I'm leading some caller training right now and something that went really well, after our first couple of sessions, was they each went away and wrote their own dance (I told them they could either write a dance or find a dance online, but they both elected to write their own) then the next time we met, we workshopped their dances- we wrote each dance out on a big sheet of paper and discussed the choices and how they flow together, and what hiccups they might encounter, what tweaks might need to be made once the dance was "finalized", we got the person who chose the dance to do a walkthrough. then we paused and talked about any teaching aspects that were interesting, or that we might do differently, etc. And then the person called it while we danced it about 6 times through... And then we then got together again to discuss what we liked about it, and what we might change, or any other suggestions/issues, points of interest etc. It lead to great discussions and lots of learning, even for me the workshop leader! Katherine K in Halifax Emily Addison via Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Monday, July 31, 2023 11:07 AM Hi Folks, I'm going to be leading a series of caller discussions/workshops in the next while. (This is a new thing for me. I'm very excited as there's always so much to learn from each other. :)) I'm wondering.... -->Are there any activities that stood out as being really awesome from caller workshops you've attended/led? -->Any discussion topics/ways to frame discussions that excited you? I've been sketching things out and as of right now, I'm really excited to have a series of questions that prompt discussion among the group. (Maybe stickies/stickers on poster boards as part of this.) The questions range from the why of it all, presentation/performance considerations, teaching, prompting, repertoire, etc.... ... I'm trying to figure out some key questions to prompt the discussion. Here are just a few of the many prompts I'm thinking about.... What do you see as the value of trad dances/dancing? What do you get out of dancing? What do you think others get out of it? What is your motivation for calling? What do you think you get/might get out of calling? Characteristics of a great caller? Callers you like (AND why)? What do the dancers need in the prompting? (Anything specific for beginner dancers in particular?) What need to/should know to know about a dance to call it really well? What is key in band communication…. At the start of the evening? Before/during/at end of each dance? At the end of the evening? Before the day of the gig? I'll also be creating a framework for safe feedback while we practice teaching and prompting dances. Thanks! :) Emily in Ottawa _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net