Quiet (was: Super easy dances - do they exist?) - Contra Callers

19 Jun 2017

It isn't necessary to hire a person who can do a loud whistle - you can buy
a loud whistle for a few dollars, and hang it from a lanyard.

Here's another technique for calling for quiet which I have seen work,
although I haven't used it myself.

"If you can hear my voice clap once. <clap> If you can hear my voice clap
twice. <clap clap> If you can hear my voice clap three times. <clap clap
clap>  ... "

The few people who hear you the first time clap, and that attracts the
attention of people near them, so more people hear you calling for them to
clap twice, which attracts more attention.  Repeat until you have the
attention of the room.  It won't solve the problem of keeping them quiet,
but it doesn't hurt to have more than one technique to draw on.

And it's easier on the ears than that loud whistle.

Jacob

On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 12:50 PM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote:

...
  Oh how I wish that would work.  I've tried that
technique over the years.
 They just ignore me.  Shushing works, but I have to repeat the shhhhh into
 the mic lots of times.  A big part of the challenge is the acoustics --
 it's worse than being in a gym.  For instance, I get them quiet and then
 teach them the first move -- there is a roar -- I get them quiet again --
 teach the next move -- there is a roar -- I get them quiet again -- teach
 the third move -- there is a roar -- ad nauseam.  The musicians crank up
 their music to the max for the dance, but even I can barely hear it over
 the din from the dancers.  Short of hiring a person who can do that loud
 whistle, I'm at a loss.  I've sort of grown used to it, but my temper is
 short and I really have to watch myself.

 On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 7:42 AM, Jeremy Child &lt;jeremy.m.child(a)gmail.com&gt;
 wrote:

  To quiet a room I use the Girl Guides technique:

 I raise my hand, and anyone who sees me knows to stop talking and raise
 their hand too.  More notice this (other peoples hands up and slightly
 diminished volume).  This snowballs quite quickly as peer pressure kicks
 in, and is a very effective technique.  You have to teach it to them first,
 of course, but they pick it up quite quickly.

 Jeremy
 www.barndancecaller.net

 On 16 June 2017 at 20:10, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers <
 callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote:

  I lead an annual dance for 200+ 18-year olds in a
hall with terrible
 acoustics.  Been doing it for 15+ years.  If they all whispered at the same
 time, it would sound like a roar in that room.  I can only do the most
 basic stuff most of the time...simple circles, longways with lots of
 sashaying, an easy folk dance.  But I experiment every now and then, which
 lead me to come up with the following dances which, for the most part,
 worked.  Am I stealing them from somebody?  (I like to give credit where
 credit is due.)

 They call their dance "Swat the Flea".  I searched for a long time for a
 very easy dance that had a Swat the Flea and finally wrote this one --

 BOX'NSWAT (Circle)
 A1  Women into the middle and back; Gents into the middle & back
 A2  All make a quarter turn to the right and walk single file to the
 right
 B1  Women turn back to face partner -- all shake R hands with Partner &
 Box the Gnat; change hands, Balance & Swat the Flea
 B2  DSD Partner; Allemande R w/partner 1-1/2 to progress (women end
 facing into the center ready to go F&B)

 Since contra dances are almost impossible to teach to a loud,
 boisterous, energetic bunch of 18-year olds who have never heard of or seen
 a contra dance, I decided to give this a whirl -- and it worked -- mostly!
 It would probably be better with a smaller more sedate crowd.

 GREASE & GLUE (Contra formation -- Gender free -- all you need is a
 partner)
 A1  Couple 1 split Couple 2, return to places; Couple 1 DSD
 A2  Couple 2 split Couple 1, return to places; Couple 2 DSD
 B1  Star R; Star L (w/hands)
 B2  Couples face each other -- Couples DSD 1-1/2 ending back-to-back,
 facing next couple

 As an aside -- how do you quiet a room with terrible acoustics full of
 loud people?  Thanks!

 --

 *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*

 *102 Mitchell Drive*

 *Temple, Texas 76501*

 *(903) 292-3713 <(903)%20292-3713> (Cell)*
 *(903) 603-9955 <(903)%20603-9955> (Skype)*
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 buttons, t-shirts, & more)*

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 --

 *Looking forward,Linda S. Mrosko*

 *102 Mitchell Drive*

 *Temple, Texas 76501*

 *(903) 292-3713 <(903)%20292-3713> (Cell)*
 *(903) 603-9955 <(903)%20603-9955> (Skype)*
 *contradancetx.com <http://www.contradancetx.com>*

 *www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy* <http://www.zazzle.com/fuzzycozy*> (Dance
 buttons, t-shirts, & more)*

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