Our experience in Houston was similar to others. Started ECD in late June
requiring vaccinations, then as the surge ramped up, added a mask
requirement, and then cancelled the dances.
The only difference is that Texas law prohibits businesses from requiring
vaccinations from customers, so our dances were NOT sponsored by our local
group, but by an individual.
John Bloom
On Thursday June 10 at 8 pm (EST), Susan Kevra will join the Mt Airy (Philadelphia) Virtual Contra Speaker Series to present “A Crash Course on the History of American Social Dance”.
Many of you know Susan as a dance caller but she is also a professor at Vanderbilt University, where she teaches a course called American Social History through Dance. Join us as Susan presents an overview of her course which charts dance history in America from Native American Dance through Hip Hop with a chance to see amazing footage of dance from across the centuries.
For more info please go to:
https://thursdaycontra.com/speakers/
Thereare two ways to watch this presentation:
1. Live stream onFacebook using this link (simply click on the link at 8pm and you'llsee the livepresentation).
https://www.facebook.com/watch/mtairycontra/
2.If you cannot tune in for the live presentation, we will be recordingit and you can go to our website in a week and it will be postedhere.
https://thursdaycontra.com/speakers/
Forthose who regularly receive the virtual dance announcements from theMt Airy email list, you can register for the Zoom experiencefrom the email announcement. However, because of limited space (100person maximum) if you don't usually receive our emails we ask thatyou use the live stream FB option. Thanks!
DonnaEmail: dhuntdancer(a)aol.com
Cell: 215-565-6050
Hi fellow organizers,
Sharing info about a brand new open dance band resource. I know not all of
you will have open dance bands but they are relatively common, and maybe
it's time to think about starting one... ... the pandemic feels like a
great time to me! :)
Full disclosure - I pulled the resource together on behalf of CDSS. Despite
my bias [[:)!]], I feel as though it's a really useful resource for both
new and experienced band leaders as there are best practices and tips
provided by 35 different open dance bands.
Here's a direct link to the resource:
https://www.cdss.org/images/documents/resource-portal/CDSS-Open-Band-Resour…
CDSS lists a number of other resources for open bands here:
https://www.cdss.org/resources/resource-portal/musicians#open-dance-bands
I've found that the pandemic has been a fantastic time to bring new
musicians into our local open dance band here in Ottawa, Ontario. Some of
our local dancers have joined our monthly zoom practices. The practices
have been a safe space for those who are a bit shy or unsure about their
musicianship as they can play along with the band leader while not being
heard by others. We've also built in a bit of visiting time into our
practices as a way for band members to connect. I think we've found some
new players for our open dance band!
Hope you enjoy :)
Emily in Ottawa
I received a request for assistance with organizing a contradance in Long Island, for Grace Christian Academy, in the next month or so.
I explained(1) That I live in Rochester NY, 7 hours drive (at least), and there is local talent that would be better suited;(2) That all contradances in the country have been closed because one could not *design* a more effective way to transmit Covid virus among a crowd of people.
I voiced appreciation for their wanting to include Contradance in the school program, and was hoping that someone on this serve-list, who is more proximate to the school, could follow up with the woman.
We've had some successful contact with local colleges here, and would recommend it for other organizations.
Please PM me if you are interested in the contact information, for the purpose of FUTURE outreach.(specifically, I won't pass along the information if your only purpose in contacting her is to chastise her.My explanation of the situation should be sufficient to let her know the pandemic-related concerns.)
Bob Fabinski
We've been using the Dancerfly dance registration system for our weekends
since 2016. I was setting up a new event, and in testing found I couldn't
complete test payment. I don't have a response to a couple of questions
sent to their help service. I was wondering if they have given up the
ghost during the pandemic. Does anyone have any knowledge of them?
Note that it was started by a collective that disbanded in 2019, but the
disband notice did say that Dancerfly would continue.
Jim Morgan
--
Jim Morgan
(412) 535-2078
morganjj(a)gmail.com
Hi All: (sorry if some of you receive this multiple times)
On March 25, Tony Parkes presented "Diversity in Square Dancing" for Mt Airy Contra (Philadelphia).
If you missed the presentation, no worries, we recorded it so you can watch it.. There are two opportunities in the website below, the .mp4 from zoom or the FB live stream.
https://thursdaycontra.com/speakers/Tony-Parkes-03-25-2021.html
Enjoy!
Donna
Web Site: donnahuntcaller.com
Email: dhuntdancer(a)aol.com
Cell: 215-565-6050
Greetings from Rochester NY!
We are taking this down-time to work on our website; CDRochester.org.
It uses Wordpress, and we recently turned on the AOI-SEO (All-in-one Search-Engine-Optimization) options.
So, now we have to put in terms that will increase our presence in search results for potential new ECD and contradancers.
I am soliciting from the hive mind, ideas for these terms. So far we've come up with the groupings below.The idea is to anticipate what people will type into a search engine when they looking for activities similar to ours.
We'd appreciate hearing about terms you've used successfully, or thoughts you have about what else might be good terms.
We also welcome any experiences, good or bad, related to SEO in general or the Wordpress AOI-SEO in particular, that you wish to share. Instruments the performers play are already listed in performer specific AOI-SEO fields.
For meta-data fields of all our events:ParticipatorySocial DanceTraditional Folk Dancing
Live Music (except the Techno/Crossover/Club contras)
No Partner Needed
For meta-data fields of our larger events:Dance FestivalDance Weekend
For meta-data fields of ECD events and performers:Jane Austen Dance
Pride and Prejudice
BridgertonRegencyMerryton Assembly Dancers (Our demo group)
Wakefield Dancers (predecessor to our demo group)
For meta-data fields of Contra events and performers:
Modern Urban Contra - MUC
Traditional Square DancesTechno/Crossover/Club ContraNew England Contra
Thanks - and I hope to see you on the dance floor in the not-too-distant future!
Bob Fabinski
Hi all,
We in Philadelphia are using our Covid time to try to get some policies
done.
One thing that has come up is a photography/video policy. Some dancers do
not want to appear in any photos or videos.
Some ideas we tossed about that have practical drawbacks:
-designate one line as always non-photo/video
-buttons or badges for those who do not want to be on camera
Is this something your dance has grappled with? Anything you've come up
with that you're willing to share?
Thanks in advance,
*Karey Bacon*
she/her/hers
*267-437-5641*
Hi
On January 14 David Millstone made a remarkable presentation at the Mt Airy (Philadelphia) Virtual Speaker Series titled:
“Country Dance in Modern Times: Squares, ECD and Contras in Post-WWII America”
Nearly 150 of you were there! If you missed the live presentation (or want to review it over and over) you can find the archive here:
https://thursdaycontra.com/virtualDance/david-millstone-01-14-2021.html
Scroll to the bottom of the page for the FB link.
We have the do a minor edit on the zoom recording and that should be on the same page in a week or so.
Stay safe out there!Cheers
Donna Hunt
Email: dhuntdancer(a)aol.com
Cell: 215-565-6050