Here's an after-the-event musician perspective,
on a non-snow, but icy-post-midnight travel,
with high humidity (dew point) at altitude
and declining temperature, just below freezing
25+ miles away from the dance.
~Mark Jones (Concord Massachusetts)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mark Jones <markjones(a)busybusy.org>
Date: Sun, Dec 11, 2016 at 9:22 PM
Subject: Fwd: [pvcd] OT - Gofundme for Ann Percival's medical expenses
To: Boston Area Contra Community <BostonAreaContraCommunity(a)yahoogroups.com>
Greetings,
Ann Percival and David Canteini were in a car accident in which their car
rolled over several times, on the way home to western Massachusetts after
the Wild Asparagus dance at the Concord Scout House dance on Friday night,
December 2nd.
News and link below,
for the Gofundme page
for raising funds for Anne Percival's
medical and home-care expenses.
~Mark Jones
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ted Soulos soulost(a)arps.org [pvcd] <pvcd(a)yahoogroups.com>
Date: Sun, Dec 11, 2016 at 12:33 PM
Subject: [pvcd] OT - Gofundme for Ann Percival's medical expenses
To: "Orin Nisenson orin@nisen." <pvcd(a)yahoogroups.com>
Hi all,
I'm sharing the link to a Gofundme page raising funds for Anne Percival's
medical expenses: https://www.gofundme.com/ann-
percivals-medical-expenses?ssid=835523030&pos=1
She was in a car accident recently and had some fairly serious injuries. I
know musicians are often self insured and that their medical expenses are
often higher than those for people covered by workplace insurance. Ann is
the guitar, keyboard, vocalist for perhaps my very favorite dance band,
Wild Asparagus. I contributed this morning.
See you on the dance floor.
TED
__._,_.___
------------------------------
Posted by: Ted Soulos <soulost(a)arps.org>
------------------------------
Visit Your Group
<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/pvcd/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJlaHIydGk3BF9TAzk3…>
- New Members
<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/pvcd/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJmZzhiZ25hB…>
1
[image: Yahoo! Groups]
<https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJkb2pwc3BwBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkA…>
• Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> •
Unsubscribe <pvcd-unsubscribe(a)yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms
of Use <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/>
__,_._,___
Catapult is built to bring the best ready-to-be-discovered contra talent
together for one fantastic festival over Memorial Day Weekend.
Have any favorite bands or callers on stage in your local haunts that are
ready to break onto the national circuit?
Let them know.
Let me know.
For all the details check out www.catapultshowcase.com.
ciao,
rah
--
Rob Harper
thatrobharper(a)gmail.com
(404) 307-3444
Hi fellow organizers!
Thanks for all the help brainstorming words.... wow... there were some
grand ideas. 'Tis much appreciated. :)
I've started playing with word clouds in wordle.net and wanted to share my
progress as it's pretty darn cool.
I'll attach a few jpgs of the word clouds in a follow-up email as I think
they may get removed from my message.
In case you want to try making dance clouds too, here's what I did:
- I couldn't run wordle in chrome so had to pull out explorer and update
java
- I used one of the 'advanced' options where you could select size and
hex coding. The list of words with coding is below. (I used the following
website for the colour/greyscale choices http://htmlcolorcodes.com/)
The following text seemed to be best outside of the word cloud itself so
that it was really clear.
- All dances taught
- No partner needed
- No experience needed
- All are welcome
- absolutely no lessons required! (there's a beginner lesson at 7:30
which helps but is not necessary)
The words and coding I used are below.
:) Emily
CONTRA~DANCE:500:000000
always~live~music:300:000000
living~tradition:300:000000
vibrant:100:000000
welcoming!:300:000000
try~it!:300:000000
all~ages:200:000000
joy:300:000000
smiles:200:000000
super~fun:300:5E5E5E
community-spirited:200:5E5E5E
participatory:200:5E5E5E
very~simple~footwork:100:5E5E5E
social~dance:300:A1A1A1
trad~fiddle~tunes:200:A1A1A1
inclusive:100:A1A1A1
lively:300:A1A1A1
all levels dance together:100:A1A1A1
delight:300:A1A1A1
connection:100:A1A1A1
move:300:A1A1A1
celebrate:100:A1A1A1
One of the tools that I've used in the past is "Wordle". What's cool about
it is that it accentuates words used more frequently. It would mean (for
example) asking your dancers to respond to a prompt like, "Contra dancing
is...". Then put all the responses into a document and paste that into
Wordle. The result is usually quite striking. Of course you could just
generate the text yourself. I suspect that you all know about this but I
thought it was time to weigh in :-P What else does a Jewish boy do on
Christmas Day?
A joyous holiday of your choice to all of you!
Eric G.
Highland, NY
On Sat, Dec 24, 2016 at 4:09 PM, via Organizers <
organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Send Organizers mailing list submissions to
> organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-
> sharedweight.net
>
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Word cloud words for a contra poster???
> (JD Erskine via Organizers)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2016 20:10:50 -0800
> From: JD Erskine via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Organizers] Word cloud words for a contra poster???
> Message-ID: <585DF54A.3080005(a)shaw.ca>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> On 2016-12-22 1216, Emily Addison via Organizers wrote:
> > Hi fellow organizers :)
>
> snips
>
> > Things like... community, super fun, great exercise, live music....
>
> > Any ideas for words you find sell the experience???? ???
>
> Nice idea.
>
> > Has anyone made a contra word cloud before????
>
> No, simply used a few related words in event descriptions or on posters.
>
> Keywords/tags used here:
>
> Fun
> Live music
> All dances taught
> or
> All dances taught & prompted
> or
> Dances taught on the spot
> Try it!
> Intro session
> Bring your friends
>
> Sometimes:
>
> Tea & goodies
> Real Ale
> 50/50 Raffle
>
> as appropriate, natch.
>
> Some events here use All Ages as a tag, which in BC is also code for a
> dry/no-bar event.
>
> > :)
> > Emily in Ottawa
>
> Cheers, John
> --
> J.D. Erskine
> Victoria, BC
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Subject: Digest Footer
>
> _______________________________________________
> Organizers mailing list
> Organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-sharedweight.net
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> End of Organizers Digest, Vol 26, Issue 19
> ******************************************
>
Hi fellow organizers :)
In Ottawa, we're working on a new poster ... the kind you put up around
town to try to attract to people who have never heard about contra before.
Yes, not nearly as effective as word of mouth but we'd like to give it good
shot!
The thing we're struggling with is how to communicate what contra dance is
in a way that will grab the uninitiated. This was raised by Marie-Michelle
on the list earlier this year... ... 'what's the elevator pitch'????
Our current plan is to create a word cloud somewhat like this:
http://coedtech.hdesd.org/2012/09/10/word-clouds-are-a-simple-way-to-visual…
We're looking for words to populate the cloud, mostly wanting to avoid
unfamiliar words (e.g., many of the figures etc) but instead go for words
that really sell the experience and that would attract brand new people.
Things like... community, super fun, great exercise, live music....
Any ideas for words you find sell the experience???? ???
Has anyone made a contra word cloud before????
:)
Emily in Ottawa
Hi, Emily.
Haven't created a cloud before but here are a few words to consider:
connect, contemporary, traditional, meet, join in, flow, listen, move,
walk, V02, formation, commemorate, celebrate, endorphins, oxytocin, touch,
eye contact, family-oriented, friendly, inclusive, welcoming
Have fun,
Denise Wenner (Houston Houston Area Dance Society - HATDS)
PS My first contra experience was in Ottawa. :-)
On Thu, Dec 22, 2016 at 3:08 PM, via Organizers <
organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Send Organizers mailing list submissions to
> organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/organizers-
> sharedweight.net
>
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> organizers-request(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> organizers-owner(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Organizers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Word cloud words for a contra poster???
> (Emily Addison via Organizers)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 15:16:36 -0500
> From: Emily Addison via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: organizers shared weight <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Organizers] Word cloud words for a contra poster???
> Message-ID:
> <CAD7WKUWPbLtSErwNsjTMgRgeD48v13-+2RjcWfJuO_fou4D9Sw@mail.
> gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
>
> Hi fellow organizers :)
>
> In Ottawa, we're working on a new poster ... the kind you put up around
> town to try to attract to people who have never heard about contra before.
> Yes, not nearly as effective as word of mouth but we'd like to give it good
> shot!
>
> The thing we're struggling with is how to communicate what contra dance is
> in a way that will grab the uninitiated. This was raised by Marie-Michelle
> on the list earlier this year... ... 'what's the elevator pitch'????
>
> Our current plan is to create a word cloud somewhat like this:
> http://coedtech.hdesd.org/2012/09/10/word-clouds-are-a-
> simple-way-to-visualize-class-discussions/
>
> We're looking for words to populate the cloud, mostly wanting to avoid
> unfamiliar words (e.g., many of the figures etc) but instead go for words
> that really sell the experience and that would attract brand new people.
>
> Things like... community, super fun, great exercise, live music....
>
> Any ideas for words you find sell the experience???? ???
>
> Has anyone made a contra word cloud before????
>
> :)
> Emily in Ottawa
>
Great idea!
We like to say that dancing is "Friendship set to Music!" That may be too many words, but...it says a lot!
Single words suggestions -
Rhythmic
Musical
Addicting
Choreographed
Taught
Traditional
Modern
Good luck!
Ben Allbrandt
Newport News VA
---- Emily Addison via Organizers <organizers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Hi fellow organizers :)
>
> In Ottawa, we're working on a new poster ... the kind you put up around
> town to try to attract to people who have never heard about contra before.
> Yes, not nearly as effective as word of mouth but we'd like to give it good
> shot!
>
> The thing we're struggling with is how to communicate what contra dance is
> in a way that will grab the uninitiated. This was raised by Marie-Michelle
> on the list earlier this year... ... 'what's the elevator pitch'????
>
> Our current plan is to create a word cloud somewhat like this:
> http://coedtech.hdesd.org/2012/09/10/word-clouds-are-a-simple-way-to-visual…
>
> We're looking for words to populate the cloud, mostly wanting to avoid
> unfamiliar words (e.g., many of the figures etc) but instead go for words
> that really sell the experience and that would attract brand new people.
>
> Things like... community, super fun, great exercise, live music....
>
> Any ideas for words you find sell the experience???? ???
>
> Has anyone made a contra word cloud before????
>
> :)
> Emily in Ottawa
A friend wondered aloud, and now I'm wondering too:
In states where marijuana use is now accepted, do folks freely partake
before or during dance events? If so, how does it affect the dance
experience for those partaking? For those not partaking?
Just curious...
--Jerome
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
"Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power
and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
How did you start dancing?
I asked that question of many people,
in my role as a dance producer,
in hope of learning better how to introduce more people to our dances.
It turns out that nearly everyone I quizzed did not first arrive
through their own initiative, to participate in something they had
never done before. (Nor did they first participate merely by seeing a
flyer, nor by viewing a web page - these are usually for the already
interested or initiated.)
Rather, most describe some one, or several people in their life that
made the occasion of going to a dance inviting, interesting or fun,
and they wanted to find out more, and see what the experience
might be like.
And to have the experience again.
And again.
That inviting person often was a friend, sometimes a family member,
sometimes part a group of friends, or a teacher or co-worker, and
sometimes it was someone that they did not know, who directly asked
them to come to a dance or festival for the first time.
I think each of underestimates the persuasive social influence we may
have, and that our friends and fellow dancers have, in inviting people
we know, and people we do not know--to the pleasures of dancing
regularly to live music, and to join our community.
Anyone organizing any group of people knows that no matter how many
there are involved, over time, people depart, for a variety of
innocent and benign reasons. Perhaps their work life has changed, or
they have moved; perhaps their family life has changed, or they have
become parents, or their lift to the event does something else that
evening.
My favorite metaphor for this is filling a bathtub with the drain open.
To sustain our dances and our communities (and any cooperative human
activity, for that matter), it is beyond desirable for us to invite
and welcome new people to our activities:
it is necessary.
It is necessary to personally invite people who may never have danced before.
To invite people often, graciously, enthusiastically and with welcoming tone.
And invite people you don't know, too.
And to welcome them back. Again and Again.
I welcome you to invite several people this year to join you at a dance.
And to invite your entire dance community to do the same.
It is nearly the only way to sustain your dance.
To have a community that understands that it is crucial for the
community to continue to invite newcomers to come, and to treat them
well after they arrive.
The total population of people participating in our favorite forms of
social dance is less than one tenth of a percent of the surrounding
population (except perhaps for some rather active rural areas, where
it may be higher). I believe thinking about attracting and retaining
the next tenth of a percent of the population is the means to sustain
and grow our social activity.
There is no scarcity of potential dancers.
~Mark Jones
Boston