of newbies somewhere at the end of a line), I won't worry about
people jumping ahead, as a detailed description is not necessary.
If enough dancers may have a problem with a specific call, I'll be
careful to set it up and explain it before I call it. So, for example
after a ladies chain, I might say "The next call may be difficult for
some. You will have 16 beats of music to cross the set and return to
exactly where you are now, but we will do it in a specific way," Then
after a bit more explanation, or even a demonstration if absolutely
needed, I'll then call "Hey for 4, ladies pass right shoulders" I might
also ask experienced dancers to look out for unsure new dancers and to
help them by tapping their own right or left shoulder to show them which
way to go. Get them involved in making sure it works. Get the new
dancers to expect or ask for help. Make it a team effort and expect all
to do their part so its fun for everyone.
Rich.
Andy Shore remarked on 2/6/2008 1:50 PM:
This may have been covered before - I'm relatively
new to this list
and to contra calling (~6 months) but I'm an experienced MWSD caller
(18 years).
Last weekend I called an open contra dance with a large number of
newcomers. Each time I introduced a new call in a walk-thru some of
the experienced dancers would "jump the gun" and (begin to) do the
call before I could even say "don't do it yet" or "but let me demo (or
explain) it first". This was a problem and a bit awkward to have to
ask them to "undo" or wait for me just a little bit more. It caused
confusion and took up valuable time.
In my MWSD world, I have students for months at a time (learning large
numbers of calls) and they get used to my style of teaching and
introducing something new. I'll say "new call time" to get their
attention and get a chance to explain what they will be doing before
they do it. Experienced dancers ("angels" in MWSD parlance) know not
to jump the gun. I even use a bit of the future tense to indicate that
I'm describing an action but not asking them to do it just yet, e.g.,
"you are going to cast 3/4 and then..." and my students and angels
know that this particular construction from me means "DON'T DO IT JUST
YET!". But they are "trained" this way since they are in a continuing
class setting.
How do you handle this in a contra setting. What language or other
techniques do you use to indicate that you're not quite yet done
talking and you want them to listen just a bit more or perhaps watch a
demo from one foursome?
I'm thinking something like "In a minute, I'm going to ask you to do a
Ladies Chain and what you will be doing is..." (though that's too
wordy for my own taste). I think it is important to name the call
before you describe the action, as this at least clues in the
experienced dancers what they'll be helping on (and it's just good
teaching). I've been to a dance where the caller tried to describe a
star promenade and butterfly whirl without using those terms and the
experienced dancers were confused. But how to keep them from jumping
the gun?
Any insights appreciated!
/Andy Shore
http://andyshore.com/
"Men of few words are the best men" . - King Henry the Fifth (Act III,
Scene II).
"Words, words, words." - Hamlet (Act II, scene ii).
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