[Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention

Thu Apr 23 08:26:17 PDT 2015

Good point Erik. Also, if you travel, different groups can have vastly different cultures. Some years ago I was asked to call a zesty contra in another state. I assumed they would want to do a lot of zesty dances and planned accordingly. The food was placed outside the dance floor in a long hall from the start. After the first dance, which seemed to go well, everyone disappeared outside to eat and talk just as I was saying "take partners for the next dance". After a five minutes while I worried that they hadn't liked the dance I'd called, people drifted back and lined up again and about 10 minutes later I did the next dance. Same thing. I finally realized that it was their custom to break after each dance, and relaxed and stopped trying so hard to get them back and lined up. I got through about four dances in the first half and four in the second, where I had expected to do more like 11 or 12 total for the time. At the end of the night, people came up and said, Wow, you really got us through a lot of dances! 

Martha

On Apr 22, 2015, at 6:59 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote:

> 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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