Hi Will,
What a great question, glad you posted it as its interesting to see all the
responses
. Here's what I do:
I type up almost all dances that I want to call in a separate word document
file. As Im typing up the dance, this is when I do much of my studying, so it
can be a very time consuming process, but just one that Im in the habit of
now. I put the same info in the same place on the card for consistency which
includes:
Top of Card:
4 potatoes call (this I usually write in by hand, top left)
Title
Level 1 5 (my own rating 1 = easy 5 = difficult), example L3
Music: music notes for the band (top right corner), sometimes type
Music then just write in notes by hand.
Next line:
Dance formation (Duple Imp, BECKET etc)
By: Author; City and State the Author lives in, or at least the State
The dance
A1, A2, B1, B2
The phrasing beats in parenthesis on the left (4,12), then WHO, then WHAT
figure, and where end up, who facing, where P is
A1: (4,12) Neighbor Balance & Swg end facing down (or
just N Bal & Swg )
This is the point where Im studying where each person is at each
point of the dance. I usually visualize it in my head. If I remember where I
danced it and with whom, I can see the hall and the dancers in my head.
Otherwise, I start scribbling on a piece of paper, not very scientifically,
just the part I may be stuck at in my head. If I still dont get it, Ill ask
a caller friend.
As much as possible, I look up every dance back to the original source: the
authors web page, hard copy book, or credible online databases. Its an
annoying habit that I started with and cant shake. I want to be sure the
version I have is the same one the author wrote, or know which part is
modified. I also really enjoy knowing any story about the dance, why it was
written, any teaching notes the author suggests etc.
Once I understand the dance after typing it out, Ill add any teaching notes
and note where I collected it, what I liked about the dance, who I danced with,
what minidisk # recorded on, and where the dance is documented (original
source). Usually I put the dance source and story about the dance on the back
of the card.
Once I hit print, Ive studied the dance pretty well and written it in a
format for calling with teaching notes. I print two copies. One gets
cut/paste (scissors, glue) onto a 4x6 card, the other gets 3-Hole punched and
goes into a notebook. This way I have two back up copies of the dance: one
electronic and one in the binder. Ive tried printing the dance directly on a
4x6 card, but I went back to doing it this way.
If I get the dance straight from the author, I may just hand write it on a
card
. But then I dont have the back up copies.
Some of my notes on the typed card are also hand written
each color ink
indicates: Green written note = teaching (walk thru); Red = Who, the person;
Beckets get BECKET written in pink above the A1, AND the black text BECKET
highlighted in pink. Double progressions, get highlighted in orange. (the
word Dble Prog)
Yellow highlight in the dance is something I need to pay
attention to. A circle with a dot in it, means this is where the dancers often
need prompted when I stop calling, depending on the dance level.
At the moment, I put my cards in alphabetical order in a box, not sure if Im
going to stay with this method. Am also working on a corresponding excel
spreadsheet that lists the figures.
For future dance planning, my mind is usually thinking 1 3 months ahead and
as I find dances that I want to call at a particular community, I write it down
on a 4x6 card with the community name at the top, or sometimes its several
post it notes here and there
. By the time I sit down to program for an
evening, (ideally but not always, 3 5 days ahead of the dance) I usually have
a few dances that Id like to build the evening around for that community.
Hope that helps, some part is useful, or you may be sorry you asked! Youll
fall into your own discipline that works best for you, then keep adapting it as
needed.
Keep us posted!
Karen Fontana
www.karenscontracorner.com
PS: yes, I really do this, crazy but true,... ask to see my cards next time
we meet up!
Will <[email protected]> wrote:
Hi All,
After many years dancing, I decided to start calling
and recently completed Lisa Greenleaf's course at
Pinewoods, which was great-stupendous.
First of all, I want to thank all of you who have
shared of your experience and knowledge on this and
other sites so freely- your generosity is amazing and
is of great assistance.
As I begin to build a repertoire, I'm faced with how
to develop dance cards that work for me, and recording
systems for previous dance programs, event planning
aids etc.
Lisa shared what works for her, and I'd like to know
what systems works for other folks, it seems that each
person has found their own sorting/grouping structure
and recording systems-ie: grouping dances by
difficulty or prominant dance feature. I'd appreciate
feedback so I can choose among a range of
possibilities that might fit me best.
Thanks very much, Will Walton
I can also be reached at: mainesail113 atyahoodotcom
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