31 Aug
2006
31 Aug
'06
11:07 a.m.
Ah, the impacts of technology. I was recently calling for a contradance at
the Maine Social Forum. It was a crowd of primarily beginners, with only a
smattering of experienced folks. During one of the dances, one young man got
a cell phone call. He stepped out of line to take the call! His partner
carried on for a moment or two, but then the line started to break down. I
had to jump into the line and grab his partner - calling while we danced -
to keep it going. It worked. Fortunately I'd had a little practice on this
at another dance earlier this summer when an elderly gentleman simply
decided to step out and sit down during a - thankfully - very simple dance -
and I had done the same thing rather than stop or let the line crumble.
Just wanted to "share"
:-)
-cynthia
3 Sep
3 Sep
8:46 p.m.
I appreciate your sharing, Cynthia---this gave me a good laugh. With many
dances attracting a large percentage of high school and college kids these
days, I see more and more youthful antics while I'm calling....the young men
holding onto their oversized baggy pants with one hand while they dance; the
"Grateful Dead" dance moves or the breakdance or hiphop moves thrown in; and
the leaping, hopping, cartwheeling, and rolling around on the floor at the
break (or perhaps during the walkthroughs and the dances as well).
One thing I noticed while calling in Charleston, SC, recently (where 90% of
the crowd was under 21) was that most of the dancers were barefoot. This
seems to be the trend for younger dancers. I think their timing would
improve if they wore shoes, because they'd be able to hear the rhythm
better. There was very little foot percussion at that dance. (personally, I
think it's also aesthetically more pleasing to hear the feet, but I'm old
school) It's also a safety issue when there are shoed and shoeless people
dancing in the same room.
But I was wondering what, if anything, I should say about it. I didn't want
to come across as bossy, preachy, old-fashioned, or whatever. Any ideas on
this?
~Barbara
----- Original Message -----
From: "Cynthia Phinney" <cynth(a)gwi.net>
To: "Callers Shared Weight" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 12:07 PM
Subject: [Callers] A funny incident
Ah, the impacts of technology. I was recently calling
for a contradance at
the Maine Social Forum. It was a crowd of primarily beginners, with only a
smattering of experienced folks. During one of the dances, one young man
got
a cell phone call. He stepped out of line to take the call! His partner
carried on for a moment or two, but then the line started to break down. I
had to jump into the line and grab his partner - calling while we danced -
to keep it going. It worked. Fortunately I'd had a little practice on this
at another dance earlier this summer when an elderly gentleman simply
decided to step out and sit down during a - thankfully - very simple
dance -
and I had done the same thing rather than stop or let the line crumble.
Just wanted to "share"
:-)
-cynthia
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6 Sep
6 Sep
5:49 p.m.
Hi Cynthia,
> During one of the dances, one young man got a cell
phone call. He stepped out of line to take the call! His partner carried on for a moment
or two, but then the line started to break down.
Funny, I had the same experience some time ago.... except, on top of what you described,
in my situation, the cell phone talker was a young lad who came in during the second half,
was new, missed the beginner session and first half of easier dances. The young group
that came in late also looked like they had been partying (alcohol, but I can't be
sure)....
I couldn't get down to the floor quick enough (wasn't using my wireless mic due
to one dancer's sensitivity to wireless equipment), so I turned to the sound guy and
asked him to go down on the floor and ask the young lad to either step outside to talk on
his phone, or get off the cell phone and dance. The line had started breaking down a bit,
but luckily the cell phone talker was towards the top of the set.
In the end, he got off the phone and continued dancing.
One never knows what will pop up in the course of the evening, which I think is what
keeps calling fun, challenging and full of spontaneity.
Karen Fontana
Cynthia Phinney <cynth(a)gwi.net> wrote:
Ah, the impacts of technology. I was recently calling for a contradance at
the Maine Social Forum. It was a crowd of primarily beginners, with only a
smattering of experienced folks. During one of the dances, one young man got
a cell phone call. He stepped out of line to take the call! His partner
carried on for a moment or two, but then the line started to break down. I
had to jump into the line and grab his partner - calling while we danced -
to keep it going. It worked. Fortunately I'd had a little practice on this
at another dance earlier this summer when an elderly gentleman simply
decided to step out and sit down during a - thankfully - very simple dance -
and I had done the same thing rather than stop or let the line crumble.
Just wanted to "share"
:-)
-cynthia
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Karen Fontana
www.karenscontracorner.com
karen_fontana(a)yahoo.com
(H) 650-691-9663
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2 comments
3 participants
participants (3)
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Barbara Groh -
Cynthia Phinney -
Karen Fontana