At 05:20 AM 2/15/2010, Andy Shore wrote:
The program was a bit overly-ambitious for the crowd we got, but it was fun and we made it through. There were more "new to me" (marked with the + above) dances than I like to present in an evening, mostly because I was determined to stick with the theme. In retrospect that wasn't the best idea.
Thank you Andy for this cogent and self-critical analysis. We need more of that. It is clear that you are learning from your experience.
I admit that I view dance program "themes" with considerable dread...as soon as I become aware that the caller is embarking upon one. As your analysis reflects, the selection of dances for a "theme" evening often veers far from the course of what program would "work" best for the crowd, the hall, and the music...all for the sake of keeping the names of the dances in character with some "theme." This idea is a recipe for a difficult evening of over-teaching and long walk-throughs and "theme evenings" should be a signal of danger to all in the hall.
I wish callers would consider any "theme" to be the developing story-line of all of the dances considered from the perspective of a mixed crowd of dancers looking for an enjoyable social evening. This is how any good evening of contra dance should be programmed and the name of the dance is seldom a useful indicator of where the dance would best be positioned in the evening's program, or if it should be included at all.
Just a thought.
