11 Dec
2013
11 Dec
'13
11:51 a.m.
I'm trying to figure out why having a database of dances would detract from the folk
process. Isn't the folk process considered the handing down of material from person
to person, generation to generation? And should that not also include the way that
material is handed down? I think that a database of dances is extremely helpful to the
evolution of the folk process. When the web evolved, people put their dances on the web
for all to see, use, adapt. Now we have the cloud, and callers can share their dances
using a cloud-based database. Considering that this is what was highly requested on the
survey, I think that we need to find ways to create this repository of dances that also
respects the rights of the choreographers who write them.
Perry
________________________________
From: Delia Clark <deliaclark8(a)gmail.com>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 11:05 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Fw: Creating a CDSS dance depository
I agree with Andrea. I find the annotations that folks provide on this listserv to be the
most helpful part. If we allowed a wide range of dances in the database, but then opened
it up for commentary, sort of like Yelp or Amazon or other user reviews, I think we'd
get a lot of useful intel on each dance.
On Dec 10, 2013, at 7:16 PM, Andrea Nettleton <twirly-girl(a)bellsouth.net> wrote:
Rather than limit which dances get on the database and
how, why not allow reviews of said dances. If it had a clunky moment for one dancer,
tends to get saw toothed, or has other issues, it might get fewer stars and an
explanation. Choreographers could choose to pull or amend a dance so reviewed, and
callers could decide for themselves whether the reviews will apply in their situation.
The folk process works better the more information and dances are out there, not by
artificially limiting, based on some committees personal tastes and particular filters
regarding appropriateness. There might be some requirement that a dance needs to have
been successfully danced by at least two or three communities to qualify or something so
every person who thinks they can write doesn't post a bunch of useless dances. I
think making it be more work for CDSS to put a dance up impedes the project
unnecessarily.
I do, however, like the idea of having links to choreographers' websites, and maybe
even a caller's companion-sequel search engine, so one could look for say, an biter
mediate dance with a hey and a mad robin, and come up with all the dances in the database
which fulfill the request.
My two cents,
Andrea
Sent from my iPad
<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>
Delia Clark
PO Box 45
Taftsville, VT 05073
802-457-2075
deliaclark8(a)gmail.com
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On Dec 10, 2013, at 5:18 PM, Michael Fuerst
<mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
I just read the results of the CDSS caller's survey.
(http://www.cdss.org/tl_files/cdss/documents/how-to/CDSS_Contra_Task_Force_s…)
One of the resulting suggestions was for CDSS to set up a dance depository. Here are
my thoughts on this.
Considering the 1000's of contra (and other formation) dances that have written, of
varying quality and difficulty, I have reservations about a single global contra
database. Such a database detracts from the folk process. And who is to say which dances
are worthy of placement in such a database?
HOWEVER (part 1) .....
CDSS should have a depository of dances, somewhat like the one on the "Contra Dances
by" section of Cary Ravitz's page http://ravitz.us/dance/
While Cary's page links to dance author's pages, the CDSS page should get copies
of each author's dances, formatted however that author formatted them (e.g. .rtf, .pdf
or .html), with the CDSS page containing links to these copies. Authors should be able to
send an updated file to CDSS up to say 3 times a year. This will preserve the
author's dances when s/he terminates his/her web site. These links could include
.pdfs of out-of-proint dance book.
The folk process in some sense is maintained by people having to peruse these various
author pages in order to find dances. A discussion board, maybe even the current Shared
Weight forum, would be the place for for callers to discuss these dances.
HOWEVER (part 2) optional ....
The Caller's Companion (http://callerscompanion.com/) provides a good model of how
an on-line database might work. Many aspects of this program will work as a model for an
on-line dance database. So in addition to the pages susuggested in HOWEVER (part 1),
CDSS could also set up an on-line database and intially populate it with at most 200-300
dances, selected by CDSS staff or a committee, of various difficulties and formations.
Any CDSS member, and only CDSS members, should be allowed to add a dance to this database
of remove a dance s/he inserted. Dances on a page from HOWEVER (part 1) may well end up
in this database.
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217-239-5844
Links to photos of many of my drawings and paintings are at www.ArtComesFuerst.com
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