22 Jan
2025
22 Jan
'25
2:49 a.m.
My first calling gig was accidental. It was at a fairly laid back folk
festival, where even the organised events were arranged ad hoc.
It was time for the evening dance, but the musicians had been jamming
all day and were having their dinner. A budding concertina player
rounded up some musicians of similar ability, then gave me a microphone
and told me to call. The only calling I had done was an occasional dance
at a dance class. With no notes, or preparation, I called the entire
evening
from memory and had a blast (the dancers enjoyed themselves too).
This was bush/ceilidh dancing, rather than contra - I must admit I have
difficulty remembering many contras.
Peter Foster
On 22/01/2025 5:20 am, Colin Hume via Contra Callers wrote:
On Tue, 21 Jan 2025 10:11:33 -0800, Gary Shapiro via
Contra Callers wrote:
I haven't been a contra caller for many
years, but last night I dreamt I was at a dance and the caller did not show
up. There were no other callers in attendance. So I got up there wondering what dances I
knew by heart. I think I
knew how A Nice Combination went. Then I woke up and thought about it some more. I
decided that every dance venue
should keep a dance program, with instructions, somewhere.
I've been in that
situation at a Festival - the caller was delayed on the motorway - and I realised I only
knew two
contras by heart, neither of which was a good one to start with. I actually had my
lap-top with all my dances on it,
but it was at the other venue. I managed to remember Bob Dalsemer's
"Maggie's Hobby". I now have some cards
for a few contras and squares in my shoulder bag along with the other vital stuff like
Mars Bars and cough medicine!
And yet I can remember lots of quite complicated English dances!
Colin Hume
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