Amen to all that Greg said. Be less concerned about the number of times you call, and more concerned that everything you choose to do or not do is supportive of the dance experience, in the manner described by Greg.
On Feb 11, 2011, at 8:52 PM, Greg McKenzie wrote: > > Martha, > > This reminds me of a situation that sometimes comes up when I am calling to > halls with lots of first-timers. It involves what I call "excessively > helpful" dancers. > > These are folks who talk to their first-timer partners during the > walk-through and will give them instructions while I am still calling. In > the worst case these folks will shout instructions to dancers in a different > minor set while leaving their own neighbor without a cue as to who they > should be dancing with. This draws the confused dancer's attention in the > wrong direction and makes many dancers in the general area nervous. Think of > someone shouting: "NO! Star with THEM!" > > These folks are, of course, the very ones who come up to the stage looking > frustrated, tell me the dancers in their set were really confused during the > last dance, and insist that I need to call "more walk-throughs" or call > longer. Sometimes these folks are aspiring callers themselves who feel a > need to instruct newcomers. > > Almost all feedback to callers needs to be interpreted. Listen to the > symptoms being described...and take the proposed solution with a grain of > salt. > > My strategy is to: First, make sure that I am calling precisely, clearly, and > with impeccable timing. Then I focus on keeping the entire situation > light--working to establish an attitude that no one fails and having fun is > more important than "getting it right." (Using humor, for example, to lower > the stress level allows people to focus on what they are doing.) My third > strategy is to walk up to the "excessively helpful" dancer during the break > and tell them how much I appreciate the fact that they do not talk to other > dancers during the walk-throughs. "That really helps me when I am teaching > the dance," I tell them. "Thank you!" > > It doesn't often have a marked effect. But over time it might...particularly > if other callers reinforce the message. > > Incidentally: Dancers and dancing callers on the floor can sometimes help > verbally,...but never while the caller on stage is speaking. After the > caller drops out those who can may, when it seems needed, call the dance in > the set. But always use well-formed, precise, and timely calls please. And > shut up immediately if the caller begins calling again. > > Just a thought, > > Greg > > ************ > > At 04:00 PM 2/11/2011, Martha wrote: >> Thank you! >> >> This came up because someone told me I had dropped out too early in my dance >> - or maybe they meant that some callers recently had dropped out too early, >> and they felt they had to work too hard. The complaints were heartfelt, but >> vague. >> >> My dances, as I said, were easy dances we've done tons of times, and I >> called most of them 4+2 (four times with full calls and 2 times with >> partials), and just a hint here or there after that - mostly after swings. I >> tend to call pretty rhythmically, being a musician-type person and all, and >> the dancers, in my humble opinion, looked great! There was one time a line >> started to break down a bit in one dance so I came back in (called that one >> 14 times!), but for the most part, I saw nothing amiss -- and I was watching >> like a mother hawk -- so I kept my mouth shut. >> >> The PROBLEM? One dancer told me there were several people who grumbled that >> I dropped out. Unless they were grumbling that some other caller in recent >> weeks had dropped out. I could never get specifics. >> >> So I started wondering. At Pinewoods, one famous caller had a policy of not >> coming back in - he would just let the lines break down. I can see a small >> advantage in that approach - there is a benefit in training your dancers to >> be ready to pay attention and remember. That might work, but I have no plan >> currently to be the first on my block to test that theory. >> >> I hasten to add that the dancers showed absolutely no signs of distress >> (except during that one dance) -- yet our troupe of new callers said they >> had to call the dance in the line or it would have broken down...WHA???? >> How the heck is a caller supposed to know that there's a problem if there's >> no problem? >> >> I mean, if a caller were to stop calling, as one friend of mine did, on the >> first time in a no-walk-through contra "because it was going so well," that >> would be too soon. And if you keep talking long after everyone knows the >> dance, that would be too long. >> >> So, just to be able to say something like "Well the standard is to call four >> times (two? six?) for an easy dance in a mostly experienced crowd," would be >> useful. No one has to stick to that - there are too many variables. But I'd >> still like to know what the common practice is. >> >> Funny, though - the complaint that callers were dropping out was aimed at >> "the callers at the last 3 or 4 dances." I was at those dances, and I did >> not have the same complaint - far from it! There were lots of beginners >> (New Year's Resolution dancers?) and I had to work hard a few times, but I >> take that as part of the fun, or at the very least, the small price I pay >> for a steady stream of new and interesting people in my life. But that's >> not a good answer to give to someone who took the trouble to give me >> feedback. >> >> So maybe my question is "how long do YOU call easy dances at your regular >> dance?" >> >> M >> E >> >> >> >> On Fri, Feb 11, 2011 at 4:34 PM, <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> > Thank you, Mac. I whole-heartedly agree with your approach. >> > >> > Even if one could formula-ize this, I don't have the brain power to work >> > like that. I just try to drop out as quickly as possible after the first >> > time through and watch for places I need to reinforce a bit more. >> > >> > Happy calling! >> > Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: Richard Mckeever <[email protected]> >> > Sender: [email protected] >> > Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 14:04:09 >> > To: Caller's discussion list<[email protected]> >> > Reply-To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]> >> > Subject: Re: [Callers] How much is too much? How little is too little? >> > >> > I take a much different approach. There are far too many variables to try >> > to >> > attach a number to anything. The most important is how the dance is >> > designed - >> > and I mean each transition - not the whole dance. That is far more >> > important >> > than the experience level, difficulty of the dance or anything else. For >> > example: I often call one night stands with 100% beginners. One really >> > popular >> > dance is the Patty Cake Polka - a fairly complicated dance for new dancers. >> > I >> > can call it 2 or 3 times and stop because the dance flows so well. >> > >> > On contras I generally stop calling one part of the dance at a time - look >> > for >> > the transitions that are obvious - like going into most swings - everyone >> > knows >> > when that is coming - so don't call it. Then one by one I drop out other >> > calls >> > determined by watching the dancers and see what they are doing really well. >> > For >> > a well designed dance - it doesn't take long to stop altogether. If I see >> > that >> > some of the dancers are having problems or are late for a move - I throw in >> > a >> > couple firm calls to try to get them to pay attention to the timing. Some >> > dances I never stop calling - but those are usually not the most fun >> > dances. >> > >> > >> > Don't try to make rules for this. Watch the dancers - their comfort level >> > will >> > let you know what you can do. >> > >> > Mac >> > >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
