[Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention

Thu Apr 23 09:26:48 PDT 2015

This topic has been on my mind in recent months. It's been very helpful for
organizers to communicate the local culture for callers doing a gig for the
first time, for the reason Martha noted.
"We're chatty, but the dancers pay attention. Don't take it as rude." was
recent advice, as an example.

I find a few things I can do as a caller:
- Shorter dances. I aim for 5 dances per hour as a target. Many callers do
4. When dancers have shorter dances, they are hungrier for the next dance,
and they don't physically need as much of a break, so they line up faster.
- Remind them of hands 4 early. I like "As you line up make sure you pass
hands 4 down..." I repeat myself, but I've found this works for me.
- Becket dance? Have them swing partner on the side.
- Non - Becket? Do a zero move like a circle all the way or long lines. The
movement of many people in the room is a really nice way to get attention
without bossing people.
- In general, earn trust. When I teach and call well, I garner attention
easier. When my program fits the crowd well with varied moves at the right
skill level, people are more attentive.
- Develop a teacher voice. Some callers just don't sound confident and
assertive. - Worse, I've seen a few callers get openly frustrated. No
matter what, stay cool.

Ron Blechner
On Apr 23, 2015 11:26 AM, "Martha Wild via Callers" <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> 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> <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
> > >
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Callers mailing list
> > > Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> > > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing listCallers at lists.sharedweight.nethttp://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
>  _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Callers mailing list
> Callers at lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.sharedweight.net/pipermail/callers-sharedweight.net/attachments/20150423/169ca3e2/attachment.htm>