15 Mar
2018
15 Mar
'18
12:23 a.m.
I almost always program a regular dance the day of. This has gotten a lot
easier since I now keep a digital record of every program I call -- I can
look through and find a program I called for a similar dance, pull out
those cards, and modify and make changes as necessary. I try to also make
notes on programs, like "Second half was great; first half was good except
I had three Gents Allemande Lefts in a row," etc. The ability to recycle
and modify old programs has been a life-saver!
This story isn't practical advice so much as it is A Weird Thing That
Worked for Me Once: Recently I was programming in a hurry for a six hour
advanced dance event. I went through my box and just haphazardly pulled out
everything I was excited to call, then counted to see if I had enough
dances. Once my numbers were good (4-5 dances/hour), I sorted them all into
five columns (Very Smooth - Smoothish - Neutral - Balancey - Very Balancey)
and then sorted the columns vertically by relative difficulty. I had
something like five or six dances in every column, which seemed perfect! So
then I just picked up cards from their spots in a particular order -- like
Easiest Smooth to Easiest Very Balancey to Third-Easiest Neutral, etc --
just to approximate a dynamic program. When I laid out the two programs I'd
made this way and checked them out, they were great! It was kind of magic!
That all said, definitely I almost always need to modify my programs on the
fly. I try not to sweat the details too hard; most dancers won't notice the
little things, and as long as they're having fun, all is well. :)
Angela
On Wed, Mar 14, 2018, 8:01 PM Woody Lane via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I might be a bit different than most of the replies to
your question. For
a regular contra dance, I usually set up a program on that day or one day
prior. Sometimes in the car enroute to the dance (if someone else is
driving). I may be thinking of dances that I'd like to call during the
previous week or two, but I actually put things on paper (or lay out cards)
within 48 hours of the actual event, usually within 12 hours . Frankly, I
don't want to get my head into an ownership mindset that would result if I
invest so much in the program. My approach leaves much to flexibility and
nimbleness. Of course, for some slots I'll have 2 or 3 dances listed on the
paper -- depends on the dancers/music/heat in the room/etc -- and then make
those choices on-the-fly while calling the previous one or two dances.
Always watching the dancers and listening to the music.
Of course, everything can change in an evening, depending on so many
things. Dances, dance sequence, tempos, musical requests to the band,
musician preferences of the musicians and their skills for communication,
etc. I also have a couple of back-pocket dances for just-in-case
situations. I also have a couple of dances that I could call as
No-Walk-Throughs, depending on the timing of the program and many other
on-the-spot judgements. In the end, I think it's all about the dancers -- I
want them and the musicians to have a very fun time.
Sometimes I like to have a small table at the back/side of the stage where
I can lay out a few other cards that are not in my program. These I can see
quickly and possibly use them if necessary. Again, the judgements are made
on the fly.
Community dances (like barn dances, Grange dances, square dances, etc.)
are different. I rarely do any preparation. I bring my cards, talk to the
organizers, watch the crowd, listen to the music, and choose dances on the
fly. Again, always watching the crowd.
And hot-house gigs like NEFFA, Northwest Folklife, the Portland Roadhouse,
etc. are again different. Those are highly-organized programs well in
advance, but they are also short (slots of 50-90 minutes). I'll think of
dances weeks in advance, work up a program two weeks in advance, send it to
the band, and then coordinate with them intensively. These gigs are kind of
like Las Vegas Shows, and IMO they require careful preparation. Only rarely
do they include on-the-fly changes.
Woody
------------------------------
On 3/13/2018 10:58 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote:
I am curious how much time you all plan programming a dance before
arriving at a venue. If you do not preprogram, what is your approach for
on the fly programming?
Rich Sbardella
Stafford, CT
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