Callers,
Thank you to all who have posted on this thread. It is illuminating and useful to hear all of your views. I am, in particular, interested in the ideas of those new to calling. New callers often bring a fresh perspective to the art and are less bound by traditions and habits that may not always be as relevant in the context of contemporary contra dance culture. That is particularly useful in a thread such as this one where a minor but long-established tradition is being challenged and re-examined.
We should keep in mind that contra dance is a living folk tradition that is not frozen in time. That is a great part of its appeal and popularity. While we need to honor the historical contributions of those who came before us it is also important to remember that each of us--regardless of how experienced we are--has a legitimate voice in how this dance tradition evolves. It is vitally important that new dancers and new callers both take courage and speak out in this kind of forum. If contra dancing is to survive as a living tradition it needs your intelligence, energy, and insight.
**** David Millstone wrote:
there are many dancers-- most, at some series-- who don't care about being on time, either. And there are some dancers who think it's fine to dance roughly, to yank their partner's arm around for a gratituous and unwanted twirl, to swing their partner off the floor, to chatter incessantly during a walkthrough...
Thank you for pointing out that this reflects directly upon the caller. The caller has far more influence than anyone else in the room. Only the caller can take responsibility for this kind of behavior. And taking responsibility is the only way to prevent it.
As David also wrote:
The caller provides leadership, not just a well-timed reminder of what figures come where. As a leader, the caller helps dancers reach a higher level in their dancing, builds community, respects our traditions and keeps the music and dancing alive for future generations...
Well said! The art of achieving this goal will be a useful discussion. I think most of us would agree that it is not effective to simply tell the dancers how we think they should behave.
**** Joe Micheals wrote:
I have always felt the majority of the dancers don't care who wrote the dance. I try to do it though out of respect for the author who deserves credit and because the precedent has made it part of the culture at dances.
I agree that the author deserves both respect and credit. They should certainly be cited on any printed depiction of the dance and at workshops, etc.. The question here is about the tradition of announcing the author's name over the PA system each time a dance is called at open public venues. Personally, I would prefer that my own dances not be so credited to me. This is particularly true if I am present in the room.
**** Gretchen Caldwell wrote:
Imagine the new dancer who realizes "Harold and Barbara Sittin' in a Tree" was written by a Charlotte caller for that couple sitting right over there.
Obviously this would be a dance with an interesting title. I would only point out that it could be a breach of etiquette to draw the attention of the entire hall to anyone without his or her prior permission. Thankfully no one has written a dance about me. This highlights why I sincerely hope that no one ever does.
**** Amy wrote:
New dancers need to know that the dance world is not -- quite-- all about them, and about their having a peak aerobic active dance experience every possible minute - there's reasons that the dance world is here for them to enjoy, and those reasons (the organizers, sound folks, musicians, callers, dancer crafters and sometimes even tune composers) all deserve their (brief but eloquent) moment of credit.
I love making introductions of the band, sound person, and dance manager. This seems highly relevant to the success and enjoyment of the evening. Since "peak" moments are, by definition, never continuous there will always be time for such announcements. My concern is that the rote reading of dance names and authors seems less than relevant to the current festivities and can be a distraction at a critical moment.
**** Chris Weiler wrote:
My own technique is to announce them after the walkthrough and before the music starts. "come back to place and we'll dance ____ by ____". The beginners won't think that they're being left out because they all have been taught the dance, and in fact may be distracted by everyone starting to back up. The ones who are interested and have attention to spare will hear. This also lets the band know that we're ready for some music.
This highlights another reason I don't mention dance names and authors. In many cases it serves as a way of filling the time after the walk-through and before the beginning of the music. My own preference is to eliminate this awkward and distracting break by having the band "roll in" the music during the walk-through itself. This way the dancers never end the walk-through and the music begins without stopping the dancers. If the band is willing I do this with most of the dances during the evening.
Consequently the only time I have to announce the dance name and author is usually before the walk-through begins. This is a critical point where I am asking the dancers to begin listening to me and I am loath to feed them non-essential information at that critical moment.
Chris also wrote:
There are many ways for a caller to gain the attention of the dancers. Scarcity of speech is one of them, but tone of voice and force of personality do a lot more to making the evening fun. If just your tone and style of speech can convey "I'm having fun, please join me" and command attention and obedience as well, it really makes the evening fun for the dancers. It's not easy, especially for someone like me who tends to be shy, but it can be cultivated without sounding phony.
There is certainly something to be said for the caller conveying her or his own excitement and love of the dance at the microphone. Personally I feel like I hear more than enough "force of personality" from callers. When calling, I see the dancers having a great deal of fun socializing in the sets before I begin teaching. I don't feel any need to invite them to "join me" in the fun I am having. With a hall full of gracious, considerate, generous, warm-hearted, and fascinating people--not to mention a spirited and talented group of musicians--it seems clear that people are there to enjoy a great evening of socializing with inspired live music. I consider it my gift of professionalism to get them dancing to the music as effectively as possible and then to get out of the way and let them have what they came for.
This is what I most appreciate from great callers. **** Dan wrote:
In general, at regular open dances I announce dance names and authors just before I begin the walk-through. It is my acknowledgement, in lieu of a license fee, to the person whose creativity I am taking advantage of by calling their dance. I tend not to announce my own name, as I feel uncomfortable even bragging a little bit.
I have some concern that announcing the dance name before the walk-through could be taken as a signal by newcomers that others in the hall have already learned the dance and this could lower the newcomer's self-confidence.
(Just for your reference, Dan, I would prefer a license fee if that's what it takes to keep my name from being announced at the dance.)
**** Susan Elberger wrote:
I could not disagree with you more, Greg. I've been calling dances for 30 years,
Well, actually, you probably could disagree with me more and probably will. The value of this kind of forum is that we can discuss these ideas in an open and civil manner. If we all agreed on everything we posted there wouldn't be much to learn here.
As a caller I have found that some of my greatest contributions come from what I don't say and what I don't do. Like many endeavors calling is often a subtle art where "less is more." The more force we apply to our words and actions the less people will want to attend to them.
One thing that we do agree upon is the purpose of the contra dance evening as: " a social, community-building event." That's a big one. With that common vision I hope we can have many fruitful discussions.
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