[Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention

[Erik Hoffman via Callers]

On the question of paying attention:

A while back, in one of these e-groups, someone pointed out that we 
contra dancers keep talking about "community." This post pointed out 
that we contra dancers go to a dance, and, often forsaking applause (yet 
another topic...), run off to find our next partner and line up for a 
dance. This posting compared that to country-western dance, or swing 
dance, where they would sit around a table and talk, get to know others 
through chatting, and not dance every dance, but have other social 
things happen. It got me to thinking:

Often, after people have lined up, they talk with each other, their 
partner, their minor set, or other people around them. Often callers 
strive to get everyone to shut-up so they can start the dance. I've come 
to believe this time of conversation is the main time we get to know a 
little about each other and is thus a "community building time."

My practice now is to say into the mic in a regular talking voice, "Are 
you ready?" If the general banter keeps going on, I wait a couple beats, 
and say, again, "Are you ready?" After two to four times of asking the 
question, someone will say, "Yes!" Then another might do a loud, 
"Shhhh!" When people finally quiet down, I teach the dance.

~erik hoffman
     oakland, ca

On 8/4/2014 10:26 AM, barb kirchner via Callers wrote:
> sometimes when dancers aren't paying attention, it's because there are 
> too many other things going on in the hall.
>
> sometimes it's the band warming up or sound checking, but i've seen 
> all kinds of things going on - bake sales, people on their mobile 
> devices, a group of beginners coming in who don't yet know dance 
> etiquette, or maybe the dancers are having trouble hearing you. 
>  sometimes musicians talk loudly behind the caller (i'm a musician and 
> a caller) and it's hard to understand the caller because the chatter 
> can be heard through mics or pick-ups.
>
> you can't fix some of those things, but you can address retail events 
> in the hall, cell phones, sound system, etc
>
> are your experienced dancers modelling good dance etiquette? are you 
> teaching efficiently, or are you spending so much time talking that 
> people lose interest?
>
> sometimes, i just start the walkthru anyway.  as soon as people 
> realize that most people are starting to swing, they get a little more 
> interested :-)
>
> cheers,
> barb
>
>
> > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 13:05:57 -0400
> > To: maia.mcc at gmail.com
> > CC: callers at sharedweight.net
> > Subject: Re: [Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention
> > From: callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> >
> > It depends why the dancers aren't paying attention. Are there lots of
> > experienced dancers, such that the walkthrough isn't really necessary?
> > Are they ignoring walkthroughs the first time through because they
> > know there will be a second one? Are they just having a lot of fun
> > with their friends and prioritizing that above listening to the
> > caller? How does the dance go once it starts?
> >
> > A few strategies I might try:
> >
> > * Not bother with the walkthroughs entirely. If the crowd is ignoring
> > the walkthroughs because as a whole they don't need them, then just
> > call the dance. This means only picking dances that can be called
> > no-walkthrough, but there are still a lot to choose from.
> >
> > * Give the dancers a bit longer between dances before starting the
> > walkthrough. If they're chatting with neighbors and catching up, let
> > them do that for a bit. Then once you start the walkthrough go
> > quickly.
> >
> > * Ask the band for rolling starts, where they play music under the
> > walkthrough. This makes it harder for people to talk and feels more
> > like dancing. You don't have time to explain complex things, so you
> > have to give that up, but it's much more forgiving than straight-up
> > no-walkthrough.
> >
> >
> >
> > On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers
> > <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> > > At Falcon Ridge this weekend, I saw a couple of different styles 
> of dealing
> > > with that frustrating state of affairs when 50%+ of the hall just 
> isn't
> > > paying attention to the walk-through. I'm curious if you all have any
> > > particular strategies you employ here, thoughts on how to deal 
> with this,
> > > how to get the attention of the hall, etc.
> > >
> > > In dance,
> > > Maia
> > >
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