The prompt "hands four from the top" should always be said, I would never assume, nor do the dances I call on a regular basis make that assumption. The instruction.. Cross over when at the foot of the set.. I leave out of my walkthroughs.. and they have always figured it out.
On occasion when calling in a new venue and I see dancers automatically lining up improper.. I call hand six, it keeps them focused. I call many proper dances (chestnuts) in any given night keeping the dancers connected to the music the dance and our shared history. Don Primrose / Nelson NH On 12/1/10, Ric Goldman <[email protected]> wrote: > I always include "Hands 4 from the top, actives cross over if you haven't > already" if that's what I want for configuration (and I > try to use varied configurations where possible). > > FWIW, this is NOT ingrained behavior for first-timers, and surprisingly a > number of experienced dancers don't do it unless prompted. > Unfortunately, for those who DO do this on autopilot, it reinforces the "I > can keep chatting - I don't have to listen to the caller > yet" attitude that can make it a bit longer to start things. > > That said, I try to vary the intro instruction, a la, "take hands in a group > of 4, facing up or down the line - gents, make sure > your partner is on your right." It's just different enough that some people > wake up who might now otherwise. > > With a particular noisy group, I may start with "ok, and now the 2nd figure > is" and wait for someone to ask for me to restart from > the beginning. :-) > > I'd been curious what others' experiences have been. > > Thanx, Ric Goldman > > >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [email protected] >> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Richard Fischer >> Sent: Wednesday, December 01, 2010 4:56 PM >> To: [email protected]; Caller's discussion list >> Subject: Re: [Callers] Telling couples to switch at the end >> of a contra set >> >> And a related question: when will callers stop saying "Hands >> four from the top, number ones cross over"--in >> acknowledgement that improper formation is the default for >> modern contras? I'm curious how many callers have already >> stopped saying that. Or to put the question another way, in >> how many dance communities do dancers line up inproper and >> not expect a reminder to "cross over" and be in improper formation? >> >> Richard >> >> On Dec 1, 2010, at 7:37 PM, Mark Widmer wrote: >> >> > Hey, I was wondering what other callers thought about the >> following: >> > often, during the walkthrough of the 1st contra dance of >> the evening, >> > the caller explains that dancers should trade places with their >> > partner whenever they reach the end of the set >> > >> > However, I never do this, and have never had a problem as a >> result -- >> > the experienced dancers in the set, apparently, are able to get the >> > new dancers to do this, and nobody has ever complained to me that I >> > didn't instruct dancers to switch >> > >> > I have wondered what others thought about this -- my own >> thinking is why take time to explain something when it isn't >> necessary? >> > >> > Regards, >> > >> > Mark Widmer / central NJ >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > _______________________________________________ >> > Callers mailing list >> > [email protected] >> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
