Re: [Callers] Callers' workshop

Hi, David-- Ever since the "Ted's Triplets" marathon eight years ago, we in Central New York have had an annual callers' gathering on different themes. These have been more an opportunity to share repertoire than for older, more experienced callers to mentor younger, less experienced callers--so really not a parallel to what you're talking about, but maybe of interest anyway. The topics over the years have included dances in unusual formations; "living room dances" (i.e., dances for small numbers of people); the Gene Hubert legacy; English for contra dance callers; and calling for community dances, weddings, and one-night-stands. The next one (March 6) will be "Zesty Contras," which will be dances from Larry Jennings' first book. (Many of us have the book on our shelves but have not actually mined it for the gems that assuredly lie within.) These annual workshops are a great opportunity for the community of regional callers to come together to schmooze, share, and enjoy each other's company. I strongly encourage callers everywhere to give it a try! --Katy Heine -----Original Message----- From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of David Millstone Sent: Tuesday, December 15, 2009 6:48 PM To: Callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: [Callers] Callers' workshop Dear fellow dance callers, I have an opportunity coming up next spring to lead a day-long workshop for dance callers. It'll be a small group, perhaps 10-12 people, with a range of experience. Some will have had only 2-4 years of active calling while others may have had 20 years or more. These will be folks who are comfortable with contras and with traditional squares. They will know each other already. They're open to a wide variety of topics and teaching methods. I've been invited to address just about any topics that are near and dear to me, so I'm relishing this prospect. At the same time, I'd like not to spend an entire day on a soapbox. With that in mind, I'm soliciting opinions from this group-- rather than, say, the trad.dance.callers listserv-- because this Shared Weight group includes some callers on the less experienced end of the spectrum. So, what are topics that _you_ would like to see in a workshop? Assuming that one already has the nuts and bolts of programming an evening, teaching a dance, and delivering the calls in good fashion, what skills would be useful to address? Thanks for sharing your thoughts. David Millstone Lebanon, NH _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers