when there are too many "teachers" on the floor, i often will stop calling,
stop them moving, thank them for their "enthusiasm", and ask if they can all do
it together/listen to me to "help me see what's going on". i think i first
heard lisa greenleaf do something like this. the trick is to make it happen
quick - don't give them any more chances to wander around (with or without
"help") and get even more lost. stay in control!
barb
> To: [email protected]
> From: [email protected]
> Date: Sat, 12 Feb 2011 12:52:25 -0500
> Subject: Re: [Callers] How much is too much? How little is too little?
>
>
> I totally agree with Greg. Many times I have come across callers or "helpful"
> dancers on the floor trying to explain while I was teaching. One time I just
> stopped and although it took a few seconds a hush fell over the entire hall.
> I then began to teach again and thanked everyone for "helping" me with their
> silence. I have also played the pity card - having a sore throat or almost no
> voce helps sometimes as well.
>
> However, there will always be those "helpful" people who don't get the hint
> no matter what you do or don't do. You just take it in stride and do your
> best.
>
> Barbara
>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Greg McKenzie <[email protected]>
> To: Caller's discussion list <[email protected]>
> Sent: Fri, Feb 11, 2011 8:53 pm
> Subject: Re: [Callers] How much is too much? How little is too little?
>
>
>
> artha,
> This reminds me of a situation that sometimes comes up when I am
> alling 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
> alk-through and will give them instructions while I am still
> alling. In the worst case these folks will shout instructions to
> ancers in a different minor set while leaving their own neighbor
> ithout a cue as to who they should be dancing with. This draws the
> onfused dancer's attention in the wrong direction and makes many
> ancers 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
> ooking frustrated, tell me the dancers in their set were really
> onfused during the last dance, and insist that I need to call "more
> alk-throughs" or call longer. Sometimes these folks are aspiring
> allers themselves who feel a need to instruct newcomers.
> Almost all feedback to callers needs to be interpreted. Listen to
> he symptoms being described...and take the proposed solution with a
> rain of salt.
> My strategy is to: First, make sure that I am calling precisely,
> learly, and with impeccable timing. Then I focus on keeping the
> ntire situation light--working to establish an attitude that no one
> ails and having fun is more important than "getting it
> ight." (Using humor, for example, to lower the stress level allows
> eople to focus on what they are doing.) My third strategy is to
> alk up to the "excessively helpful" dancer during the break and tell
> hem how much I appreciate the fact that they do not talk to other
> ancers during the walk-throughs. "That really helps me when I am
> eaching the dance," I tell them. "Thank you!"
> It doesn't often have a marked effect. But over time it
> ight...particularly if other callers reinforce the message.
> Incidentally: Dancers and dancing callers on the floor can sometimes
> elp verbally,...but never while the caller on stage is
> peaking. After the caller drops out those who can may, when it
> eems needed, call the dance in the set. But always use well-formed,
> recise, and timely calls please. And shut up immediately if the
> aller 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
> >
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