Perhaps the caller can have dancers form contra lines and the caller then transform the line into squares.  EZ transformation, but there may be some dancers left out at the bottom.  This could save set up time. Rich ________________________________ From: Colin Hume <colin(a)colinhume.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Monday, September 9, 2013 9:21 AM Subject: Re: [Callers] Calling squares at contra. On Mon, 9 Sep 2013 08:47:54 -0400, JoLaine Jones-Pokorney wrote: The reason I usually call two squares back to back is precisely because it can take longer to set up.  Contras in The States typically go on much longer than squares, so it makes sense to do two squares together.  But I agree that if there's too much teaching time people will start to complain. I think part of the problem is that squares are not popular among contra dancers and therefore callers have less chance to become good at calling them.  A square is harder to call than a contra, so either the caller chooses a simple square and gets the response "Squares are boring" or he chooses a complicated square and gets the response "Squares are confusing"!  Fortunately there are some great contra callers who are also great square callers - Kathy Anderson and Lisa Greenleaf for instance - and they can convince any unprejudiced contra dancer that squares can be fun. Colin Hume Email colin(a)colinhume.com      Web site http://www.colinhume.com _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Have you listened to Susan Kevra on her CD?  She is very musical and entertaining.  Her calls are intergrated into the call.  Beth Molaro? Rich Sbardella Stafford, CT ________________________________ From: Dave Casserly <david.j.casserly(a)gmail.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 1:05 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] Calling squares at contra. I agree with others who have mentioned that squares take longer to set up and walk through, but have less dancing time, which can lead to some frustration by dancers who came to dance and not to spend time setting up. I used to much prefer when a caller did two squares in a row, because of the reduced set-up time, and particularly if one of those squares is a mixer.  But I've come to see the point JoLaine and others have made that doing so shuts out people who want to sit out one dance and not both.  In the dance I'm involved with here in DC, it's at least a semi-official rule not to call two squares in a row (our booker informs callers not to do so). But my main reason for disliking squares has nothing to do with the dances themselves, or even the greater setup time.  It's that, as a musician, I come to contra dances to hear the band play exciting, live music more than I do to hear the caller's voice.  With contra dances, this means that when I'm dancing or playing, I want the caller to drop out as soon as possible, and not to come back in and call the last time through, even if it's just to end the dance with a partner swing.  The end of the dance, with no intervening voice, is the time when the band can really shine the most. With squares, it's a totally different situation.  The caller's calling the entire time through, and the dance is as much about the calls as it is about the music.  As both a musician and a dancer, I find this pretty unsatisfying.  If I don't like the band much, or if it's a band that plays monotonous music, then I'd just as soon dance a square as a contra.  But if it's a smoking hot New England dance band, I just don't want to hear the caller's voice that much.  I want the music to have a chance to shine.  If Crowfoot's on the stage, even when somebody who calls great squares efficiently, like Lisa Greenleaf, announces to line up for a square, it's pretty disappointing, and has nothing to do with how much I like that particular square or caller. -Dave ______ -- David Casserly (cell) 781 258-2761 _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

I agree entirely with Dave. When I'm dancing I want to feel the music and dance to that. I've yet to dance to a band and caller pair where they really felt like they were producing one music. (When I'm calling I try to drop out as early as possible and not choose dances where I'll need to keep calling. When I'm playing I like it when callers do the same.) On Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 11:22 AM, Dave Casserly <david.j.casserly(a)gmail.com> wrote:

For many of us old geezers, when we started, a contra was a dance evening that included squares, contras, circle mixers, Sicilian circles, and other forms. Triple minors were a regular feature. Now I play, call, and dance all. And I teach about these subjects, too. When I teach about playing for contras and squares I point out that their needs are different, but can overlap. The tunes can be the same, the instrumentation, and even the general approach to playing them as a band. Here some differences I point out: Contra dances are repetitive, the caller can stop calling. Then the band provides the variety. Orchestrations, dramatic key changes, jig to reel, bombardes, singing. And certain band excel at this style. I think of it as getting on a rollercoaster building up, getting small, loud, soft, heavy on the off-beat, coming down hard on the on-beat. It's a lot of fun playing for contras. In square dances -- even New England squares -- the caller provides more of the variety. Opening, break, figure, break, figure, break, closing. Or ad-libbing (hash), or including lots of patter, etc. This is why hot, great, southern old-time music works here -- and one can have fantastic times dancing to, calling to and playing for squares. I call it getting on a the train and smoking. Instead of orchestrating lots of variation, you get in a groove and go. It smolders, it smokes, it's propulsive, and it's wonderful. It's great to dance to good calling and a smokin' band. And it's different than playing for contras. And, it's a lot of fun playing for squares. Then there's playing for singing squares. Here the band turns into a backup band. They are no longer responsible for the melody, the singer (caller) does that. I enjoy doing this too. But I have stopped calling a lot of these, because there are many like Dave, who don't enjoy this style of playing. I remember doing a gig with Mark Simos (and we'd be mighty lucky if he played for dances more!); prior to the gig he actually asked if I did any singing squares. I was taken aback -- it had been so long since I'd called a singing square, and never been approached by the band asking if I wanted to! In San Luis Obispo, where I was the house caller with the house band -- the Growling Old Geezers (well a that time they were The Wagon Yard Wamblers...). With them, I'd cut them loose and play guitar and sing the square solo. That'd give the band a chance to dance. Playing for singing squares is fun, too. This is to say, playing for contras, squares, singing squares, they're just different. All have their own demands. Some of us like all of them, and are happy to support the callers and communities that also like them all. When I call, I try to call to the strengths of the band. Contras only if they don't like playing for squares. Include squares if the band likes playing for them. Singing squares if the band is up for it. As a dancer, caller, and musician, I like them all! erik hoffman ~oakland, ca On 9/11/2013 8:13 AM, rich sbardella wrote:

Don, Where and when is the pot-luck dance? Rich Stafford, CT? ________________________________ From: Don Veino <sharedweight_net(a)veino.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 8:57 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] Calling & Playing for Squares at a Contra I'm possibly  a "geezer" too, just not in a contra sense - I've been dancing since 2007 and calling for just a couple of years. However, one of the things that I was first impressed by and continue now to value is the diverse dance programming choice at our local "contra" events. Where I principally participate (the Massachusetts area, and largely the Concord Scout House) we're lucky to have squares, contra chestnuts and other folk dances frequently form part of the program. We're fortunate to have "local" and regular touring callers of greater renown that routinely program squares at our events (e.g.: Lisa Greenleaf, Bob Isaacs, Will Mentor, Nils Fredland, Steve Zakon-Anderson, Sue Rosen - and more that deserve mention but I'll leave out to be brief). I personally enjoy this but also note that, despite being known to call squares, I see no dimunition of the crowds at these callers' dances over others at the same venues (far from it). BTW, one thing several of these callers do is offer those "out" for a first square in a double tip to "tap in" to participate and minimize the waiting out impact. Also, as a male of "advanced paternal age", I've come to drop my "first and every dance to the end" addiction and appreciate the smaller community dances that further embrace such diverse program choices. These also provide some down time for community and conversation, plus play time for our toddler so she can attend with us. There's one wonderful local dance which starts with an all-ages pot luck (where a good bottle of wine or two is regularly present) and continues to a program of diverse contras old and new plus several singing squares. We, as dancers from birth to "advanced dancing age," get to "musically" participate as we sing along, regularly belting out the refrains of If You Knew Suzie, Trail of the Lonesome Pine, etc. I'd offer there's possibly a greater diversity of values in our audiences than we perceive, and hope we are open to experiencing (and possibly fostering, in an non-obnoxious way) that within our communities. On Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 5:31 PM, Erik Hoffman <erik(a)erikhoffman.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers