Put Quaaludes in the drinking water. On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 11:55 PM, Quiann2 <quiann2(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Jacqui, I think you are on the right track. Earning and holding the attention of the hall is a key skill that many callers struggle with. A contra dance is a complex ritual where the caller takes control of the audio space in the room and moves the locus of attention to their voice for defined periods of time. Managing these transitions is a vital communication skill for callers. Here is how I work to earn and hold the attention of the hall. 1. I take full responsibility for whatever happens in the hall. 2. I recognize that dancers come to socialize and that talking is a core reason they come to the dance. It the room is buzzing with exciting chatter I take this as a sign that the band and I are doing our job well. 3. I give the dancers time to socialize. When the band is ready I stand ready at the mike and wait until I hear a subtle drop off in the chatter and I take this as a signal that it is time to begin the walk-through. (If folks are looking expectantly at the stage I know I have waited too long.) 4. I set up a ritualized pattern wherein I call for the attention of the room in stages. I start by saying something like "Ladies and gentlemen," to signal that essential information is about to be given. I then immediately give the dancers an instruction to physically move. (Usually "Please take hands in groups of four from the top of the line.") Then I wait about 10-15 seconds or so and give another instruction to physically move: "Ones please cross over." Then I wait another 10-15 seconds or so and begin the walk-through proper, something like: "Ones face down. Twos face up. With the one you're facing balance and swing." The purpose of this staged process is to politely allow the dancers to gracefully transition from their socializing into listening to my instructions. It would be rude to interrupt a dancer's "story" with a demand for full attention immediately so this ritualized process gives the regulars clear signals and allows them to take the lead with their first-timer partners and demonstrate that they "know the drill" and will lead the newcomer successfully through the process. This is a way to include the regulars as leaders in the walk-through and make it a collaborative process. 5. As I continue the walk-through I restrict my speech to essential information. I use effective word order. I never repeat an instruction or a call. (If I screw up and the dancers need clarification I will give the call using different words.) 6. I then begin dropping calls as soon as possible and lowering the volume of my voice to "give back" some of the sonic space in the room to the dancers...and to the band. On Regaining the Attention of the Hall After Losing It. I take full responsibility. It was, after all, my screw up that caused the dancers to feel the need to talk during the walk-through. I will usually apologize for losing my focus and ask the dancers to allow me to try again. Apologies are one of the most powerful tools I have as a caller to regain the attention of the hall after a screw up. It brings the locus of attention back to my voice and signals that I know what went wrong and have a plan to fix it. It also offers a way to model politeness and gracious consideration for the dancers. I try to always take responsibility. That's how I do it. There are other ways that seem to work well for other callers. - Greg McKenzie West Coast, USA ****************** On Tue, Aug 13, 2013 at 9:55 PM, Quiann2 <quiann2(a)gmail.com> wrote:

Jacqui, If the gig is an intensive dance weekend, then the dancers probably expect you to get them dancing, dammit, and never mind wasting this time on a walk-through while we're talking and ignoring the caller. That's always a problem. The way I've addressed it in that situation might not always be suitable: "WIIITTTTH the Couple aCross do a Right and left Through..." [in a sing-song caller voice] [then, when the floor descends into chaos] Whoops! Go back to your original starting places. Take hands four from the top, and HOLD ON to your circle of 4 so it gets ALL the way to the bottom. There was a problem, so you might need to adjust. Please hold on to your circle, so that other people can see it and join their own circle. OK. Let's start again. This is how this dance goes: ... [and walk through the dance in a conversational voice, not a shouting voice, and not a calling voice.] If the gig is a social dance, such as our local Fire-House dance here in La Honda (population 500), then it's all different, of course. This local social dance does one square (a very simple dance, by modern urban contra standards) or perhaps one contra (a square, deformed into lines instead of a square). Then 10-15 minutes to socialize sample snacks, basically lots of talking. The evening is a social event, not a dance event. After some suitable time has elapsed, I'll cue the band to play a polka (later in the evening, it's a waltz, but early it's a polka) just about 6 times through. Basically, we're ringing the church bell, calling the flock to worship. Remember, it's