On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 11:43 AM, Aahz Maruch <aahz(a)pobox.com> wrote: "Balance Bouquet" by Al Olson (see Give & Take) was an experiment that has seven balances. -Chris Page San Diego

I'll second that. Du Quoin Races is a great, lively dance. Dave Harvey On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 5:31 PM, Richard Mckeever <macmck(a)ymail.com> wrote:

What I'm missing is why balances make a dance high-energy. Could anyone help explain? If I had to guess randomly, I'd guess the energy level was caused by the music, and by the overall activity level.... -Chris Page San Diego On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 5:40 PM, Mark Hillegonds <mhillegonds(a)comcast.net> wrote:

Here is Mac calling Du Quoin races...sort of... ;-) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wH3TRPECJo On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 8:06 PM, Richard Mckeever <macmck(a)ymail.com> wrote:

A simple dance in a big hall with hundreds of [likely experienced] dancers and the right  music certainly can make the dance blossom.  With these factors, I can't imagine the caller making much difference   Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801       217-239-5844 ________________________________ From: Richard Hart <richhart49(a)gmail.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2013 10:58 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] High-energy dances Chris, I'm with you on this one.  More than once, I've been blown away by the simplest little dance, often one that I've danced many times before and called as well. But, suddenly in a big hall with hundreds of dancers, the right music, and a good caller, the dance blossoms into a huge high energy dance. One in particular that I remember was the dance Hey in the Barn (by Chart Guthrie). It was called at a past Snow Ball, maybe by Nils Fredland. i don't remember the band, but it became a high energy dance, although there are only 2 balances, followed by swings, and chains and heys. It's a simple dance. The energy level is not so much a property of the dance moves, but instead of the dancers, and the way the caller and musicians can set the energy level, with the dancers' help. There are at least 2 choriography things that i think are important for a high energy dance: 1. The dance should flow smoothly. 2. The dance should be simple enough so dancer don't need to concentrate on what they need to do next. With these features, dancers can focus on the energy, and interactions with other dancers, rather than the mechanics of the dance. And if the right music is there to support the dancers, then you may have a high energy dance. Rich Hart. On Tue, Apr 23, 2013 at 8:48 PM, Chris Page <chriscpage(a)gmail.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers