chris, it has not been my experience that dancers/organizers who complain
about lack of variety in a program are talking about different formations.
i have never been to the whitefield dance, and i don't know anything about
it - so i could be wrong in this instance. but i have been to dances where
i felt the dances "were all the same" and they were all contras. i've also
been to dances where all the dances were contras and every dance felt
different. so here are some of my thoughts on planning an evening.
each dance needs a "hook" - something interesting that makes people remember
the dance, and which distinguishes it from the dance before.
early in the evening, at a "normal" dance, the hook may not be so memorable.
as you move through the program, you should add something (usually one
thing at a time - don't overwhelm them!) to keep people interested.
example:
1. nice combination - gene hubert. a glossary dance, easy to do/remember,
both neighbor and partner swing, down the hall is great. i think it's
important to have a neighbor swing in the first few dances when you have
beginners, just in case they're all dancing together. they need to swing
with OTHER people for awhile to get the hang of things. down the hall is a
good move for understanding timing - ask for a strongly phrased tune from
the band so it's really clear to the dancers when to turn around and come
back.
2. for dances with high proportion of beginners, i might do peter
lippincott's snake river reel. there is no partner swing - only a neighbor
swing. beginners don't know they're always supposed to have a partner
swing, and again, they need to swing with people other than beginners to
learn. wavy lines in the middle are easy and fun, and the B1 is similar to
down the hall in terms of timing (they're in a wavy line, drop hands, walk
forward alone in the direction you're facing for 8 counts, turn around and
come back to find your neighbor to B/S). reinforces the timing aspect, but
feels different than down the hall.
3. add an easy/medium dance with a full hey (easier than a half hey - they
start and end in the same place). make sure it has good flow - no
unexpected changes of direction, etc. i like to set this up ahead of time
with a group of dancers who know how to do a hey - during the walkthru, have
them do it right the first time, then instruct them to "do it wrong" the
second time WHILE YOU CALL IT CORRECTLY. tell one person to imitate a "deer
in the headlights" and the others wander around aimlessly and THEN ALL RUN
BACK TO WHERE YOU STARTED TO B/S your partner. tell them either kind of hey
is ok, AS LONG AS THEY SWING THEIR PARTNER at the end. be sure to
congratulate them during the dance when you see "both kinds of heys" going
on.
4. do another easy/medium dance without a hey, but with some other
interesting figure - wavy lines, etc.
5. something without a hey or a wave - maybe a petronella dance. i like
"salmonella evening" - an easy variation of steve zakon's salmonchanted
evening with a petronella in the B part. for a more experienced crowd,
something like becky hill's "balance to my lou" is good.
6. end the half with something that has both neighbor and partner swing and
some variation of one or more of the figures above.
second half - first dance, start easy. second dance, add another new figure
- or maybe something on a diagonal - even a circle to the right. you get
the idea. one dance i really like is "friday night fever", which has both
neighbor and partner swing and a square through (another figure where you
START AND END in the same place). use a dance with the progression in the
middle. use a different progression - circle left, slide left to NEW
neighbors, circle left. use a couple of dances where there is interaction
with people from other minor sets. use at least one dance with a shadow and
a couple of beckets. it's always great to throw in at least one proper
dance.
that's a whole lot of variation without ever using a formation other than a
contra line. i love to call squares and four-face-fours and mixers, but
some places don't want 'em. i can still have a varied program without them.
looking forward to hearing the details of your first full evening soon!
barb
http://www.barbkirchner.us
----Original Message Follows----
From: Chris Weiler <[email protected]>
To: Tom Hinds <[email protected]>
CC: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Callers] question about squares
List-Post: [email protected]
Date: Mon, 13 Jun 2005 23:39:17 -0400
Hi Tom,
I haven't collected any as of yet (except the ones in the reference books
that I've bought). I do plan to call them and have signed up for the Square
Dance Callers course at Pinewoods next month. I'm really looking forward to
working with Kathy Anderson.
One of the things that was reported back to me from the N. Whitefield dance
(I'm still working on the full e-mail to the group) was that the person
thought I lacked some variety in my program. I'm thinking that it has to do
with my limitations as far as formations go. Putting a couple of squares in
the evening breaks things up nicely.
Chris
Tom Hinds wrote:
I wanted to know what people think of squares. Have any of you collected
any good ones? Do
any of the new callers plan to include one in their programs in the future?
Tom Hinds
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: Gorham, New Hampshire new venue (Chris Weiler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Fri, 10 Jun 2005 16:54:12 -0400
From: Chris Weiler <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Gorham, New Hampshire new venue
To: Marlena Schilke <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Message-ID:
<of8d6d10c1.155c9dce-on8525701c.0072d3a5-8525701c.0072d...@weirdtable.org>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="ISO-8859-1"
Marlena,
Unfortunately, it's just too little notice, so I can't help you out.
I am copying the SharedWeight list just in case one of the callers on
there SharedWeight people: If you're looking to gain experience, and
you're
ready for it, jumping on an opportunity like this is a great way to do
it.
Chris
-----Marlena Schilke <[email protected]
To: Chris Weiler <[email protected]>
Date: 06/10/2005 04:31P Subject: Re: [Callers] Gorham, New
Hampshire new venue
Hello Chris,
Harry Brauser, our schedule health
problems, and cannot make it tomorrow for our small develo at
7:30pm?
-- On 4/29/05, Chris Weiler <Chris.Weiler@weirdtable > Hi
Marlena,
>
> Sorry, I c dances this
> summer >
> Thanks!
> Chris
>
------------------------------
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