[Callers] Re: Dance Tempos

The Tempo Question...enough to start religious wars, so please let's tread lightly in replies! There are regional/style, complexity, and agility components. Dances in the northeastern US, simple dances called to non-beginners, and dances with more agile dancers tend to go faster. These are tendencies, not rules. There are plenty of slower-tempo dances in the North that are sprinkled in among the high-tempo dances, but fewer high-tempo dances (120 bpm typical) in the South. Flourishes are more frequent and more complex in the South, which may account for the tempo difference. The faster dances, no matter where they are, tend to be those with more agile dancers, but fully agile dances in the South are often 115 typical. I'm basing this on spending several years about 10-15 years ago counting tempos all over the East Coast, trying to figure out why I found dances in certain areas more fulfilling than dances elsewhere. Turns out that I get a much bigger runner's high (dopamine/adrenaline release) at 120 than at 115. I don't know if that's everyone's experience or just mine, nor how important a runner's high is for others. Of course, those Southern dancers are quite happy and any problem is mine. And no, I don't have a file with all the counts. It was an informal, unscientific study done as I was dancing; I didn't write them down. I've been instructed in workshops by Asheville callers that dance tempo is 115 and that more would send people to the sidelines. I've been instructed by New England callers that it's 120 typical, with a few much-faster dances that could be followed by resting dances down around 115 or so. That's regional/style preference. And, yes, at least one Southern caller insists on 120, for which I am eternally grateful! Again, these are tendencies, not laws. Some communities and some callers really prefer complex dances done more slowly (sometimes much more slowly, depending on agility), and clearly one's agility plays into tempo preference, especially when well into physical decline, whether due to age or other factors. Very agile dancers tend to like it faster. Down here in Florida, most dances peak at around 115, with maybe one faster dance done later in the evening. Some are even slower, though that's been less common since the pandemic. The Southern location and the large number of much-older dancers makes this a hard pattern to break, if that's your goal. Some dances have the "moral" goal of dancing slowly enough to include literally everyone. But, they don't include me, or others like me. Sure, I can dance at 105, but I have low interest in it. While that's a choice rather than exclusion due to capability, it's just as effective. The dance product I most want to participate in doesn't exist consistently in Florida, and is rare in the South. So, I decided to start a dance series in Orlando, where I live (visit contraknights.org). The idea is to build a community around a dance product rather than fitting a dance product to a community. My original plan to have a student-oriented campus group and an inclusive in-town group got us on our feet to establish the in-town group, but fell apart when some experienced community dancers told the students how to behave and the students decided as a group to stop coming to the in-town dance (some still come, but it was about 10-15 before and now it's maybe 3-5). I have had careful and detailed conversation with all the callers and bands about the tempo strategy. The typical tempo should be 120, with some variation. Do not slow down, even if dancers ask for it. Send them to me if they persist. Yes, I expect some will not be interested in staying. But, the energetic dancers we're trying to attract will not stay (or at least won't come back) for slow dancing. Call dances simple enough to work with that, with a lot of new dancers. Keep a positive attitude when talking about it, and refer anyone really upset to me (I'd give them a refund, but nobody has come). The good news is that we've had over 40 dancers for the first several events of the season! And, one of the callers did call fast, simple dances, which people absolutely loved. However another caller asked the band to slow down, despite my pre-dance instructions. I'm guessing their simple dances were not simple enough and they didn't have simpler, so they had no option but to slow it down, because the dances weren't working. The band asked for clarification and I told them the caller is in charge. So, that, in a (coco)nut shell, is my tempo saga, at least as it stands to date. Is it possible to establish Northern contra tempo in south-of-the-South Florida? The next episode is Friday, and I'm calling, so we'll see how it goes. I'm sure I've said things that some disagree with. Please be gentle in replies. Thanks, --jh-- On Tue, Sep 19, 2023 at 8:10 PM Katherine Kitching via Contra Callers < contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: