I gotta say, I really like fiddle / guitar / piano -based jigs and reels. Putting in Secret Agent Man etc - that's fun for a moment but IMHO should be used with restraint.
-------------------- Lindsay Morris CEO, TSMworks Tel. 1-859-539-9900 [email protected] On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 3:28 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > my 2 cents: > #1 Communication between Caller and Band!: > Example: > I attended a dance featuring an up and comming > caller and a very talented band all in their twentys > For the most part the dancers were used to traditional > dances and music, though non-traditional music is not > out of the norm (for this dance series) > Final dance of the evening: short phrases, balances, > swings, alamands... needed well phrased music > Band launched into groove tunes, Dancers were ok > while caller was prompting, when he stopped, > Dancers had to start counting the beats, formations started > to break down, less experianced dancers were loosing > the dance > LSS, it put a damper on the evening .... it's what the dancers remember! > > I have danced to bands in New England who do a very > good job of melding tradition with groove > (by the by, these musicians are also dancers!) > I like dancing to these bands, they are well versed in tradition. > and can expand on it without loosing the basics of the music/dance form. > if you watch these musicians they are keeping an eye on the dancers. > Playing for them, not at them > > #2 I wonder if we are looking at a seperation between > traditional and a new style of dancing, not unlike > what happened 40 years ago +/- > If there is going to be (if it hasn't already begun) > a divergance in dance styles and preferances. > Perhaps places like Nelson NH (and other small community > dances) will be the keepers of the tradition waiting > for another generation to re-discover the fine art form > of contra dancing. > > Random thoughts from a 50+yr old. dancer/caller/ (maybe someday) musician > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