a social event. A social event where they happen to do dancing. It's NOT a dance event where they might (or might not) socialize. Back to your initial question about how you get people to be quiet and pay attention during the walk-through: Good luck! Key points: 1 - find out what the event organizers expect, especially what they expect YOU to do without their help or input 2 - if it's a social event, allow time for socializing. Don't try to fight that, you won't win 3 - when people can't hear you, don't talk louder into the microphone, and don't turn up the PA sound. This is the ONE occasion to play the "teacher" card and say something along the lines of: "[normal conversational voice. NOT caller voice] Hello. Can you hear me? In the back of the hall, please Raise Your Hand if you Can Not hear me." At 9:55 PM -0700 8/13/13, Quiann2 wrote:

Jacqui, I notice that in your original message about dealing with crowd noise, you identify two somewhat separate, though related, issues: (1) (2) * * * * * * * * * * Re (1), I heartily agree with Greg and others who have advised allowing dancers some time to socialize and waiting for the conversational buzz to start tapering off before you start the walk-through. Greg has described a ritual of transitioning from socializing to the walk-through: Regardless of whether you do something like that, whether you use some other way of instructing dancers to take hands four and (if appropriate) to get into improper formation, or whether you're calling in a community where almost all dances are improper (or Becket) and dancers tend to line up in improper formation on their own, you may sometimes find yourself looking at floor where most dancers are waiting for the walk-through to start, but some haven't gotten into position. Typically there are some dancers partway down a set who, with no intention of malice or willful disobedience, haven't taken the initiative to get "hands four" to propagate beyond themselves. Perhaps there are new dancers dancing together, despite whatever attempts the caller and the experienced dancers have made to encourage mingling. Perhaps two people of the same sex are dancing as partners and haven't thought to do something to help the dancers below figure out which one is dancing in which role. Perhaps an unpartnered person is standing in or near the set and the dancers below can't tell whether that person is waiting for a partner to come back from the water fountain or whether the person has just come over to chat with someone and is about to go away. Perhaps someone is busy showing a partner or neighbor how to swing and is oblivious to the propagation of "hands four". Perhaps several of these things are going on at once. So what do you do? You could repeat the request for taking "hands four" (and/or the request for crossing over)--preferably not in an impatient voice-- and hope who has been wool gathering finally takes note of it and gets things moving. You could ask people to take hands four and to hold it until they see that the foursomes below them are starting to take hands four. Perhaps someone just above the blockage will take heed and help their neighbors get organized. You could pretend to start the walk-through, knowing that it will cause people in the bottom part of the hall to start clamoring for "hands four". You could request action in a way that doesn't pretend to start the walk-through. For example, "In your groups of four, circle once around to be sure you have space." (Larry Jrnning mentions this ploy in one of the _Contra COnnection_ columns.) You could ask the couples at the bottom of the set to raise their hands when the "hands four" has reached them. You could actually give the first move of the walk-through-- particularly if it's something that doesn't rearrange the dancers (e.g., long lines go forward and back), so that you don't have to deal with a situation where some dancer have moved to positions while other haven't yet taken "hands four". The last few of these options can all have the effect of getting dancers near the bottom of the set to insist that the dancers above them take hands four, so that the caller doesn't have to take on the role of whip-cracking cat-herder. Perhaps someone will even walk up the set to wherever the "hands four" got stalled and then walk back down the set counting off which dancers are 1s and which are 2s. By the way, having dancers do an action that involves joining hands (e.g., in long lines, go forward and back, or "circle once around to be sure you have space) can be a good way to get the to notice if two people of the same sex (or same gender role) are unexpectedly adjacent to each other. * * * * * * * * * * Re topic (2)--regaining the dancers' attention in the middle of the walk-through--I think the best thing is not to lose their attention in the first place. I'll post some ideas about that in a later message. I'm quite aware, though, that despite best efforts, a caller still may sometimes lose the attention of the dancers. So my pitch for prevention is not at all meant to derail discussion of your (Jacqui's) original question about what to do when that happens. --Jim On Aug 13, 2013, at 9:55 PM, Quiann2 wrote: