In your calling career, do you now or have you ever had a mentor? Yes, most definitely. If so, who was it and what specific things did they do to help you grow as a caller and a person? My mentor is David Millstone. (David, I feel like we could have a little StoryCorps moment here. Perhaps you'll chime in with your version?) Several years ago he informed me that there were a few Dartmouth students who had asked him to lead a small contra calling class, and he invited me to join. I was skeptical (why would you want to *call* a dance when you could *dance*a dance?), but I was also completely mesmerized by all things related to contra. So I asked him if it would be alright if I joined the class, just for the knowledge, without any requirement to actually do any calling. He agreed that that would be fine. Our class met regularly over the course of a couple months. The others were interested in organizing events on campus, so we mainly focused on One-Night-Stand type of dances. But obviously, the calling methodology can be taught regardless of the type of dance used. To each lesson, David would bring some sort of material. In particular I remember getting several handouts from Seth Tepfer's page<http://www.dancerhapsody.com/Calling/Handouts.html>(awesome resource, thanks Seth!). For another lesson he gave us a list of dances from a program he had created for an evening, and he asked us to organize the order we thought would be most appropriate. He also generally would bring a stack of books for us to flip through, and he definitely encouraged my decision to purchase Contra Dance Calling by Tony Parkes. I remember being surprised at the extent of contra dance calling material. Until going to these classes, I had never appreciated that different callers develop different styles of calling. One of the reasons that David has been such a wonderful mentor is that he can vocalize his particular opinion on a topic, while still presenting me with the information on opinions other callers will have on the topic. In the couple years since our class met, I ended up being the first (and possibly only?) one to actually call a dance at a public event. It is certainly a privilege to have a mentor who can recognize my fears or inhibitions and encourage me to overcome them in order to discover something I love. Part of David's advice was to start writing down the dances I like. This 'research' has been an invaluable tool, as it has given me a reason to introduce myself to so many other callers (who have sometimes attained celebrity status in my mind) in order to ask for names and authors of dances. In this way I have received so much encouragement, which has only added to my appreciation and love of the contra community. For now, I have not yet jumped off the deep end of contra dance calling, but I know that if the day comes when I choose to do so, I will have the information and resources to be able to do so satisfactorily (and I have chosen that word because I know greatness comes with practice). The encouragement and support I have received through mentorship have carried over into my non-contra-calling life as well. In the world of science academia, the ability to clearly communicate to an audience is incredibly important, as is the ability to simply be comfortable in front of an audience (which, unfortunately, I still need much practice in). Also, in a similar way to a scientist having pride in being able to trace his academic heritage back to a famous scientist, I also feel pride in my dance calling heritage, knowing I have learned from the masters. Thank you, David, for your mentorship and friendship. Both are incredibly appreciated. -Meghan ::ending sentimentality mode:: On Mon, May 7, 2012 at 3:57 PM, David Lawrence Harvey &lt;dave(a)nycbarndance.com > I was introduced to Dudley Laufman by a friend in the spring of 1994. I > attended and sat in as a musician with many dances led by him for many > years while I lived in NH. He also let me talk shop with him at his place > in Canterbury, NH, and let me borrow titles from his huge personal library > of books, tapes and CDs. He also got me my first paying gig. There's > simply too much to share via email about how helpful he was and continues > to be. > > Yours, > Dave Harvey > NYC Barn Dance > > On Mon, May 7, 2012 at 2:27 PM, Don Veino &lt;sharedweight_net(a)veino.com > >wrote: > > > I don't have a formalized single mentor but draw on the established > regular > > callers in my area (or internet extended area :) for advice and feedback. > > At least one of these callers created opportunities for me to try out > > larger venue public calling which nudged me over the hump to try doing a > > full evening on my own, which was great. > > > > BTW, one area caller just opened himself up for very public feedback on a > > recent gig via a Facebook note discussion, which included the dancers as > > well - I found to be very brave and smart, as it seems to be producing > rich > > results. > > > > -Don > > > > On Mon, May 7, 2012 at 12:02 PM, lynn ackerson &lt;callynn1(a)pacbell.net&gt; > > > > > > In your calling career, do you now or have you ever had a mentor? If > so, > > > who was > > > it and what specific things did they do to help you grow as a caller > and > > a > > > person? > > > thanks, > > > Lynn > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Callers mailing list > > > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >

Why am I asking? As a CDSS board member particularly interested in contras, I'm brainstorming about what a long-distance mentoring program could look like. ----- Original Message ---- From: "Winston, Alan P." &lt;winston(a)slac.stanford.edu&gt; To: Caller's discussion list &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Sent: Mon, May 7, 2012 2:49:20 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] mentorship Over in English country dance land, I've gotten a lot of help from Bruce Hamilton over the years (auditing his weekly caller classes in 1985, taking caller classes at English Week), and also taken a bunch of English and contra caller sessions from other leaders like Scott Higgs.  I did a year as apprentice to Jody McGeen in English. I haven't really had an ongoing mentorship relationship other than that, and I definitely haven't had one in contra.  (I basically jumped over from the English ladder to the contra ladder without climbing the lower rungs of the contra ladder - my first contra gig was a mixed English/contra evening at the Scout House.  I got a lot of help from Lynn Ackerson and Susan Petrick on putting that evening together, and with Karen Axelrod and Dave Langford playing and  a room full of excellent dancers who loved both forms it was, I think, quite successful.  That was a much easier gig than the ones I've been doing lately, as I belatedly call small dances in outlying areas, work with inexperienced bands, etc.)  Other callers have been very generous with me - I've gotten helpful feedback from Erik Hoffman, Jim Saxe, and others. Part of me would still like to get formally mentored; part of me thinks that might be kind of emotionally Difficult when I've been calling for 27 years and am (in some ways) pretty good, and in a fair amount of demand (when you add up the ONS, Regency, Civil War, English, and contra, I gigged about 50 times last year and seem to be on track to do that again this year).  I know I don't know everything, by a long shot. I've been very grateful for this mailing list, where we can discuss problems, approaches, philosophy, etc (and get multiple contradictory answers).  There's also been a number of learning and discussion opportunities for me on the ECD mailing list. Lynn, I'm wondering why you ask? -- Alan _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Sounds like a great project. I'm currently working to encourage local callers, suppose you could call it mentoring. A couple of them quite actively. Also have mentored to some degree long-distance. The long distance bit mainly is providing resources and being available to discuss upcoming gigs and what they might expect. I also help them to get gigs through my contacts. I think a long distance mentor should be willing to make themselves available for confidential discussions. Another aspect would be to travel to do a workshop, then remotely advise and mentor the attendees. Rich

Hi Lynn, A long-distance mentoring program would be great. And Bob your idea sounds promising (your video dance archives are a useful resource). Even using skype in some way might be helpful. When I learned to call MWSD, I was very lucky to be mentored by an excellent local caller, Kelvin Love, here in Christchurch and helped by understanding dancers who were willing put up with my first steps. In Japan, "Fancy" Tanaka took me under his wing and allowed me to call regularly for his club. Both these men have a fantastic understanding of how to move dancers in unbroken flowing patterns, and this imparted skill has helped me greatly when working out contra dance choreography. Calling for contra has come from dancing to and learning from visitors who have come to NZ. Bev Bernbaum, Mike Boerschig, Bob O'Brian, Gaye Fifer, Steve Gester, Alice Millmoe, Andrea Nettleton and Susie Rudder have all be extremely helpful when they have been here. I've learned much from them. SW is a great resource, and off list a number of people have been very helpful to me. In particular Bob Isaacs has been very generous answering some technical questions, David Millstone has helped me get dancing established here with his advice and resources he has provided to me. I enjoy Linda Leslie's regular continuing help and encouragement and honest appraisal of my ideas. Of course nothing is better that personal contact. On our recent trip to San Francisco, it was great to finally meet you Lynn, and our brief conversation when you drove me home from the dance was a kind of mentoring for me :-). Sharing ideas with Alan Winston and Jim Saxe at the special 'woolshed' dance series arranged by the BACDS really made me feel part of the contra community. Success with your mentoring program. I'm happy to help if I can. Cheers, Bill

Hi Lynn & SW: When I first was dabbling in the idea of calling, last summer, Marty Fager from CDNY was a person I bounced ideas off, and he was happy to share experiences. He's continued to assist me, but since I live near Princeton, and Bob Isaacs seems to always be sniffing around for new callers, he took me under his wing. (And a large wing, as then Bob would create a caller's workshop for a dozen of us!) There is an *incredibly* large amount of things a new caller needs to learn. A lot of it can be written down and then reviewed by a mentor, and then the calling is all about getting opportunity behind the mic with real dancers. If CDSS is interested in fostering more shared resources / creating a framework for a remote new caller mentoring program, some ideas: - There are a few Internet solutions for free-or-cheap, real-time meetings / voice calling. - One of the biggest challenges is learning dances. A library of shared dances would be invaluable. (Also, for a dance choreographer...) - There's a number of good books already written by a number of good callers. Bob wrote his own sizable workbook for the caller's workshop, too. The CDSS shopkeeper could create a sub-section of the books on the website for just calling, and just dances - it's difficult sometimes to weed through everything. Maybe a book-club for one or more of these contra calling books could have a basic curriculum developed? - There seems to be a wide variety of feelings on guest calling opportunities. I'm blessed because Glenside, PA has local caller nights and has been receptive to new callers, Princeton encourages guest calling with *every* local rotation caller, and I've known the CDNY folks for years and so have been able to secure guest spots there. However, there are many dances that just aren't receptive to guest spots. There are still others where the organizers don't care either way, and put it on the individual callers to decide. I'm certainly not saying that there ought to be any unified way, but discussion overall across CDSS of how dance organizers and callers feel about guest callers would go a long way in opening people up to the idea, maybe planning for it, maybe encouraging it. - There's a gap in time between when a trained new caller CAN call and when they get gigs. I'm faced with this now. I've got a few half-nights lined up with dances that are my regular dances *and* because I have strong recommendations. I hear time and time again from callers with 3-5 years experience that the first year and booking first gigs is really, really difficult. What I might recommend would be a database listing of new-caller-friendly dances, for example, smaller university dances that have difficulty drawing premium callers and bands and may only have 20 - 30 dancers per night. - These online groups are great. Shared weight has a lot of interesting discussion, and though I'm a lurker and just listen in, I've gained a lot of insight, even just on seemingly trivial threads. (Like talking about the merits of one particular dance, for example.) I've heard the singing squares workshop from Pinewoods has a great group. Princeton has a group from Bob's class and there's a lot of discussion between us informally. - I'd love a list of every dance everywhere, divided by region, with listings of address, organizers, contact info, links to websites, and their policies toward callers. (does this resource exist?) Anyway. Watching this discussion unfold is heartening - as I join the caller community, I have met a LOT of callers who are warm and welcoming and foster a spirit of cooperation. I would say it's easily the majority of callers who do this. Continuing to cultivate a spirit of cooperation and concreting it as the social norm in the contra community at large is a big benefit for new callers. In Dance, -Ron Blechner On Mon, May 7, 2012 at 7:08 PM, lynn ackerson &lt;callynn1(a)pacbell.net&gt; wrote:

On 5/8/2012 6:35 PM, Mark Hillegonds wrote: (Ravitz, >Hume, Ormand, Sanella, Olsen, and any number of others) it can be difficult get >new dances into the light of day and, in the theme of mentorship, get feedback on >them. There are certainly a number of dances posted to this list and feedback is >readily and warmly given. I have gleaned a number of dances from this list and am >glad to see them, both as a caller and choreographer. dances? Too >many postings of new dances could dilute the [Caller] aspect of the list. I do see it as an appropriate place. It seems mutually beneficial to me for choreographers to put new dances under caller's noses, and the volume of new dances posted so far isn't very high. There are three types of postings that, for me as a caller (acting like a filter feeder who snags things as they come by) have almost the same effect: - I wrote down this dance - anybody know what it is? - I think I made up this dance - does it exist already? - Here's my cool new dance - I hope you'll like it. I don't see much point in segregating the third type of post to another list. list? I can >see this list really focusing on creating new dances, getting feedback, and >getting the word out about new dances. It could be a nice venue for >choreographic student/mentorship stuff to happen. If there were one, I would probably sign up so that I didn't miss anything. That's different from thinking there's actual demand for it. The devil is in the details there. From what pool are the new dances drawn? Who's doing the moderating? What makes the cut? -- Alan

Hi Mark, I pretty much agree with Alan. For me calling and choreography are intertwined and this forum is the ideal place for new dances. Cheers, Bill

A separate  Choreographers list would be best.   Some excellent dances don't experience a period of popularity because callers can't visualize them.   How callers might expand their dance visualization skills would be a worthwhile topic for this callers' forumNew dances range from those  (1)  that recombine figures into original and enjoyable but non-ingenious ways, and (2) those that show ingenuity by inventing a new variation of a figure or new transition among figures.      Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 --- On Wed, 5/9/12, Laur &lt;lcpgr(a)yahoo.com&gt; wrote: From: Laur &lt;lcpgr(a)yahoo.com&gt; Subject: Re: [Callers] Mentorship for Choreographers To: "Caller's discussion list" &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Date: Wednesday, May 9, 2012, 12:01 AM Although I definitely appreciate and incorporate the discussions of new dances in this list, I would also appreciate, and mostly prefer, a differentiation.  I would like to know that this is the list for calling and another list I can gravitate to for new dances and discussions on them.  I would subscribe to both, and read both.  I feel that the distinction would be most beneficial. ~ Laurie P West MI~ --- On Tue, 5/8/12, Mark Hillegonds &lt;mhillegonds(a)comcast.net&gt; wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

I've said this before, but this may be a good thread on which to repeat it. One of the unexpected delights of our Calling Parties, set up to give us a place to call dances in private before we call them in public, to find out where the trouble spots might be, has been the development of dance writers. And not just our dance writers. A select group of people from around the country send us dances, and we try them out at our Calling Parties, take videos of the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly and send them back to the choreographer, who can tell where and why we went wrong, and whether we enjoyed it, both of which we often do. Voila! Instant mentorship, straight from the sorts of people who will be doing the dances, namely, dancers. You could do the same thing. Buy a camera (ours is a Zoom, since we first wanted a pretty good sound recorder) and a gorillapod/tripod and invite over some people, call your dance and see where it needs to go back to the drawing board. I've seen some dances go through ten or more revisions over several months - but in the end, they turned into a dance for the ages. If you do this, you will never have to waste dancers' time at a regular dance with something that just doesn't work. Or, if it does work, but just needs better calling, you'll have a place to make that happen, too. Start having Calling Parties! M E On Tue, May 8, 2012 at 8:35 PM, Mark Hillegonds &lt;mhillegonds(a)comcast.net&gt;wrote;wrote: -- As you set out for Ithaka, pray that your journey be long, full of adventure, full of discovery... May there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, with what joy, you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time. ~Constantine Cavafy, "Ithaka" 1911

AACTMAD (Ann Arbor, MI) is doing something similar to what Alan describes below. We're calling it Dance Lab. AACTMAD sponsors the hall rental and we use local aspiring musicians. New callers can get some flight time. More experienced callers can work on dances new to their repertoire. Choreographers can try out new dances. Musicians get practice playing for dances. And the dancers get to try out some new dances. Time is built after each dance to allow discussion of what worked well and what could use some more work. Dance Lab is held monthly. We've held 4 Dance Labs so far and it seems to be getting some buzz in our community. Mark Hillegonds cell: 734-756-8441 email: mhillegonds(a)comcast.net blog: www.defriction.com -----Original Message----- From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Alan Winston Sent: Friday, May 11, 2012 4:55 PM To: Caller's discussion list Subject: Re: [Callers] Mentorship for Choreographers Martha wrote about calling parties. Partly inspired by the Webster Grove calling parties, by the "house dances" and "Potter's Porch" tradition, and partly by the availability of a dance space for $25/night, I've been organizing "Woodshed dances" for the last year and a half. Callers split the rent, everybody else gets in free, and we get to sort out new choreography, puzzle out other people's dances, etc. BACDS adopted the series (which means extending insurance cover and putting the info on the website) this year. http://www.bacds.org/series/woodshed/atherton/ It's very helpful, and trying stuff out there definitely reduces the instance of crashing and burning in front of paying customers. (Challenges sometimes include trying to make a worthwhile evening for the three dancers who happened to show up.) -- Alan _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Those calling parties do sound like a good idea, and they sound similar to 3 regular dances that we have here in NH. There are 3 regular dances here where there is always an open mike for callers, and musicians can join the band, or play for a dance or two themselves. Calling is shared at these dances by all callers who attend and wish to call a dance, regardless of experience level. The experienced callers are always willing to help a new caller pick a dance to call, based on the dancers present, and the caller's abilities. Then, afterwards, talk with them about what went right, and any problem the caller might have had. Musicians at these dances can also join in and play for a a single dance or more, if they wish, and then dance the rest of evening. Experienced musicians are always willing to help the new ones, as well. These 3 dance include Dover (1st Thursday), Milford (4th Friday), and Nelson (every Monday). In Dover and Milford, there is a single big band that musicians may join, while in Nelson musicians usually take turns, and seldom all play together - which can result in considerable variations in musical styles in a single evening. I love these dances because I get to both call and dance the same evening. Callers will often use these dances to try out a new dance, either one they just wrote, or one they picked up somewhere. Experienced callers will also talk with a new caller to help them pick a dance for the crowd, and one that will fit in the sequence of dances that evening. Dancers are usually helpful and appreciative when a new callers attempts a dance, and almost always a new caller will be guided to call a dance that the experienced dancers have danced many times before, so that failure is not a real possibility. Among the things that happen for a new caller is that the musicians will pick a tune for him or her, and a mentor caller will provide an "appropriate" dance, so the new caller just needs to think about the walk through and the words to use when calling the dance, perhaps emulating another caller they heard recently or that evening. We have had callers and musicians at these dances who range in age from about 12 to 80. Actually, I think Bob McQuillen will make that 90 next year! Experienced callers and musicians are always willing to help a new younger caller or musician get started. And as I think about it, I realize how much here just happens "automatically" so that a new caller or musician can concentrate on just what he or she needs to do, while letting others handle details that they can consider later once they've gotten the basics. But these details that the new caller may ignore initially, are also so important to help to keep the dances organized, and the dancers satisfied. Rich Hart. On 5/12/2012 12:39 AM, Greg McKenzie wrote:

I'm puzzled that Will Mentor has not chimed into the recent discussions here Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844

I may have missed it, but I haven't seen William Watson's excellent collection of caller resources. http://www.quiteapair.us/calling/ Rich

Michael, Trust me, I (and I'm sure others) have seen callers go through mentorship, classes, support, etc. And - they do not have the thing that callers make. Callers that are serious want and need feedback, the community, the mentoring and again FEEDBACK. Those that are- seek and respond to this. Those are nots - not. They are into them and not into the rest. So the caution is - callers that aren't into the caller community feedback mentorship ... lose. and the community that has to dance to them, loses. Laurie P West MI ~ --- On Wed, 5/9/12, Michael Fuerst &lt;mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com&gt; wrote:

I might suggest that there's a natural break-out topic: "What makes a good caller? (both perspectives of caller, dancer, band, and dance organizers all)" I've heard a *lot* of callers talk about the difference of being "a caller" and "a really good caller", and while experience is a necessary condition, it is not, I believe, sufficient. In dance, Ron On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 10:33 AM, Michael Fuerst &lt;mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com&gt; wrote:

Perry wrote: " I've danced to a few nationally-known callers who I don't think are very good at all."  Without mentioning names, what did or didn't these nationally known callers do to make you feel they were not good??? Perry wrote: "... most callers, whether they stick to local areas or whether they are national are very good."   This might confirm the suggestion that calling is quite easy with practice. Dancers at events  with a "nationally known" caller will be quite skilled, and the caller does not have worry about selecting dances appropriate to the crowd's skill level, or changing their program to correlate with the crowd's collective skill. What my makes a caller good with a crowd of one skill level, might make that same caller not so good with a crowd of a different skill level.   For example,  I know of several callers whose dance collections  contain solely  relatively straightforward dances--which they can teach extraordinarily well to a crowd with many less experienced dancers--but an experienced crowd would be quite bored. Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844.  Links to photos of many of my drawings and paintings are at www.ArtComesFuerst.com --- On Thu, 5/10/12, Perry Shafran &lt;pshaf(a)yahoo.com&gt; wrote: From: Perry Shafran &lt;pshaf(a)yahoo.com&gt; Subject: Re: [Callers] mentorship To: "Caller's discussion list" &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 2:31 PM Ron, You pose a real excellent question.  WHAT makes a "good" caller?  Now if you were to ask the dancers on the floor who their favorite callers are, they generally list popular, well-known callers who travel a lot.  But does this mean that they are the "best"?  Or that other lesser-known callers aren't any good?  I've heard a lot of local callers who I have a LOT of fun when they call.  On the other hand, I've danced to a few nationally-known callers who I don't think are very good at all.  As a matter of fact, most callers, whether they stick to local areas or whether they are national are very good.  My opinion is this:  a real good caller is one who picks dances that are appropriate for the crowd that he/she is calling for.  They do their research ahead of time:  Will I be calling to mainly newbies?  Mainly experienced dancers?  A mix?  What percentage of each approximately?  And then program said dance with the appropriate mix of dances for the crowd that is expected to be there.  And also be flexible to change your program on the fly if the unexpected shows up. Also - the ability to explain those dances well.  It's tricky in mixed crowds - you want to be just detailed enough so that the new dancers can pick up on it but not so wordy so that the experienced dancers are getting antsy.  A lot of this depends on the crowd mix (experienced-to-newbie ratio).  This also means that a good caller KNOWS the dances he's calling inside and out.  (Though I've been known to call a dance that I picked up just that day, but before I do so I make sure I understand the dance and how it flows.)  For me, one of the most important things is to emphasize the tricky parts without spending an hour on explaining it - that makes a good caller.  And then there's good caller-to-dancer relationships.  By that I mean, you also need to be likable to the crowd, personable.  You're the party host.  Those that than treat their guests as welcome to the party.  Of course things will go wrong often to most callers, but a good caller handles those with style and grace and doesn't show frustration.  "Never let them see you sweat" - a good rule of thumb.  There are probably more, but this note is getting lengthy and I can't think of any more right now.  It's an excellent question and conversation starter. Perry --- On Thu, 5/10/12, Ron T Blechner &lt;contraron(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: From: Ron T Blechner &lt;contraron(a)gmail.com&gt; Subject: Re: [Callers] mentorship To: "Caller's discussion list" &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 3:12 PM I might suggest that there's a natural break-out topic: "What makes a good caller? (both perspectives of caller, dancer, band, and dance organizers all)" I've heard a *lot* of callers talk about the difference of being "a caller" and "a really good caller", and while experience is a necessary condition, it is not, I believe, sufficient. In dance, Ron On Thu, May 10, 2012 at 10:33 AM, Michael Fuerst &lt;mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com&gt; wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Barb:   I did not express myself adequately.   When a caller has only relatively straightforward dances to offer,   experienced dancers could be bored by the dances, not by the callers's teaching  Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 --- On Thu, 5/10/12, barb kirchner &lt;barbkirchner(a)hotmail.com&gt; wrote: From: barb kirchner &lt;barbkirchner(a)hotmail.com&gt; Subject: Re: [Callers] mentorship To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Date: Thursday, May 10, 2012, 4:20 PM disagree.  one thing i learned from my university years (besides some things about plants) was that it was CRITICAL to say things in various ways.  i taught science majors one semester, non-science majors the next.  non-majors were the most fun.  you had to realize that every single person in the room came with a different agenda, a different background, a different expectation - and you have to say something that EVERYBODY can understand use IMMEDIATELY. if you are a good teacher, you are a good teacher for everybody. cheers - barb                           _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

When I think of mentorship, I'm thinking of a one-to-one relationship where one experienced caller really guides a newbie, but I don't think I went through that per se. Tom Hinds taught a 4-week (maybe more?  I forget) caller's workshop back in 2002, and I jumped at the chance for the opportunity.  He was an excellent teacher, focusing on knowing your dances so well you don't need your cards to call them.   Once that was finished, we had a group of experienced and new callers in the DC/Baltimore area called the Caller's Collective.  Occasionally we would get together for a potluck and some calling practice, generally to recorded music.  Lots of experienced dancers helped guide us in gently giving us constructive criticism and lots of positive feedback.   In time I went through the route that Ron is doing now - finding callers who would give me a guest caller slot. There were several who were happy to do so - Susan Taylor, Greg Frock, Ann Fallon, etc.  (Though unlike Ron I didn't travel hither and yon to get these guest spots - but in DC/Maryland there are plenty of dances to get opportunities.)  I am supremely grateful to these folks who gave me a slot - especially Peggy Hesley who gave me my very first calling opportunity at my home dance of Annapolis December 2002.  Hard to believe that's nearly 10 years ago! There have been occassional other workshops - mainly focusing on one-night stands and such, and we had another new caller's workshop I think 2007 where I focused on square calling.  Nowadays though I find myself on the other end of giving callers guest spots whenever they ask.   Perry --- On Tue, 5/8/12, Ron T Blechner &lt;contraron(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: From: Ron T Blechner &lt;contraron(a)gmail.com&gt; Subject: Re: [Callers] mentorship To: "Caller's discussion list" &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net&gt; Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2012, 8:35 PM Hi Lynn & SW: When I first was dabbling in the idea of calling, last summer, Marty Fager from CDNY was a person I bounced ideas off, and he was happy to share experiences. He's continued to assist me, but since I live near Princeton, and Bob Isaacs seems to always be sniffing around for new callers, he took me under his wing. (And a large wing, as then Bob would create a caller's workshop for a dozen of us!) There is an *incredibly* large amount of things a new caller needs to learn. A lot of it can be written down and then reviewed by a mentor, and then the calling is all about getting opportunity behind the mic with real dancers. If CDSS is interested in fostering more shared resources / creating a framework for a remote new caller mentoring program, some ideas: - There are a few Internet solutions for free-or-cheap, real-time meetings / voice calling. - One of the biggest challenges is learning dances. A library of shared dances would be invaluable. (Also, for a dance choreographer...) - There's a number of good books already written by a number of good callers. Bob wrote his own sizable workbook for the caller's workshop, too. The CDSS shopkeeper could create a sub-section of the books on the website for just calling, and just dances - it's difficult sometimes to weed through everything. Maybe a book-club for one or more of these contra calling books could have a basic curriculum developed? - There seems to be a wide variety of feelings on guest calling opportunities. I'm blessed because Glenside, PA has local caller nights and has been receptive to new callers, Princeton encourages guest calling with *every* local rotation caller, and I've known the CDNY folks for years and so have been able to secure guest spots there. However, there are many dances that just aren't receptive to guest spots. There are still others where the organizers don't care either way, and put it on the individual callers to decide. I'm certainly not saying that there ought to be any unified way, but discussion overall across CDSS of how dance organizers and callers feel about guest callers would go a long way in opening people up to the idea, maybe planning for it, maybe encouraging it. - There's a gap in time between when a trained new caller CAN call and when they get gigs. I'm faced with this now. I've got a few half-nights lined up with dances that are my regular dances *and* because I have strong recommendations. I hear time and time again from callers with 3-5 years experience that the first year and booking first gigs is really, really difficult. What I might recommend would be a database listing of new-caller-friendly dances, for example, smaller university dances that have difficulty drawing premium callers and bands and may only have 20 - 30 dancers per night. - These online groups are great. Shared weight has a lot of interesting discussion, and though I'm a lurker and just listen in, I've gained a lot of insight, even just on seemingly trivial threads. (Like talking about the merits of one particular dance, for example.) I've heard the singing squares workshop from Pinewoods has a great group. Princeton has a group from Bob's class and there's a lot of discussion between us informally. - I'd love a list of every dance everywhere, divided by region, with listings of address, organizers, contact info, links to websites, and their policies toward callers. (does this resource exist?) Anyway. Watching this discussion unfold is heartening - as I join the caller community, I have met a LOT of callers who are warm and welcoming and foster a spirit of cooperation. I would say it's easily the majority of callers who do this. Continuing to cultivate a spirit of cooperation and concreting it as the social norm in the contra community at large is a big benefit for new callers. In Dance, -Ron Blechner On Mon, May 7, 2012 at 7:08 PM, lynn ackerson &lt;callynn1(a)pacbell.net&gt; wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers