I was thinking of you and your style of calling last night. I'm always fairly flexible (even at dance clubs you have to take account of numbers and ability of those present). But at paid bookings I tend to find the ones I do most preparation for then turn out to need the easiest dances.
St Patrick's Night Ceilidh. They got up eventually (at about 11 pm) by which time I'd abandoned any hope of calling the Irish dances I'd revised and was onto 'swing anyone' 'make a small circle' 'stars' 'swing someone who is sitting down' etc.
I've abandoned recorded music though (except at clubs). Not nearly as much fun as a musician, less flexible, and it takes more attention than I can spare from the dancers. I'd much rather call with an accordionist and take home a minimum fee than be paid 3 times as much for recorded music.
 
I've concluded that the beginner nights that seem to work out best are family parties (if they book me they will have the sort of friends who will dance), in particular golden weddings, also church events (too polite to ignore me, and look out for each other including the young dancers). The one put on by someone as an 'event' can be sticky.
 
Mo Waddington
----- Original Message -----
From: karendunnam@gmail.com [trad-dance-callers]
To: trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Sunday, March 18, 2018 2:20 PM
Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] Regular Column and Support by CDSS for "Community Barn Dancing"

 

A regular column might be helpful for the genre of MUCD callers who *have to have a card of prompts in front of them, have to call the exact dance that's on said card, set up an "open mic" program three weeks in advance, and can't/won't adjust their programming to accommodate who's walked in the door. 

Might include a unit on how to work with recorded music; not every gig has the bandwidth that supports live musicians. 

Community dances are loads of fun once you get past the "I need a partner swing!" expectation, and the "if you want to attend a REAL dance" mindset. 


Also, they pay much better than your average dance society. 

--Karen D.