8 Oct
2011
8 Oct
'11
2:10 p.m.
Greg wrote: "Mixers are often used to force integration of the dance hall."
I'm glad that he included the "often" qualifier, thereby leaving open the
possibility
that not every caller who chooses a mixer is condemned to the 9th circle of hell.
Following the lead of my mentor, Ted Sannella, I include a mixer at nearly all
of my home dances, typically the third dance of the evening. That was Ted's custom,
and Tony Parkes, another great caller, once explained that the third dance is
late enough to catch the late arrivals but early enough to help set the stage
for the evening.
I love mixers, as a dancer. It's an opportunity to see who's in the hall. It's
a chance to dance, briefly, with folks I don't know. Oh, here's a face I don't
recognize, but based on her swing, it's clear that she's a dancer who's been
on
the floor for some time... Aha, this is someone brand new, good smile but unsteady
on her feet, good person to ask for a dance... yippee! she's here tonight! gotta
make sure to get her for a partner if there's a square caller since I remember
that she loves squares... and so on.
And as a caller, I love calling them, to provide all of those opportunities, and
for other reasons. I don't run most mixers for very long, perhaps 8-10 times,
depending on the dance. That means that I'm adding one more dance into the mix,
inthe course of which everyone is getting that many opportunities to dance with
a different partner. Mixers also come in many shapes: big circle, Sicilian circle,
scatter promenades, three person lines, and so on. That also allows me to vary
the look and feel of the floor so that it's not all contra contra contra, and
since the dance floor is part of life, I do believe that variety adds spice.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
P.S. An interesting cultural sidenote: Greg's negative feelings about mixers are
based on them being used as a form of social engineering, to get folks to partner
up with people with whom they wouldn't normally. I've had the opportunity to call
often in Denmark and in the Czech Republic, and there you can end a mixer and
ask people to take that partner to line up for the next dance and that's okay,
an accepted part of what people will cheerfully do. In Prague, for example, they
usually dance squares without break figures, in part to language issues-- a steady
stream of unexpected calls in a foreign language can be daunting But they'll run
a partner-changing square five or more times, and at the end they'll take that
final partner for the next dance. It's simply not a big issue. They're there to
have fun, and it's not as important as it seems to be with hard-core contra dancers
in the US that they have The Right Partner for a swing. It's a refreshing laid-back
alternative to what sometimes is an overly-intense partnered scene at our dances
in the US.
8 Oct
8 Oct
3:34 p.m.
New subject: The Beginners' Lesson Tips?
In addition to David's dances to the north, mixers, especially circle mixers are often
used elsewhere in New Hampshire. This is certainly true. In Nelson where we always have
lots of new dancers in the hall, especially in the summer time - many high school students
who don't have homework to do, and young people at one or more local summer camps.
The is a circle mixer, as soon as the room fills with a lot of new people - often even 2
or 3 concentric circles. These mixers do help to get the new dancers to dance with
experienced dancers, and they also allow the caller to speak to everyone from the middle
of the circle(s), an to demonstrate tricky moves. To an absolute beginner everything and
anything can be a mystery. (Lost and found is always in the middle..) And as David said
happens in Europe at the end of the mixer, the caller, usually Don Primrose, asks dancers
to form lines with that last partner. Sometimes, if I finish the circle mixer with an
experienced dancer who I know, we may split up to dance with someone who is still standing
along the wall, to try to include everyone.
And it certainly has worked in Nelson. Many , many, of these young people who first
learned to dance in Nelson in the summertime, return and have become very good dancers.
They bring friends, and help to teach them what they like and know about the dances.
And similar mixers can usually be expected in most other New Hampshire dances, whether in
Peterborough, Dover, Milford, Concord or elsewhere. It's a change of pace, and a way
to say hello to some of the other dancers.
And I should also add that at the Ralph Page Dance Legacy Weekend (at the University of
New Hampshire on the Martin Luther King weekend in January), we will feature a
retrospective of the Nelson dances over the past 50+ years. We will only go back that long
because that's about how far back the memories of current dancers and musicians go
back - and because we only have 2 hours for the retrospective on Saturday afternoon. I
hope we will be able to show how the Nelson dances have changed over the past decades (not
many changes, but just enough..), and to keep people coming back, especially the younger
dancers who will keep it going for the next half century.
Rich Hart.
David Millstone remarked on 10/8/2011 9:10 AM:
Greg wrote: "Mixers are often used to force
integration of the dance hall."
I'm glad that he included the "often" qualifier, thereby leaving open the
possibility that not every caller who chooses a mixer is condemned to the 9th circle of
hell.
Following the lead of my mentor, Ted Sannella, I include a mixer at nearly all of my home
dances, typically the third dance of the evening. That was Ted's custom, and Tony
Parkes, another great caller, once explained that the third dance is late enough to catch
the late arrivals but early enough to help set the stage for the evening.
I love mixers, as a dancer. It's an opportunity to see who's in the hall.
It's a chance to dance, briefly, with folks I don't know. Oh, here's a face I
don't recognize, but based on her swing, it's clear that she's a dancer
who's been on the floor for some time... Aha, this is someone brand new, good smile
but unsteady on her feet, good person to ask for a dance... yippee! she's here
tonight! gotta make sure to get her for a partner if there's a square caller since I
remember that she loves squares... and so on.
And as a caller, I love calling them, to provide all of those opportunities, and for
other reasons. I don't run most mixers for very long, perhaps 8-10 times, depending on
the dance. That means that I'm adding one more dance into the mix, inthe course of
which everyone is getting that many opportunities to dance with a different partner.
Mixers also come in many shapes: big circle, Sicilian circle, scatter promenades, three
person lines, and so on. That also allows me to vary the look and feel of the floor so
that it's not all contra contra contra, and since the dance floor is part of life, I
do believe that variety adds spice.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
P.S. An interesting cultural sidenote: Greg's negative feelings about mixers are
based on them being used as a form of social engineering, to get folks to partner up with
people with whom they wouldn't normally. I've had the opportunity to call often in
Denmark and in the Czech Republic, and there you can end a mixer and ask people to take
that partner to line up for the next dance and that's okay, an accepted part of what
people will cheerfully do. In Prague, for example, they usually dance squares without
break figures, in part to language issues-- a steady stream of unexpected calls in a
foreign language can be daunting But they'll run a partner-changing square five or
more times, and at the end they'll take that final partner for the next dance.
It's simply not a big issue. They're there to have fun, and it's not as
important as it seems to be with hard-core contra dancers in the US that they have The
Right Partner for a swing. It's a refreshing laid-back alternative to
what sometimes is an overly-intense partnered scene at our dances in the US.
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5:35 p.m.
New subject: The Beginners' Lesson Tips?
David wrote:
Greg's negative feelings about mixers are based on
them being used as a
form of social engineering, to get folks to partner up with people with whom
they wouldn't normally.
Thank you David for stating this idea so clearly. You are, once again,
treading very close to the real question: What is a dance caller and what do
they do?
My negative comments about mixers were directed only at their use as a ploy
for integrating the hall. I am not adverse to mixers in general. The key
concept is keeping the dancers informed about what is coming so that they *can
*act responsibly and prepare in advance. It is the tactic of "springing" a
mixer on dancers unannounced that dis-empowers them.
If I were opposed to "social engineering" I would never advocate that anyone
become a dance caller. I know of no other human endeavor that better
qualifies as "social engineering" than dance calling--and contra dance
calling in particular. Social engineering is at the heart of what a contra
dance caller does. I think we should strive to improve our social
engineering and I would like to see callers focus more on their role as
social engineers. The tactic of "springing" a mixer on the dancers is,
simply, *poor *social engineering because it discourages dancers from being
proactive in partnering with newcomers.
I am enjoying this discussion and I would be interested in what other
callers on this list think of being called "social engineers."
- Greg McKenzie
2011/10/8 David Millstone <David.Millstone(a)valley.net>
Greg wrote: "Mixers are often used to force
integration of the dance hall."
I'm glad that he included the "often" qualifier, thereby leaving open the
possibility that not every caller who chooses a mixer is condemned to the
9th circle of hell.
Following the lead of my mentor, Ted Sannella, I include a mixer at nearly
all of my home dances, typically the third dance of the evening. That was
Ted's custom, and Tony Parkes, another great caller, once explained that the
third dance is late enough to catch the late arrivals but early enough to
help set the stage for the evening.
I love mixers, as a dancer. It's an opportunity to see who's in the hall.
It's a chance to dance, briefly, with folks I don't know. Oh, here's a face
I don't recognize, but based on her swing, it's clear that she's a dancer
who's been on the floor for some time... Aha, this is someone brand new,
good smile but unsteady on her feet, good person to ask for a dance...
yippee! she's here tonight! gotta make sure to get her for a partner if
there's a square caller since I remember that she loves squares... and so
on.
And as a caller, I love calling them, to provide all of those
opportunities, and for other reasons. I don't run most mixers for very long,
perhaps 8-10 times, depending on the dance. That means that I'm adding one
more dance into the mix, inthe course of which everyone is getting that many
opportunities to dance with a different partner. Mixers also come in many
shapes: big circle, Sicilian circle, scatter promenades, three person lines,
and so on. That also allows me to vary the look and feel of the floor so
that it's not all contra contra contra, and since the dance floor is part of
life, I do believe that variety adds spice.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
P.S. An interesting cultural sidenote: Greg's negative feelings about
mixers are based on them being used as a form of social engineering, to get
folks to partner up with people with whom they wouldn't normally. I've had
the opportunity to call often in Denmark and in the Czech Republic, and
there you can end a mixer and ask people to take that partner to line up for
the next dance and that's okay, an accepted part of what people will
cheerfully do. In Prague, for example, they usually dance squares without
break figures, in part to language issues-- a steady stream of unexpected
calls in a foreign language can be daunting But they'll run a
partner-changing square five or more times, and at the end they'll take that
final partner for the next dance. It's simply not a big issue. They're there
to have fun, and it's not as important as it seems to be with hard-core
contra dancers in the US that they have The Right Partner for a swing. It's
a refreshing laid-back alternative to what sometimes is an overly-intense
partnered scene at our dances in the US.
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6:22 p.m.
New subject: The Beginners' Lesson Tips?
"The tactic of "springing" a mixer on the dancers "
We dance every Monday night in Nelson and the regulars understand that
a circle dance is the "norm" during the sumer season. Not only do we
regularly have a third of the hall "new dancers".. we have had up to
14 different countries and several different languages represented (a
crazy night) on the floor at one time. The common denominator making
it all work, being the shared love of the music/dance and the
community.
I believe the new dancers learn at an accelerated rate in Nelson.. for
the fifth or sixth dance of the night is always Chorus Jig. One heck
of a learning curve.
No tricks, no "springing" anything on anyone, we dance. Whatever it
is .. it works.
-Don Primrose
On 10/8/11, Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> wrote:
David wrote:
Greg's negative feelings about mixers are
based on them being used as a
form of social engineering, to get folks to partner up with people with
whom
they wouldn't normally.
Thank you David for stating this idea so clearly. You are, once again,
treading very close to the real question: What is a dance caller and what do
they do?
My negative comments about mixers were directed only at their use as a ploy
for integrating the hall. I am not adverse to mixers in general. The key
concept is keeping the dancers informed about what is coming so that they
*can
*act responsibly and prepare in advance. It is the tactic of "springing" a
mixer on dancers unannounced that dis-empowers them.
If I were opposed to "social engineering" I would never advocate that anyone
become a dance caller. I know of no other human endeavor that better
qualifies as "social engineering" than dance calling--and contra dance
calling in particular. Social engineering is at the heart of what a contra
dance caller does. I think we should strive to improve our social
engineering and I would like to see callers focus more on their role as
social engineers. The tactic of "springing" a mixer on the dancers is,
simply, *poor *social engineering because it discourages dancers from being
proactive in partnering with newcomers.
I am enjoying this discussion and I would be interested in what other
callers on this list think of being called "social engineers."
- Greg McKenzie
2011/10/8 David Millstone <David.Millstone(a)valley.net>
Greg wrote: "Mixers are often used to force
integration of the dance
hall."
I'm glad that he included the "often" qualifier, thereby leaving open the
possibility that not every caller who chooses a mixer is condemned to the
9th circle of hell.
Following the lead of my mentor, Ted Sannella, I include a mixer at nearly
all of my home dances, typically the third dance of the evening. That was
Ted's custom, and Tony Parkes, another great caller, once explained that
the
third dance is late enough to catch the late arrivals but early enough to
help set the stage for the evening.
I love mixers, as a dancer. It's an opportunity to see who's in the hall.
It's a chance to dance, briefly, with folks I don't know. Oh, here's a
face
I don't recognize, but based on her swing, it's clear that she's a dancer
who's been on the floor for some time... Aha, this is someone brand new,
good smile but unsteady on her feet, good person to ask for a dance...
yippee! she's here tonight! gotta make sure to get her for a partner if
there's a square caller since I remember that she loves squares... and so
on.
And as a caller, I love calling them, to provide all of those
opportunities, and for other reasons. I don't run most mixers for very
long,
perhaps 8-10 times, depending on the dance. That means that I'm adding one
more dance into the mix, inthe course of which everyone is getting that
many
opportunities to dance with a different partner. Mixers also come in many
shapes: big circle, Sicilian circle, scatter promenades, three person
lines,
and so on. That also allows me to vary the look and feel of the floor so
that it's not all contra contra contra, and since the dance floor is part
of
life, I do believe that variety adds spice.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
P.S. An interesting cultural sidenote: Greg's negative feelings about
mixers are based on them being used as a form of social engineering, to
get
folks to partner up with people with whom they wouldn't normally. I've had
the opportunity to call often in Denmark and in the Czech Republic, and
there you can end a mixer and ask people to take that partner to line up
for
the next dance and that's okay, an accepted part of what people will
cheerfully do. In Prague, for example, they usually dance squares without
break figures, in part to language issues-- a steady stream of unexpected
calls in a foreign language can be daunting But they'll run a
partner-changing square five or more times, and at the end they'll take
that
final partner for the next dance. It's simply not a big issue. They're
there
to have fun, and it's not as important as it seems to be with hard-core
contra dancers in the US that they have The Right Partner for a swing.
It's
a refreshing laid-back alternative to what sometimes is an overly-intense
partnered scene at our dances in the US.
______________________________**_________________
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3 comments
4 participants
participants (4)
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David.Millstone＠VALLEY.NET -
Donald Primrose -
Greg McKenzie -
Richard Hart