Hi Maia,
Mostly I agree with Bob. I find that dance length isn't much different in practice. No-walkthroughs should be fine under the same circumstances as regular contras.
There are many reasons to choose easier dances for techno contras. The music and lighting tend to push the balance of how dancers are feeling more towards groovin' to the beat and away from mental gymnastics.
Music:
- Will you have good phrasing? Some techno DJs understand the importance of 16 and 64-count phrases. If you don't have that, you'll have to pay more attention as the dance is going to keep the dancers on track, and sometimes the phrasing will "feel off" by 8 beats, in which case you can adjust the dance to match (if you don't, the dancers will adjust, but they'll find the dance somewhat unsatisfying). Sometimes the dance will end in a weird place (oh well).
- Make sure you know where the music starts the first time through - often it's not the standard 4 potatoes. A good techno DJ will be able to tell you for each set.
Lighting:
- Will it be dark? This makes it harder to see (both as a caller and a dancer).
- I would probably not call anything that required a demo if it's dark. (Some callers like to use demos to teach regular figures, e.g. hey for 4, but I'd recommend teaching them a different way.)
Choose easy dances. The music is usually hard enough, and fun enough. Easy can allow for extra flourishes to add even more spice.
Live or mixed recordings? If live then it should be perfectly square AABB. If mixed, the only thing you can count on is 8-beat phrases. Also if mixed you need to listen in advance to know how long the intro is for the first phrase, and keep focus on which phrase you’re in somehow.
The specific questions about demos and walk through, yes, sure, depends on the crowd.
Ah, more specific questions!
- have you found on-the-floor demos doable at techno, or should I not even try?
- techno no-walk-through's: do they work?
Hey folks,
I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so this weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs from your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything relating to dance choice and dance length.)
Cheers,
Maia
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