On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 3:13 AM, Will Kruse <sideways(a)wcrews.net> wrote: What makes a great caller? A great band. Okay, that's the flippant answer, although there's a certain amount of truth to it. If the band is awesome, the caller can just get out of the way, and everything will work for an awesome evening. (That's even more true if there's a great crowd, as well. The special event that brings out all of the experienced dancers, and greatly increases the ratio of experienced to beginner dancers, is easy to call.) I'm a good caller, but not a great one. The great callers I know (Lisa Greenleaf, Chris Kelly, Linda Leslie, and Joseph Pimental, to name just four) can (seemingly) effortlessly fix a set that's just starting to fail with a few gentle words over the microphone. They can miscall a dance (even the great ones are human) and fix it on the fly. They're not only good teachers of the dances, style, and etiquette, but also in tune with the crowd to know both when and what to teach. And then there's usually something extra special about each one. Chris Kelly exudes calm, even in the midst of a train wreck, without reducing the energy level of the dance. Joseph has a program for the evening, a backup program, and a mental set of safety-net dances, but the dancers never know because he'll make the night awesome fun regardless. Etcetera. -Grant- -- Grant Goodyear web: http://www.grantgoodyear.org e-mail: grant(a)grantgoodyear.org

What kind of calling? You pose a good question. The answer, however, depends on the kind of venue being discussed. I see at least three different calling venues that require very different skills: 1. Gatherings of dance enthusiasts: Festivals, dance camps, and other special events that are frequented almost entirely by dance enthusiasts. 2. Regularly scheduled open, public contra dances where first-timers are encouraged to attend without separate training. 3. Private "barn dance" events where few, if any, of the participants are dance enthusiasts. A caller may be a "great" caller at one of these kinds of venues while being a poor caller at another. The criteria for "greatness" at each type of venue are very different. - Greg McKenzie *********** On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 1:13 AM, Will Kruse <sideways(a)wcrews.net> wrote:

Great question Will. My friend Lisa Sieverts summed it up well (and I hope I am recalling her words correctly - apologies to Lisa if my memory is not serving me well) by saying that a caller always needs to be mindful that the dancers are there to have FUN! So this needs to be at the core of any decisions regarding programming etc. I have lots more thoughts, but thought I would throw this one in for now. Looking forward to reading everyone's replies. From Australia Jeanette Mill  "The piano - 88 little mistakes waiting to happen." Peter Barnes. ________________________________ From: Will Kruse <sideways(a)wcrews.net> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Sent: Mon, 11 April, 2011 6:13:49 PM Subject: [Callers] What makes a caller a great caller? Hello from Seattle!  I'd love to hear your thoughts on what separates good callers from great callers?  Is it their selections of dances? That they call their own dances?  Their ability to compose an evening of dancing?  Their personal charm?  Their connection with the band? Their intimate knowledge of how the dance, the music, and the dancers all flow together? I'm especially interested to hear from dance organizers what they look for when they consider booking a caller?  I suspect this second question may have a separate answer from the first :-) Curiosity abounds as my mind begins to explore the calling space :-) Will "now, from Seattle!" Kruse _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Keith wrote: I want to clarify the cognitive frame I am using here. I see these different venues as having very different purposes and the caller has a very different role in each one. The "level" of calling ability, in my framing, would not correlate with the "level" of dancing experience of the participants. On the contrary, I see calling at dance enthusiast gatherings to require the lowest level of calling expertise. Calling for dance enthusiasts is an easy gig. Calling at a venue that attracts almost entirely dance enthusiasts has its own challenges, but the real challenge of contra dance calling is at the open, public contra dance event where first-timers are welcomed without separate instruction. My measure of a great contra dance caller is how well they handle an open event with 15% first-timers in attendance. These events are the heart and soul of contra dance, and they define the tradition. In this public venue the caller’s first priority should be to integrate the newcomers into the community. A great caller is one who can integrate newcomers seamlessly—with short walk-throughs and smooth transitions into dancing to live music. When a great caller is calling at an open public contra dance all first-timers are immediately partnered with more experienced dancers and the regulars look forward to dancing with newcomers because they recognize that the caller knows how to make that experience exciting, easy, and fun for everyone. The great caller will give the regulars an important and satisfying role to play in partnering with newcomers and guiding them through the moves—without verbal teaching. Instead, the great caller will allow the regulars to “show” the newcomers all of the details they need to know. The great caller will integrate the music into the teaching so that the first-timers will be amazed at how quickly they are able to begin dancing to exciting live music. The regulars will take delight in seeing the excitement and discovery in the faces of the first-timers. When a great caller calls an open public contra dance there will never be a “center line syndrome.” The atmosphere will be cordial, welcoming, generous, and joyful. In fact, a “center line syndrome” is, by this framing, a clear symptom of poor calling. Calling at a “one night stand” or at an exclusive event for dance enthusiasts are both challenging gigs in their own right. The important thing is to recognize that there is a big difference in the skill set required for calling at each kind of event as well as the frame the caller should be using at the event. A full discussion of the skills, strategies, and framings required to manifest the above vision would be very helpful. --Greg McKenzie ******** On Mon, Apr 11, 2011 at 8:27 AM, Greg McKenzie <grekenzie(a)gmail.com> wrote:

I'd like to echo what Mac has said, and give an example. The late Culver Griffin once showed up unexpectedly at a contra dance I was leading, with a mixed crowd including some adults and children new to dancing. I asked if he would call a dance and he began teaching a square, including a grand square figure. Hmm, I said to myself, I wouldn't have chose grand square, would take me too long to teach and I'd only expect a 50% success rate. Culver, however, took very little time to teach it, and had a 100% success rate. What was his teaching secret? As far as I could tell, his confident, cheerful and authoritative voice, and that mysterious creation of trust and communication of character that removed all doubt and hesitancy from the dancers. Definitely something for me to aspire to! Richard On Apr 12, 2011, at 7:31 PM, Richard Mckeever wrote:

PS The link for Cumberland Dance week had errors. The correct link is http://www.cumberlanddanceweek.org/ (Thanks Aimee) -----Original Message----- From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Tepfer, Seth Sent: Wednesday, April 20, 2011 1:40 PM To: Caller's discussion list Subject: [Callers] Callers’ Week Intensive at Cumberland Dance Week Exciting news! Callers’ Week Intensive at Cumberland Dance Week (July 17-23) Cumberland Dance Week will feature a callers' intensive program this year. Two full sessions each day of instruction, exercises, and practice time, led by Seth Tepfer. The week will feature 3 late night open mic calling times and opportunities to add more dance parties. During the week we will cover: * Introduction to calling * Effective teaching * Calling squares * Programming an evening * The Beginners workshop (new dancer session) * And much more This class is for people who want to: * learn to call from scratch * take their calling to the next level * call and teach more effectively * practice calling in a safe space Each day we will have one session where we will go over material in a setting that provides a mix of lecture, discussion, and active participatory exercises. The second session will be lab, where we will be practicing calling contras and squares with live music and dance guinea pigs. Participants will have homework each day and be expected to participate in the open calling sessions and dance parties. Cumberland Dance Week is July 17-23, 2011 at Lake Cumberland 4-H Educational Center, Nancy Kentucky. More information about Cumberland Dance week is available at: www.cumberlanddanceweek.org/<http://www.cumberlanddanceweek.org/> Cost starts at $699 (2 adults per room, all inclusive). Scholarships are available. Call 770-289-3204 or email seth@danceRhapsody.com<http://dancerhapsody.com/redir.aspx?C=9ea99a1f8b424edba2141ac2e0fc0748&URL=mailto%3aseth%40danceRhapsody.com> to discuss details. ________________________________ This e-mail message (including any attachments) is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. If the reader of this message is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this message (including any attachments) is strictly prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please contact the sender by reply e-mail message and destroy all copies of the original message (including attachments).