If there are a lot of children, and no other contra dancers, for the first workshop, don't start with a contra. Start with something that breaks the ice and is easy and gets them facing each other in long lines. For my "one night stands", weddings, etc., I start with a dance sometimes called "The Hat Dance" - except I use a large stuffed animal gorilla, so people call it the "gorilla dance' - you know, three chairs at the top of the set, two lines on either side, one person sits in middle with gorilla on lap, one head of each line sit on the side, band starts up and plays like a house afire, mid person gives gorilla to one of the seated people, dances down set with the other in a sashay or polka or whatever they choose, gorilla receiver moves to mid seat, next two sit down. I don't know why this is so successful, but people love this dance. They love watching other people get or give the gorilla. I gave up on the hat idea because w. kids there may be head lice. Really. The gorilla is cuter anyway. This gets people moving, touching, laughing, and standing in two lines and learning top of set and bottom of set. Then follow perhaps with a reel, like Virginia reel. This gives a vague concept of progression and doing something different at different positions in the dance. There are some other simpler reels than Virginia reel as well, without the strip the willow but with the follow around and arch and under. I think the one of the easiest contras is Ellen's Green Jig. I don't have time to put it up here, maybe someone else could if you don't know it, but it's one where everyone pretty much is in contact all the time so it's hard to screw up, has just balance and swing, do-si- do and circles pretty much, and the progression is oh-so-obvious, and it doesn't matter if the genders get all screwed up as long as ones are ones and twos are twos. Oh, I called for a dance where 15 foreign exchange students showed up with limited English. I'd keep the calls in English as you are a beginning caller and it would be too much to think of to do it in Japanese as well. But just pick the way you are going to call the figure, e.g. Ladie's Chain - and NEVER vary it. It will always be Ladie's Chain, not "Chain the women", not "women chain" not "chain across" just flat out plain "Ladies Chain". People will catch on. Martha On Oct 2, 2007, at 4:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote: > Send Callers mailing list submissions to > callers(a)sharedweight.net > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > callers-request(a)sharedweight.net > > You can reach the person managing the list at > callers-owner(a)sharedweight.net > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Japan dance and self intro/update > (sharedweight.99.kyoto(a)spamgourmet.com) > 2. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update (Lindsay Morris) > 3. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update (Greg McKenzie) > 4. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update > (Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing) > 5. Re: Japan dance and self intro/update (Lisa Sieverts) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Tue, 2 Oct 2007 11:59:28 -0700 (PDT) > From: sharedweight.99.kyoto(a)spamgourmet.com > Subject: [Callers] Japan dance and self intro/update > To: callers(a)sharedweight.net > Message-ID: <74363.4139.qm(a)web38705.mail.mud.yahoo.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 > > [n.b. this has been 'cross posted' to the yahoo traditional callers > list, in case anyone is on > both lists...] > > This post from a llooonnnngg time dancer and first time caller who is > requesting some advice for an unusual situation...but as it is my > first post, I will explain a little about myself, and along the way > that will explain the unusual situation and help guide and refine any > replies. > > My name is david crespo, a name some of you no doubt fear -- I mean > recognize -- or would (recognize, that is) (if you saw my ugly > mug) (well, maybe fear...) from my 20 odd (quite odd) years of > dancing and involvement in the dance community in New England, mostly > Vermont (Etna, Norwich, Thetford, to Northern Spy etc.) and Maine > (SMFA (Yarmouth), Falmouth, Bates, Bowdoinham...). As some of you > thus know, about 3 years ago, at a Wake the Neighbors Bates dance I > was met by a cute and not very frightening Japanese exchange student, > Yukie, who with a very little gentle nudging at Deffa a week later, > eventually (rapidly, that is) was able to parlay that happenstance > circumstance into what is now a beautiful and happy marriage. She > returned to Japan shortly after we completed our courtship and about > a year later I followed. We're living in Kyoto. > > Alas, there is one tragic note attending this otherwise joyous and > perfect scenario. Japan, you see, is a land thouroughly devoid of one > essential nutrient: contradancing. You can imagine my dismay, tears, > and lamentations. Sadly, then, since my arrival, I have been quietly > (well not so quietly) teaching english while secretly incubating evil > plans to conquer Japan, then Asia, then the world in 64 (drastic) > measures (hmmm--- good name for a dance). This month, my long patient > agony of waiting has begun to pay off. I have been given the > opportunity to indoctrinate a few trusting and innocent souls into > the sublime mysteries of la dance du contra and create an army of > swiftfooted robots, ready and willing to do my bidding at every call. > SOON I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!! > > ahem. > > please excuse me while my medicine kicks in. Ah, yes, thank you. OK, > where was I? The fact is, my wife and I have been invited to lead a > contradance workshop at a local festival on October 20. When we found > out, we began doing as much research as we could on calling and so > on. We found a few basic dances, like Baby Rose and Diane's Visit and > Atonement Reel that we like and figured would be suitable and we have > been practicing calling them. But I really welcome any suggestions... > > Actually, above and beyond some decades of doing things proper and > improper, I took a caller workshop or two from Rick Mohr (thanks > Rick) so I have a rough idea of what's involved. And I've learned a > bit from practicing calling and writing a few ad hoc dances on my > own. For example, I learned that being a dancer has habituated me to > act ON the beat, but as a caller I need to act BEFORE the beat, > eh....this flustered me at first. Are there any other typical first > caller pointers we should be on the lookout for? > > In addition, there are a few other associated circumstances in this > project that create the aforementioned unique situation. In brief > (HA! fooled you), since I've rattled on too long, here is what I mean: > > I don't speak more than the rudiments of Japanese. My wife is still a > beginner dancer, to wit, she isn't a strong enough one to call on her > own. Between us we are trying to teach each other what the other > lacks and hopefully make one good caller out of the two of us. One > question that has come up is is it better to keep the standard names > for the figures, or to Japanify them. (We are leaning to the > former...Japanese has a very high percentage of english loan words, > and they learn english (poooooorly) in school.) Still, has anyone > ever tried to call across a language barrier? > > Japanese are touch sensitve. They don't touch, they don't give eye > contact. They don't give weight. (They give wait). They don't hug. > They don't even say I love you. They are very shy. For example, I am > told that this is to the point that standing in a line of men facing > a line of women is likely be uncomfortable, even for the younger > generation, so Yukie feels we should use mixed couples with armbands > to distinguish "gender"--I mean position. As we build a community of > experienced dancers, it would be expected that some of this > inhibition might wear off...). You can see why they need to dance. On > the other hand, they are good followers. Any advice for working with > a shy crowd? > > Some or many of the attendees at this workshop, we just found out, > are likely to be children. Depending on the percentage, it may be > necessary to do a kids dance, or at least a dance kids could enjoy. I > am good at working with kids in general, but I would love any advice > for doing a dance with young people. I don't know or haven't been > able to find any children's dances, though I assume the Family Dance > in Yarmouth is still up and I plan to contact Jeff Raymond about it, > because I can't remember the caller's name (Nancy....) (though we > have danced and chatted about dancing and calling several times at > the May Day Festival...gads! say hi if you're listening..). > So, children's dances are one thing I am looking for. > > We are working in a small space...maybe two lines of six couples > each. Advice for small spaces???　 > > We are doing three workshops. If the same people return, we may do > more advanced things, or we may just repeat teh workshop...but I > would like to try different dances each time, for my practice. > > The room will be full of beginners, so no experienced dancers to rely > on. Ballroom dancing had a certain following here (and in Kyoto there > is a small set dancing group that we visited...small 14 or so... and > a square dancing group that we plan to visit. ) but not enough to be > helpful, in the sense that there are few cultural supports for > learning (i.e. in the US most everyone knows (even if they don't > admit it) how to at least fake a waltz or ballroom position...not > here.) Think martian territory... > > I should add that we are seriously working towards starting a regular > dance here (we've found an available and very suitable space, a > church hall in a nearby church, for example) and this is for us a > tryout and possible stepping stone. We want to whet people's > appetite, and leave them wanting more. We have a half hour to do it... > > OK...apologies for the verbose and windy post. Fond regards to all of > you I know, hajimemashite ("nice to meet you" in japanese, literally > "beginning") to the rest and many thanks in advance for your time and > help...cheers...david > > nothing rhymes with nostril... > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > ______________ > Don't let your dream ride pass you by. Make it a reality with > Yahoo! Autos. > http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html > > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 02 Oct 2007 15:23:07 -0400 > From: Lindsay Morris <lindsay(a)tsmworks.com> > Subject: Re: [Callers] Japan dance and self intro/update > To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> > Message-ID: <47029A9B.1020203(a)tsmworks.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > Wow, you're biting off too much. > Teach them community-dance stuff first - circle mixers, easy > things to > get them used to touching, allemanding, and giving weight. > If they refuse to take hands and circle left, then I suggest you > fake a > heart attack and get out. > Lindsay Morris > Principal > TSMworks > [1]www.tsmworks.com > 859-539-9900 > > > [2]sharedweight.99.kyoto(a)spamgourmet.com wrote: > > [n.b. this has been 'cross posted' to the yahoo traditional callers > list, in cas > e anyone is on > both lists...] > > This post from a llooonnnngg time dancer and first time caller who is > requesting some advice for an unusual situation...but as it is my > first post, I will explain a little about myself, and along the way > that will explain the unusual situation and help guide and refine any > replies. > > My name is david crespo, a name some of you no doubt fear -- I mean > recognize -- or would (recognize, that is) (if you saw my ugly > mug) (well, maybe fear...) from my 20 odd (quite odd) years of > dancing and involvement in the dance community in New England, mostly > Vermont (Etna, Norwich, Thetford, to Northern Spy etc.) and Maine > (SMFA (Yarmouth), Falmouth, Bates, Bowdoinham...). As some of you > thus know, about 3 years ago, at a Wake the Neighbors Bates dance I > was met by a cute and not very frightening Japanese exchange student, > Yukie, who with a very little gentle nudging at Deffa a week later, > eventually (rapidly, that is) was able to parlay that happenstance > circumstance into what is now a beautiful and happy marriage. She > returned to Japan shortly after we completed our courtship and about > a year later I followed. We're living in Kyoto. > > Alas, there is one tragic note attending this otherwise joyous and > perfect scenario. Japan, you see, is a land thouroughly devoid of one > essential nutrient: contradancing. You can imagine my dismay, tears, > and lamentations. Sadly, then, since my arrival, I have been quietly > (well not so quietly) teaching english while secretly incubating evil > plans to conquer Japan, then Asia, then the world in 64 (drastic) > measures (hmmm--- good name for a dance). This month, my long patient > agony of waiting has begun to pay off. I have been given the > opportunity to indoctrinate a few trusting and innocent souls into > the sublime mysteries of la dance du contra and create an army of > swiftfooted robots, ready and willing to do my bidding at every call. > SOON I WILL CONQUER THE WORLD!!! > > ahem. > > please excuse me while my medicine kicks in. Ah, yes, thank you. OK, > where was I? The fact is, my wife and I have been invited to lead a > contradance workshop at a local festival on October 20. When we found > out, we began doing as much research as we could on calling and so > on. We found a few basic dances, like Baby Rose and Diane's Visit and > Atonement Reel that we like and figured would be suitable and we have > been practicing calling them. But I really welcome any suggestions... > > Actually, above and beyond some decades of doing things proper and > improper, I took a caller workshop or two from Rick Mohr (thanks > Rick) so I have a rough idea of what's involved. And I've learned a > bit from practicing calling and writing a few ad hoc dances on my > own. For example, I learned that being a dancer has habituated me to > act ON the beat, but as a caller I need to act BEFORE the beat, > eh....this flustered me at first. Are there any other typical first > caller pointers we should be on the lookout for? > > In addition, there are a few other associated circumstances in this > project that create the aforementioned unique situation. In brief > (HA! fooled you), since I've rattled on too long, here is what I mean: > > I don't speak more than the rudiments of Japanese. My wife is still a > beginner dancer, to wit, she isn't a strong enough one to call on her > own. Between us we are trying to teach each other what the other > lacks and hopefully make one good caller out of the two of us. One > question that has come up is is it better to keep the standard names > for the figures, or to Japanify them. (We are leaning to the > former...Japanese has a very high percentage of english loan words, > and they learn english (poooooorly) in school.) Still, has anyone > ever tried to call across a language barrier? > > Japanese are touch sensitve. They don't touch, they don't give eye > contact. They don't give weight. (They give wait). They don't hug. > They don't even say I love you. They are very shy. For example, I am > told that this is to the point that standing in a line of men facing > a line of women is likely be uncomfortable, even for the younger > generation, so Yukie feels we should use mixed couples with armbands > to distinguish "gender"--I mean position. As we build a community of > experienced dancers, it would be expected that some of this > inhibition might wear off...). You can see why they need to dance. On > the other hand, they are good followers. Any advice for working with > a shy crowd? > > Some or many of the attendees at this workshop, we just found out, > are likely to be children. Depending on the percentage, it may be > necessary to do a kids dance, or at least a dance kids could enjoy. I > am good at working with kids in general, but I would love any advice > for doing a dance with young people. I don't know or haven't been > able to find any children's dances, though I assume the Family Dance > in Yarmouth is still up and I plan to contact Jeff Raymond about it, > because I can't remember the caller's name (Nancy....) (though we > have danced and chatted about dancing and calling several times at > the May Day Festival...gads! say hi if you're listening..). > So, children's dances are one thing I am looking for. > > We are working in a small space...maybe two lines of six couples > each. Advice for small spaces???　 > > We are doing three workshops. If the same people return, we may do > more advanced things, or we may just repeat teh workshop...but I > would like to try different dances each time, for my practice. > > The room will be full of beginners, so no experienced dancers to rely > on. Ballroom dancing had a certain following here (and in Kyoto there > is a small set dancing group that we visited...small 14 or so... and > a square dancing group that we plan to visit. ) but not enough to be > helpful, in the sense that there are few cultural supports for > learning (i.e. in the US most everyone knows (even if they don't > admit it) how to at least fake a waltz or ballroom position...not > here.) Think martian territory... > > I should add that we are seriously working towards starting a regular > dance here (we've found an available and very suitable space, a > church hall in a nearby church, for example) and this is for us a > tryout and possible stepping stone. We want to whet people's > appetite, and leave them wanting more. We have a half hour to do it... > > OK...apologies for the verbose and windy post. Fond regards to all of > you I know, hajimemashite ("nice to meet you" in japanese, literally > "beginning") to the rest and many thanks in advance for your time and > help...cheers...david > > nothing rhymes with nostril... > > > > ______________________________________________________________________ > ____ > __________ > Don't let your dream ride pass you by. Make it a reality with > Yahoo! Autos. > [3]http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [4]Callers(a)sharedweight.net > [5]http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > References > > 1. http://www.tsmworks.com/ > 2. mailto:sharedweight.99.kyoto@spamgourmet.com > 3. http://autos.yahoo.com/index.html > 4. mailto:Callers@sharedweight.net > 5. http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >