On 4/5/2017 11:58 AM, Jonathan Sivier jsivier@illinois.edu
[trad-dance-callers] wrote:
>
>
> This is addressed to callers who have led contra workshops at dance
> weekends, or people who have been involved in organizing said weekends.
> When you have an afternoon contra workshop what is your thoughts on
> having a theme for the workshop? That is you could advertise it as
> being "Advanced Contras", "Classic Contras", "Contras with a
> Difference", etc. It seems that this might let people know, to some
> small degree, what to expect. On the other hand there may be little or
> no point to it. People interested in contra dance will likely attend
> the workshop. Of course the caller might have a theme or at least some
> sort of central idea to help in selecting dances, but that may or may
> not be advertised.
>
> What are your thoughts on trying to come up with a theme/title for
> contra dance workshops? What do you see as the pros and cons?

I've done workshops on contras that utilize English country dance moves,
and one on dances with (often tenuous) connections to California.

A theme can be a handy organizing principle, but it can also really box
you in and make for ungainly and inflexible programs.

Kalia