[Callers] Re: actual timing of calls for hey for four

-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Re: [Callers] Re: actual timing of calls for hey for four Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2020 14:23:10 -0400 From: Katherine Kitching <kat(a)outdooractive.ca> To: contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Hi all, wanted to thank everyone for all the super varied/interesting and helpful feedback and suggestions! I also wanted to report that my first Hey went very well on Saturday night. What I ended up doing was creating 2 "practice lines" in the centre of our big teaching circle (I always teach new figures in a big circle) - which each had 3 people set up in a line with generous space between, and first  I walked through one of those lines myself starting first from the middle, to demo how the Raven would proceed, and then from one end to show how the Lark would proceed -- both to 16 counts -- showing how I passed the person in the middle by the right shoulder and the people on the ends by the left shoulder, and explaining how in reality everyone is moving so there won't actually be a person to walk around at the ends, but looping around that stationary person in the practice line gives you a feel for how to do the figure. Then I brought in a fourth person into the practice line and actually got everyone to move at once, to demo how the Hey works (which blew the new people's minds, they were laughing at how complicated it looked compared to when 3 of the four people had been standing still) Then I offered those who had never done a hey before the chance to try it with the other 3 ppl being stationary, encouraging Ravens to try from the middle and Larks to try from an end, to simulate what they'd be experiencing in the dance... So that was neat, cause those who wanted to try got to try, and those who are visual learners and felt that they got the concept just from my demo, along with those who have already done a hey before, didn't have to do it....  - and having two practice lines sped things up and took attention off everyone just watching one person (I may actually do 3 practice lines in the future!) Then when everyone got into their contra lines and we got to the Hey part in the walk through (after a Raven's chain)  I used the patter that you all gave feedback on for a couple of walkthroughs... (but also emphasized that you could mess up the weaving all you wanted to, and it didn't matter as long as you got back to your partner for a bal and swing at the end of the 16 counts - that was probably the most helpful thing for people to grasp). It looked a bit rough during the walkthroughs but everyone indeed made it back "home" on time for the swing, and then as the dance progressed everyone nailed it eventually. During the dance I used parts of the patter sometimes, but by the end just said "into the Hey!" and it was all good. I enjoy that patter though - like I said our previous caller did it and it has a nice feel to it.  I got confirmation from our old caller that he did the patter concurrently with each sub-figure of they hey, rather than preceding them. We do do a lot of talking at our dances, with so many beginners each time we basically never stop calling (or maybe we let people muddle through without calls for the very last time through some dances - but I assure you, many people falter without the instruction!) -- anyhow I think our group is pretty used to dancing with lots of verbiage accompanying the music, for better or for worse :) - thanks again!! Learned a lot from all you wrote, and I may try Diane's approach below in the future!! Also loved the idea that just came in this morning to say "pass right with nobody" at the ends, to give an idea of how to walk that final loop... Kat in Halifax Diane Silver via Contra Callers wrote on 2/28/2020 3:15 PM: