2 Jan
2013
2 Jan
'13
4:16 p.m.
I'm a new contra caller who does community/family dances, kitchen parties and one
night stands. I'm calling a dance for about 60 adults, almost none of whom have even
heard of contra dancing, but they do know each other. The organizers have asked for a
YouTube that would convey the fun of contra dancing, without scaring off newbies. I've
looked at dozens and can't find one where 1. The calls and music are heard (otherwise
they'll really wonder what they are paying me and the band for) 2. People are having
fun (but not twirling and flourishing so much people will think they need to be experts 3.
The dancers look a bit "cool" and aren't all on the other side of middle
aged (it's a young adult crowd and most people in my (red)neck of the woods only know
about western squares,/retired couples in costumes) 4. The quality of the filming and
music recording is good or great (again, to avoid the hokey label). 5. Does all of that in
under five minutes.
I know it's a tall order. Any suggestions? I'll take 4/5.
Leslie
Sent from my iPad
On 2013-01-02, at 7:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Alternate Role Terms (Jeff Kaufman)
2. Re: Alternate Role Terms (Perry Shafran)
3. Re: gender (Perry Shafran)
4. Re: Square Dance Tunes (rich sbardella)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 10:38:09 -0500
From: Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms
Message-ID:
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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 5:52 PM, Chrissy Fowler <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
It does seem that some women dancers depend on leadership
from the gent role, and some men dancers feel pressure to direct
the non-gent role dancers. But I don't think there's any lead/follow
component inherent in the contra dance form.
To some dancers the lead/follow aspect of contra dance is central
while to others it's a minor component or an unwelcome intrusion.
Viewing it as lead/follow is more common among younger dancers, more
frequent dancers, and varies by dance series (in MA it's common at the
Scout House and Greenfield, rare at Medway and Northboro.)
Jeff
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:08:35 -0800 (PST)
From: Perry Shafran <pshaf(a)yahoo.com>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms
Message-ID:
<1357142915.76089.YahooMailNeo(a)web120701.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
It would be interesting to know why some of these younger folks view it as a lead/follow
dance.?? Is it the flourishes/dips that do indeed have a lead/follow aspect to the dance,
becoming the focal point of why they dance?? Or is it something else?? Contra by its very
nature is a community dance, and while it does have some couple aspects, I find it
difficult to see where it could bring someone to view it as lead/follow.? In an evening of
dance, both men and women usually have their opportunities to "lead" a move.?
Even the swing is an equal move - both dancers move around a common point and are both
expected to carry their own weight, whereas in a couples dance the lead does indeed guide
the follow on where to go.?
Perry
________________________________
From: Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms
On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 5:52 PM, Chrissy Fowler <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
It does seem that some women dancers depend on leadership
from the gent role, and some men dancers feel pressure to direct
the non-gent role dancers.? But I don't think there's any lead/follow
component inherent in the contra dance form.
To some dancers the lead/follow aspect of contra dance is central
while to others it's a minor component or an unwelcome intrusion.
Viewing it as lead/follow is more common among younger dancers, more
frequent dancers, and varies by dance series (in MA it's common at the
Scout House and Greenfield, rare at Medway and Northboro.)
Jeff
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:12:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Perry Shafran <pshaf(a)yahoo.com>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] gender
Message-ID:
<1357143162.59466.YahooMailNeo(a)web120701.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
There are several issues here.? One is the terminology that is used to
differentiate the two dance roles and second, whether we will ever move
contra dancing to a completely gender-free system.
I think that
we all have to understand that everyone has their own comfort zone.?
Some people do NOT want to dance with a same-gendered person no matter
how much you prod them, shame them, or even force them to do so.?? Some
are willing to try it from time to time, others enjoy it a lot, and others want to make
all
contra dances completely gender free regardless of whether or not it
will chase some members from the community.?
It is a strong
uphill battle to at least move from a heteronormative way of thinking.?
Just recently it was suggested that the way to get someone to contra
dance (a man) was to tell him that a
new woman will be thrown into his arms every 30 seconds.? Reason being
that most people are heterosexual and might be drawn to dance thinking
he's going to dance with women.? I suggested that this was a bad idea
due to the fact that in most dances you'll see men dancing with men,
women dancing with women, and people switching roles.?
I think
that the best compromise is to continue with the gents/ladies
terminology, but emphasize that these are merely titles of traditional
roles, but anyone can play them regardless of physical gender.? That is
what I say in my workshops, and it's usually generally understood.? Any
new terminology that you use will force people to translate which means
"man" and which means "woman".?? However, I do understand the baggage
that these gender-loaded terms do bring.??
Perry
________________________________
From: JoLaine Jones-Pokorney <jolaine(a)gmail.com>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net; callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 9:23 AM
Subject: [Callers] gender
In reply to Read who said "When gendered terms are used, people are more
likely to sort themselves by gender. Newcomers are unlikely to even
consider the possibility of not doing so."
I disagree.? When I teach the introductory workshop I say, "You will see
women dancing the men's role and men dancing the women's role."? They see
this happening immediately, even in the introductory workshop.? In our
community, men dancing the women's role is less common, but it will happen
at least once at each dance so newcomers are seeing it.
We often get new women who want to dance the men's role so that they can
dance with their women friends that they came with.? Of course this isn't a
great plan since they're all newbies, but my point is that they don't
hesitate to switch roles.
I find that the long-time contra dancers are often the ones who are less
willing.? At a dance just a few days ago, I asked a woman to dance.? Right
beside us were two men dancing together.? She declared that it was silly
for two men to dance together when there were women available to dance
with.? Another time I asked a woman to dance and she said she would if she
couldn't find a man to dance with.? Another time I was lined up with my
woman partner when two men came running over and declared "We know you'd
rather dance with us!" and one of them grabbed my partner away and the
other one grabbed me.? These are long time dancers who are operating under
the notion that a couple equals one man and one woman and anything else is
only to be tolerated if the ideal cannot be had.
So perhaps a non-gendered term would help the long-time dancers more than
the new dancers!? I notice that in this conversation thread - no one has
actually proposed another option.? I've thought it ought to be something
totally random like "blue" and "yellow" but a shift that drastic
just
wouldn't happen I don't think.
I'm reminded of the time I was asked to call a gender-free dance where
where they were using "bands and bares."? I spent a tremendous amount of
time practicing calling bands and bares and getting dances I felt
comfortable calling that way.? IN the introductory workshop, I was passing
out bandanas for the bands and one man was asking his friend what I meant
by the "bands."? She said to him - "She means the mens part."? I
thought
why did I just bother to learn bare and band when they're just thinking
women and men?
--
JoLaine Jones-Pokorney
"We are as gods and might as well get good at it!"
- Stewart Brand
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:33:37 -0800 (PST)
From: rich sbardella <richsbardella(a)snet.net>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Square Dance Tunes
Message-ID:
<1357144417.42841.YahooMailClassic(a)web184706.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Hello folks!
I am interested in finding some good modal tunes for squares.? Any suggestions?
Rich Sbardella
Stafford, CT
------------------------------
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Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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End of Callers Digest, Vol 101, Issue 4
*************************************** 
2 Jan
2 Jan
5:28 p.m.
The videos on this site may have too many flourishes for your needs, but I
think meets your other criteria. The website is also a really good example
of successful marketing to college students.
http://www.contradanceswithwolves.org/
Bree Kalb
-----Original Message-----
From: Leslie Gotfrit
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 4:16 PM
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] YouTube of contra dancing to entice nondancers?
I'm a new contra caller who does community/family dances, kitchen parties
and one night stands. I'm calling a dance for about 60 adults, almost none
of whom have even heard of contra dancing, but they do know each other. The
organizers have asked for a YouTube that would convey the fun of contra
dancing, without scaring off newbies. I've looked at dozens and can't find
one where 1. The calls and music are heard (otherwise they'll really wonder
what they are paying me and the band for) 2. People are having fun (but not
twirling and flourishing so much people will think they need to be experts
3. The dancers look a bit "cool" and aren't all on the other side of middle
aged (it's a young adult crowd and most people in my (red)neck of the woods
only know about western squares,/retired couples in costumes) 4. The quality
of the filming and music recording is good or great (again, to avoid the
hokey label). 5. Does all of that in under five minutes.
I know it's a tall order. Any suggestions? I'll take 4/5.
Leslie
6:57 p.m.
You might check out some of the videos that Chatahoochie Country Dancers
(Atlanta) did:
http://www.contradance.org/html/new_dancer_info.php#video
On 1/2/2013 5:28 PM, Bree Kalb wrote:
The videos on this site may have too many flourishes
for your needs,
but I think meets your other criteria. The website is also a really
good example of successful marketing to college students.
http://www.contradanceswithwolves.org/
Bree Kalb
-----Original Message----- From: Leslie Gotfrit
Sent: Wednesday, January 02, 2013 4:16 PM
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
Subject: [Callers] YouTube of contra dancing to entice nondancers?
I'm a new contra caller who does community/family dances, kitchen
parties and one night stands. I'm calling a dance for about 60 adults,
almost none of whom have even heard of contra dancing, but they do
know each other. The organizers have asked for a YouTube that would
convey the fun of contra dancing, without scaring off newbies. I've
looked at dozens and can't find one where 1. The calls and music are
heard (otherwise they'll really wonder what they are paying me and the
band for) 2. People are having fun (but not twirling and flourishing
so much people will think they need to be experts 3. The dancers look
a bit "cool" and aren't all on the other side of middle aged (it's a
young adult crowd and most people in my (red)neck of the woods only
know about western squares,/retired couples in costumes) 4. The
quality of the filming and music recording is good or great (again, to
avoid the hokey label). 5. Does all of that in under five minutes.
I know it's a tall order. Any suggestions? I'll take 4/5.
Leslie
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
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7:14 p.m.
Here is a spot that will give you about 150 to choose from....about 400 if
you want to extend it to English, squares and Morris... ;-) Hope some of
these are useful... http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern.
Good luck,
Bob Green
On Wed, Jan 2, 2013 at 3:16 PM, Leslie Gotfrit <lgotfrit(a)me.com> wrote:
I'm a new contra caller who does community/family
dances, kitchen parties
and one night stands. I'm calling a dance for about 60 adults, almost none
of whom have even heard of contra dancing, but they do know each other. The
organizers have asked for a YouTube that would convey the fun of contra
dancing, without scaring off newbies. I've looked at dozens and can't find
one where 1. The calls and music are heard (otherwise they'll really wonder
what they are paying me and the band for) 2. People are having fun (but not
twirling and flourishing so much people will think they need to be experts
3. The dancers look a bit "cool" and aren't all on the other side of
middle
aged (it's a young adult crowd and most people in my (red)neck of the woods
only know about western squares,/retired couples in costumes) 4. The
quality of the filming and music recording is good or great (again, to
avoid the hokey label). 5. Does all of that in under five minutes.
I know it's a tall order. Any suggestions? I'll take 4/5.
Leslie
Sent from my iPad
On 2013-01-02, at 7:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
as a
lead/follow dance.?? Is it the flourishes/dips that do indeed have a
lead/follow aspect to the dance, becoming the focal point of why they
dance?? Or is it something else?? Contra by its very nature is a community
dance, and while it does have some couple aspects, I find it difficult to
see where it could bring someone to view it as lead/follow.? In an evening
of dance, both men and women usually have their opportunities to "lead" a
move.? Even the swing is an equal move - both dancers move around a common
point and are both expected to carry their own weight, whereas in a couples
dance the lead does indeed guide the follow on where to go.?
others want to
make all
Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
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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. Re: Alternate Role Terms (Jeff Kaufman)
2. Re: Alternate Role Terms (Perry Shafran)
3. Re: gender (Perry Shafran)
4. Re: Square Dance Tunes (rich sbardella)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 10:38:09 -0500
From: Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms
Message-ID:
<CAK36jCOM7L2=QKdobJXzm3MJrxYvzt=fx-vDZk7Vn-SQ_iduWA(a)mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 5:52 PM, Chrissy Fowler <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com>
wrote:
It does seem that some women dancers depend on leadership
from the gent role, and some men dancers feel pressure to direct
the non-gent role dancers. But I don't think there's any lead/follow
component inherent in the contra dance form.
To some dancers the lead/follow aspect of contra dance is central
while to others it's a minor component or an unwelcome intrusion.
Viewing it as lead/follow is more common among younger dancers, more
frequent dancers, and varies by dance series (in MA it's common at the
Scout House and Greenfield, rare at Medway and Northboro.)
Jeff
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:08:35 -0800 (PST)
From: Perry Shafran <pshaf(a)yahoo.com>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms
Message-ID:
<1357142915.76089.YahooMailNeo(a)web120701.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
It would be interesting to know why some of these younger folks view it
Perry
________________________________
From: Jeff Kaufman <jeff(a)alum.swarthmore.edu>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 10:38 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms
On Tue, Jan 1, 2013 at 5:52 PM, Chrissy Fowler <ktaadn_me(a)hotmail.com>
wrote:
It does seem that some women dancers depend on leadership
from the gent role, and some men dancers feel pressure to direct
the non-gent role dancers.? But I don't think there's any lead/follow
component inherent in the contra dance form.
To some dancers the lead/follow aspect of contra dance is central
while to others it's a minor component or an unwelcome intrusion.
Viewing it as lead/follow is more common among younger dancers, more
frequent dancers, and varies by dance series (in MA it's common at the
Scout House and Greenfield, rare at Medway and Northboro.)
Jeff
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:12:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Perry Shafran <pshaf(a)yahoo.com>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] gender
Message-ID:
<1357143162.59466.YahooMailNeo(a)web120701.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
There are several issues here.? One is the terminology that is used to
differentiate the two dance roles and second, whether we will ever move
contra dancing to a completely gender-free system.
I think that
we all have to understand that everyone has their own comfort zone.?
Some people do NOT want to dance with a same-gendered person no matter
how much you prod them, shame them, or even force them to do so.?? Some
are willing to try it from time to time, others enjoy it a lot, and contra dances completely gender free regardless
of whether or not it
will chase some members from the community.?
It is a strong
uphill battle to at least move from a heteronormative way of thinking.?
Just recently it was suggested that the way to get someone to contra
dance (a man) was to tell him that a
new woman will be thrown into his arms every 30 seconds.? Reason being
that most people are heterosexual and might be drawn to dance thinking
he's going to dance with women.? I suggested that this was a bad idea
due to the fact that in most dances you'll see men dancing with men,
women dancing with women, and people switching roles.?
I think
that the best compromise is to continue with the gents/ladies
terminology, but emphasize that these are merely titles of traditional
roles, but anyone can play them regardless of physical gender.? That is
what I say in my workshops, and it's usually generally understood.? Any
new terminology that you use will force people to translate which means
"man" and which means "woman".?? However, I do understand the
baggage
that these gender-loaded terms do bring.??
Perry
________________________________
From: JoLaine Jones-Pokorney <jolaine(a)gmail.com>
To: callers(a)sharedweight.net; callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 9:23 AM
Subject: [Callers] gender
In reply to Read who said "When gendered terms are used, people are more
likely to sort themselves by gender. Newcomers are unlikely to even
consider the possibility of not doing so."
I disagree.? When I teach the introductory workshop I say, "You will see
women dancing the men's role and men dancing the women's role."? They see
this happening immediately, even in the introductory workshop.? In our
community, men dancing the women's role is less common, but it will
happen
at least once at each dance so newcomers are
seeing it.
We often get new women who want to dance the men's role so that they can
dance with their women friends that they came with.? Of course this
isn't a
great plan since they're all newbies, but my
point is that they don't
hesitate to switch roles.
I find that the long-time contra dancers are often the ones who are less
willing.? At a dance just a few days ago, I asked a woman to dance.?
Right
beside us were two men dancing together.? She
declared that it was silly
for two men to dance together when there were women available to dance
with.? Another time I asked a woman to dance and she said she would if
she
couldn't find a man to dance with.? Another
time I was lined up with my
woman partner when two men came running over and declared "We know you'd
rather dance with us!" and one of them grabbed my partner away and the
other one grabbed me.? These are long time dancers who are operating
under
the notion that a couple equals one man and one
woman and anything else
is
only to be tolerated if the ideal cannot be had.
So perhaps a non-gendered term would help the long-time dancers more than
the new dancers!? I notice that in this conversation thread - no one has
actually proposed another option.? I've thought it ought to be something
totally random like "blue" and "yellow" but a shift that drastic
just
wouldn't happen I don't think.
I'm reminded of the time I was asked to call a gender-free dance where
where they were using "bands and bares."? I spent a tremendous amount of
time practicing calling bands and bares and getting dances I felt
comfortable calling that way.? IN the introductory workshop, I was
passing
out bandanas for the bands and one man was asking
his friend what I meant
by the "bands."? She said to him - "She means the mens part."? I
thought
why did I just bother to learn bare and band when they're just thinking
women and men?
--
JoLaine Jones-Pokorney
"We are as gods and might as well get good at it!"
- Stewart Brand
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Wed, 2 Jan 2013 08:33:37 -0800 (PST)
From: rich sbardella <richsbardella(a)snet.net>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Square Dance Tunes
Message-ID:
<1357144417.42841.YahooMailClassic(a)web184706.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
Hello folks!
I am interested in finding some good modal tunes for squares.? Any
suggestions?
Rich Sbardella
Stafford, CT
------------------------------
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Callers mailing list
Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
End of Callers Digest, Vol 101, Issue 4
***************************************
_______________________________________________
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Callers(a)sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
9:29 p.m.
On Jan 2, 2013, at 4:16 PM, Leslie Gotfrit wrote:
I'm a new contra caller who does community/family
dances, kitchen parties and one night stands. I'm calling a dance for about 60 adults,
almost none of whom have even heard of contra dancing, but they do know each other. The
organizers have asked for a YouTube that would convey the fun of contra dancing, without
scaring off newbies. I've looked at dozens and can't find one where 1. The calls
and music are heard (otherwise they'll really wonder what they are paying me and the
band for) 2. People are having fun (but not twirling and flourishing so much people will
think they need to be experts 3. The dancers look a bit "cool" and aren't
all on the other side of middle aged (it's a young adult crowd and most people in my
(red)neck of the woods only know about western squares,/retired couples in costumes) 4.
The quality of the filming and music recording is good or great (again, to avoid the hokey
label). 5. Does all of that in under five minutes.
The problem is, what you really want is to convey the fun of a community/family dance, not
a contra dance. The video should make it look fun and accessible. If you showed them a
video of what they would be doing by the end of the evening, many of them may decide that
they can't do it, it looks too complicated, etc. Showing them a video of the
beginning of an evening might look like too much instruction. Good luck finding the
correct video.
I started composing this e-mail by recommending the following: Contra Dance Introductory
Session with George Marshall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14nxFdcaKWA
While I believe it is worth watching by all of us on this list, as I re-watched the
beginning, I _don't_ believe it will meet your needs. For one, George is doing the
walkthru for beginners who are about to be integrated into a contra dance with mostly
experienced dancers. This is not your audience. His message about music and the
connection to what we are dancing is great. However, that may come across as too fussy to
your audience. Also, at most ONS dances I call, I don't emphasize that connection.
Some get it, and others just move, perhaps taking one step for each beat of the music, and
have fun.
Sorry I didn't solve your problem. Hopefully you find the right video.
--
Clark Baker, Belmont, MA
cmbaker(a)tiac.net
3 Jan
3 Jan
11:14 p.m.
Hello all,
I'd love to see the discussion of an intro video get anywhere near the
lively discussion of the gender free terms :-) The initial request is
summarized below, and I'm curious about petitioning CDSS to put something
like this together.
I'd really like a 30 second video, functionally an ad for contra, that
could be linked to as a hook, and then a 2 minute video that gives a fuller
story. If things like this already exist, please post the links!
I am not advocating a national ad campaign for contra dances, but I think
having a resource to share with co-workers and friends about contra dancing
would be a fabulous way to facilitate the word-of-mouth that brings in
people to contra. I'm guessing we've all had the frustrating experience of
searching youtube for a contra clip that makes it clear.
I wasn't familiar with "Contra Dances with Wolves" site. Thank you Bree.
http://www.contradanceswithwolves.org/<http://www.contradanceswithwolves… The videos there come closer to the request than
I usually see, but I think
with CDSS support something better could be put together.
The afore mentioned Childgrove site is a fabulous resource, but it seems
more set-up as a resource for callers trying to figure out a dance:
http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern.
The Atlanta group did a fabulous job with their videos, and I'd consider
them great for giving people who are afraid to walk in knowing nothing a
comforting sense of what will happen, but I don't think it will actually
hook many people who aren't already looking for more information.
http://www.contradance.org/html/new_dancer_info.php#video
~~~original request~~~
5. Does all of that in under five minutes.
I think 5 minutes is too long unless the person is actively investigating
and trying to find out more. Under 5 minutes was the original request, but
that was an explanatory e-mail to organizers hiring a caller.
What are other folks interested in? Is there enough interest in something
like this to warrant asking CDSS if they can make it happen? If so, what
features should it have?
Modifying the original list:
It should communicate, with excellent filming and sound of dancers, music,
& caller:
1) community dancing without needing to come with a partner
2) no experience required, dances will be taught and prompted
3) people having fun without being intimidating
4) The intergenerational nature of contra
5) That it's not the caricature of square dancing people envision
(if the first 4 are done well, I think 5 happens by default)
I think a 30 second versus and a 2 minute version would be incredibly
useful.
I think there should be a link to CDSS for more information; specifically,
a link on how to find the closest contra dance to you. I'd hope that this
works so well that other groups in the CDSS umbrella would get promo videos
soon after.
There are very well produced videos out there; but in my opinion that too
often focus on something local. A band has commissioned something for them,
or a dance weekend is advertising itself. They can be great at what they
do, but they're far from universally applicable. I think an introductory,
broadly useable video would not actually mention a caller name, a band
name, a dance name, a choreographer name, a videographer, or even a
location. Those things can be vitally important, but are extraneous
information as a first introduction to contra dancing.
I personally would advocate for a video useful for weekly or monthly
regular dance series, because I think such a video (in it's limited time
frame) would still be very useful for folks trying to explain contra for
one-off dance events. Possibly different videos would be useful for those
two different flavors, but I'd rather see one broadly applicable contra
video and another video on a different CDSS supported activity.
Thoughts?
Happy dancing!
Luke
Looking for a video that would convey the fun of
contra dancing, without
scaring off newbies. Points desired:
1. The calls and music are heard
2. People are having fun (but not flourishing so much it's intimidating
3. The dancers look a bit "cool" and aren't all on the other side of
middle
aged
4. The quality of the filming and music recording is great
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6 participants
participants (6)
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Bob Green -
Bree Kalb -
Clark Baker -
Jack Mitchell -
Leslie Gotfrit -
Luke Donforth