Re: [Callers] Solo fiddler or recorded music?

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Re: [Callers] Solo fiddler or...

Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers

27 Mar 2015 27 Mar '15

11:28 a.m.

I would absolutely believe that the dancers were completely confounded by "right and left through". I remember how surprised I was, when I called my first dance, to discover how much more confusing it was than a Ladie's Chain. If you are used to both of them, then you tend to think of them as being similar. If you've never done either, then one of them has you connected to other people, while the other leaves you by yourself, trying to figure out which way to turn (and usually getting it wrong.) But learning which figures are easier and harder comes quickly. Learning which dances to call for a given crowd and how to teach them efficiently is a neverending process! Jacob On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

...

So, as the original poster, I am reporting back. The dance with the solo fiddler was a mixed bag. The music was very nice, but because I am new to calling, and our dancers are 99% beginners, way too much time was spent on walk-throughs and teaching. The fiddler sat out for long stretches of time, which seemed like a waste of his time and the money spent on live music. I thought I had picked easy dances, but you wouldn't believe how confounded so many of the people were at "right and left through", and that falls on me and my lack of experience with teaching and crowd wrangling. A special moment for everyone, though, was doing a circle waltz dance with the fiddler playing, unplugged, in the center of the circle. So, thanks again for everyone's input and encouragement, Brooks

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 03:50:51 -0700 To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] Solo fiddler or recorded music? From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net [resting up before the CALLERLAB convention, catching up on some older messages] On Thu, Mar 05, 2015, Neal Schlein via Callers wrote: > > So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to working

with a

> band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best

experience

for the dancers.

My experience as a relatively new caller is that it also depends on the caller's experience as a dancer. My hearing makes it a bit difficult to tune into the phrasing of a live band to call at the correct times, but because I've been contra dancing for so many years (almost exclusively to live music) I can roughly manage it -- and I know what it's supposed to sound like. -- Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/ <*> <*> <*> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

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Cheryl Joyal via Callers

27 Mar 27 Mar

11:54 a.m.

New subject: Solo fiddler or recorded music?

...

On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: So, as the original poster, I am reporting back. The dance with the solo fiddler was a mixed bag. The music was very nice, but because I am new to calling, and our dancers are 99% beginners, way too much time was spent on walk-throughs and teaching. The fiddler sat out for long stretches of time, which seemed like a waste of his time and the money spent on live music. I thought I had picked easy dances, but you wouldn't believe how confounded so many of the people were at "right and left through", and that falls on me and my lack of experience with teaching and crowd wrangling. A special moment for everyone, though, was doing a circle waltz dance with the fiddler playing, unplugged, in the center of the circle. So, thanks again for everyone's input and encouragement, Brooks

So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to working with a band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best experience for the dancers.

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Erik Hoffman via Callers

2:10 p.m.

New subject: Solo fiddler or recorded music?

Yes, the courtesy turn is a challenge. And, in a right & left thru, finding your "turner" is a challenge for the women. This is because for the person on the right, the natural way to turn is away from your partner. And, for some reason, men often think they don't have to move... But, for a room of beginners, I think, as said in an earlier email, the chain is a challenge, as the mere idea of progressing one way or the other... ~erik Hoffman On 3/27/2015 8:54 AM, Cheryl Joyal via Callers wrote:

...

The courtesy turn is the hard part. Sometimes Teaching hat first works as they practice the movement prior to moving - then have them walk across and do same turn. Similar for ladies chain although I think having a dance with R&L b4 chain is my new approach. And sometimes it just doesn't work with many beginners - so I apologize for not explaining well and change to an easy backup dance Cheryl Joyal 630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:28 AM, Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: I would absolutely believe that the dancers were completely confounded by "right and left through". I remember how surprised I was, when I called my first dance, to discover how much more confusing it was than a Ladie's Chain. If you are used to both of them, then you tend to think of them as being similar. If you've never done either, then one of them has you connected to other people, while the other leaves you by yourself, trying to figure out which way to turn (and usually getting it wrong.) But learning which figures are easier and harder comes quickly. Learning which dances to call for a given crowd and how to teach them efficiently is a neverending process! Jacob On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote: So, as the original poster, I am reporting back. The dance with the solo fiddler was a mixed bag. The music was very nice, but because I am new to calling, and our dancers are 99% beginners, way too much time was spent on walk-throughs and teaching. The fiddler sat out for long stretches of time, which seemed like a waste of his time and the money spent on live music. I thought I had picked easy dances, but you wouldn't believe how confounded so many of the people were at "right and left through", and that falls on me and my lack of experience with teaching and crowd wrangling. A special moment for everyone, though, was doing a circle waltz dance with the fiddler playing, unplugged, in the center of the circle. So, thanks again for everyone's input and encouragement, Brooks

Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 03:50:51 -0700 To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net

<mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>

Subject: Re: [Callers] Solo fiddler or recorded music? From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net

<mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>

[resting up before the CALLERLAB convention, catching up on some

older

messages] On Thu, Mar 05, 2015, Neal Schlein via Callers wrote: > > So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to

working with a

> band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best

experience

for the dancers.

My experience as a relatively new caller is that it also depends

on the

caller's experience as a dancer. My hearing makes it a bit

difficult to

tune into the phrasing of a live band to call at the correct

times, but

because I've been contra dancing for so many years (almost

exclusively to

live music) I can roughly manage it -- and I know what it's

supposed to

sound like. -- Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/ <*> <*> <*> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net

<mailto:Callers@lists.sharedweight.net>

http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers@lists.sharedweight.net> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net <mailto:Callers@lists.sharedweight.net> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Cheryl Joyal via Callers

3:38 p.m.

New subject: Solo fiddler or recorded music?

Erik I will take you up on mailing me your book - how do I get you a check? I will try to post the program I did recently for about 10 dancers and 45 beginners - I had to abort a couple dances ( including ladies chain) but we did manage to get to contras and progress. I use callers companion to plan program and introduce on new move at a time. Usually do a circle dance with couple progression to get the concept Cheryl Joyal 630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 11:10 AM, Erik Hoffman via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Yes, the courtesy turn is a challenge. And, in a right & left thru, finding your "turner" is a challenge for the women. This is because for the person on the right, the natural way to turn is away from your partner. And, for some reason, men often think they don't have to move... But, for a room of beginners, I think, as said in an earlier email, the chain is a challenge, as the mere idea of progressing one way or the other... ~erik Hoffman

...

On 3/27/2015 8:54 AM, Cheryl Joyal via Callers wrote: The courtesy turn is the hard part. Sometimes Teaching hat first works as they practice the movement prior to moving - then have them walk across and do same turn. Similar for ladies chain although I think having a dance with R&L b4 chain is my new approach. And sometimes it just doesn't work with many beginners - so I apologize for not explaining well and change to an easy backup dance Cheryl Joyal 630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:28 AM, Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: I would absolutely believe that the dancers were completely confounded by "right and left through". I remember how surprised I was, when I called my first dance, to discover how much more confusing it was than a Ladie's Chain. If you are used to both of them, then you tend to think of them as being similar. If you've never done either, then one of them has you connected to other people, while the other leaves you by yourself, trying to figure out which way to turn (and usually getting it wrong.) But learning which figures are easier and harder comes quickly. Learning which dances to call for a given crowd and how to teach them efficiently is a neverending process! Jacob On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to working with a band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best experience for the dancers.

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Mac Mckeever via Callers

3:46 p.m.

New subject: Solo fiddler or recorded music?

Eric, That sounds like a nice resource. In addition to one night stands - those type dances can also be used (sometimes with minor modification) at family dances. I plan to vacation out your way in September - I'll try to look you up and save $3. Mac McKeever From: Cheryl Joyal via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> To: Erik Hoffman <erik(a)erikhoffman.com> Cc: "callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> Sent: Friday, March 27, 2015 2:38 PM Subject: Re: [Callers] Solo fiddler or recorded music? Erik I will take you up on mailing me your book - how doI get you a check? I will try to post the program I did recently for about 10 dancers and 45 beginners - I had to abort a couple dances ( including ladies chain) but we did manage to get to contras and progress. I use callers companion to plan program and introduce on new move at a time. Usually do a circle dance with couple progression to get the concept Cheryl Joyal630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 11:10 AM, Erik Hoffman via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Yes, the courtesy turn is a challenge. And, in a right & left thru, finding your "turner" is a challenge for the women. This is because for the person on the right, the natural way to turn is away from your partner. And, for some reason, men often think they don't have to move... But, for a room of beginners, I think, as said in an earlier email, the chain is a challenge, as the mere idea of progressing one way or the other... ~erik Hoffman On 3/27/2015 8:54 AM, Cheryl Joyal via Callers wrote: The courtesy turn is the hard part. Sometimes Teaching hat first works as they practice the movement prior to moving - then have them walk across and do same turn. Similar for ladies chain although I think having a dance with R&L b4 chain is my new approach. And sometimes it just doesn't work with many beginners - so I apologize for not explaining well and change to an easy backup dance Cheryl Joyal 630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:28 AM, Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: I would absolutely believe that the dancers were completely confounded by "right and left through". I remember how surprised I was, when I called my first dance, to discover how much more confusing it was than a Ladie's Chain. If you are used to both of them, then you tend to think of them as being similar. If you've never done either, then one of them has you connected to other people, while the other leaves you by yourself, trying to figure out which way to turn (and usually getting it wrong.) But learning which figures are easier and harder comes quickly. Learning which dances to call for a given crowd and how to teach them efficiently is a neverending process! Jacob On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: So, as the original poster, I am reporting back. The dance with the solo fiddler was a mixed bag. The music was very nice, but because I am new to calling, and our dancers are 99% beginners, way too much time was spent on walk-throughs and teaching. The fiddler sat out for long stretches of time, which seemed like a waste of his time and the money spent on live music. I thought I had picked easy dances, but you wouldn't believe how confounded so many of the people were at "right and left through", and that falls on me and my lack of experience with teaching and crowd wrangling. A special moment for everyone, though, was doing a circle waltz dance with the fiddler playing, unplugged, in the center of the circle. So, thanks again for everyone's input and encouragement, Brooks

...

So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to working with a band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best experience for the dancers.

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Martha Wild via Callers

3:27 p.m.

New subject: Solo fiddler or recorded music?

Also, you can just change many right and left throughs into promenade across if you want to make a dance easier for beginners. Martha On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:54 AM, Cheryl Joyal via Callers wrote:

...

The courtesy turn is the hard part. Sometimes Teaching hat first works as they practice the movement prior to moving - then have them walk across and do same turn. Similar for ladies chain although I think having a dance with R&L b4 chain is my new approach. And sometimes it just doesn't work with many beginners - so I apologize for not explaining well and change to an easy backup dance Cheryl Joyal 630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:28 AM, Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: I would absolutely believe that the dancers were completely confounded by "right and left through". I remember how surprised I was, when I called my first dance, to discover how much more confusing it was than a Ladie's Chain. If you are used to both of them, then you tend to think of them as being similar. If you've never done either, then one of them has you connected to other people, while the other leaves you by yourself, trying to figure out which way to turn (and usually getting it wrong.) But learning which figures are easier and harder comes quickly. Learning which dances to call for a given crowd and how to teach them efficiently is a neverending process! Jacob On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: So, as the original poster, I am reporting back. The dance with the solo fiddler was a mixed bag. The music was very nice, but because I am new to calling, and our dancers are 99% beginners, way too much time was spent on walk-throughs and teaching. The fiddler sat out for long stretches of time, which seemed like a waste of his time and the money spent on live music. I thought I had picked easy dances, but you wouldn't believe how confounded so many of the people were at "right and left through", and that falls on me and my lack of experience with teaching and crowd wrangling. A special moment for everyone, though, was doing a circle waltz dance with the fiddler playing, unplugged, in the center of the circle. So, thanks again for everyone's input and encouragement, Brooks

So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to working with a band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best experience for the dancers.

_______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Brooks Hart via Callers

3:36 p.m.

New subject: Solo fiddler or recorded music?

Martha, that's a good idea. I think one of my problems was that the dance I called had both a R&L Thru and Promenade Across, so that confused the issue. Too much for beginners to keep track of. Brooks Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 12:27:05 -0700 To: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] Solo fiddler or recorded music? From: callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net Also, you can just change many right and left throughs into promenade across if you want to make a dance easier for beginners.Martha On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:54 AM, Cheryl Joyal via Callers wrote:The courtesy turn is the hard part. Sometimes Teaching hat first works as they practice the movement prior to moving - then have them walk across and do same turn. Similar for ladies chain although I think having a dance with R&L b4 chain is my new approach. And sometimes it just doesn't work with many beginners - so I apologize for not explaining well and change to an easy backup dance Cheryl Joyal630-667-3284 Sent from my iPhone On Mar 27, 2015, at 8:28 AM, Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: I would absolutely believe that the dancers were completely confounded by "right and left through". I remember how surprised I was, when I called my first dance, to discover how much more confusing it was than a Ladie's Chain. If you are used to both of them, then you tend to think of them as being similar. If you've never done either, then one of them has you connected to other people, while the other leaves you by yourself, trying to figure out which way to turn (and usually getting it wrong.) But learning which figures are easier and harder comes quickly. Learning which dances to call for a given crowd and how to teach them efficiently is a neverending process! Jacob On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:47 AM, Brooks Hart via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: So, as the original poster, I am reporting back. The dance with the solo fiddler was a mixed bag. The music was very nice, but because I am new to calling, and our dancers are 99% beginners, way too much time was spent on walk-throughs and teaching. The fiddler sat out for long stretches of time, which seemed like a waste of his time and the money spent on live music. I thought I had picked easy dances, but you wouldn't believe how confounded so many of the people were at "right and left through", and that falls on me and my lack of experience with teaching and crowd wrangling. A special moment for everyone, though, was doing a circle waltz dance with the fiddler playing, unplugged, in the center of the circle. So, thanks again for everyone's input and encouragement,Brooks

...

So, the moral of the story is that if a caller isn't USED to working with a band, live music isn't necessarily going to result in the best experience for the dancers.

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Brooks Hart via Callers
Cheryl Joyal via Callers
Erik Hoffman via Callers
Jacob Nancy Bloom via Callers
Mac Mckeever via Callers
Martha Wild via Callers