[Callers] Projecting That "It's All OK"

[Jerome Grisanti via Callers]

One of the lessons I learned in a Bruce Hamilton workshop was that the
caller's attitude is a tool and it must be kept sharp. He mentioned the
example of Bob Dalsemer always projecting a strong sense of well-being,
everything is going just fine.

I realized that while my stage presence often did this, too often I also
projected the tension of my worries about the dance -- whether I would be
able to teach something, whether the dancers would "get" it, whether I
could fix a problem if it developed.

So I became more intentional, identifying callers who projected well-being
and trying to copy some of those things they did. I realized it is about
awareness, and about decision-making, and about preparation (knowing the
dances, knowing the music, the band, the crowd...).

Fast forward to yesterday. I was calling an English dance, the music was
going, the room was quiet except for the band (glorious!) and the movement
of the dancers, when a baby -- the several-months-old grandchild of one of
our dancers, began babbling. Not crying, just making noises over the music.
And the part of me that saw it as an interruption was itself interrupted by
the part of me that said, "hey, he's in the right key." So I said that. And
maybe it was only for me, but it made everything OK.

Thank you Bruce and the many others who teach this lesson.

--Jerome



Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com

“Dance like no one is watching...
Because they are not...
They are checking their phone.
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