A good simple dance for a crowded hall is Joseph Taulane's "Steve's
Swing." I like to use it as the last dance of the evening. It is
available in "California Twirls," so perhaps I shouldn't write it out
here. It has a swing actives, but that can be easily switched back
and forth for the 1s and 2s to do.
Martha
On Mar 26, 2011, at 9:00 AM, [email protected] wrote:
Message: 3
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2011 01:06:12 -0400
From: Paul Wilde <[email protected]>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Quadrille Formation and ONS
Message-ID:
<[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Most esteemed colleagues,
I danced at Rehoboth tonight and a most unusual and wonderful thing
happened. Lisa Greenleaf walked us through a dance, saw that we
were too
crowded and that some of the moves were going to be especially
uncomfortable, and told us to talk among ourselves while she picked
out
another dance. I might add that this is a very popular dance, and
3 full
lines are comfortable in the hall and 4 lines are definitely
pushing the
limit, especially if there are some dancers being a little over
zealous or
not watching their set spacing. We've probably all been in this
situation
at least once as dancers.
This is the first time I can ever remember someone changing a dance
because
it was too crowded for that particular set of moves. Occasionally
we, as
callers, switch dances after a walkthrough because what we first
had in mind
might be looking a bit too challenging for the particular mix
before us.
But never can I remember a caller changing dances after a walkthrough
because of space. Thank you Lisa.
I would love to start a thread on this mostly overlooked (unless I
missed
something earlier on), but very dear to my heart, topic. Far too
often have
I been in a hall that was too tight for certain sequences, but it
seems that
maybe the caller came with a set program and wasn't willing to
modify dance
selections based on this most important criteria. Most dances are
made up
of a wide range of ages, and crowded halls where people are getting
knocked
around and bumped is uncomfortable, not all that much fun, and
especially
unfair to older dancers.
My first suggestion would be to eliminate or highly restrict moves
like a
full hey in these situations. What I would like is for people to make
suggestions of fun, flowing dances that are compact, especially in
their
width.
I think having a "list" or some other organizing format, of these
"compact
dances" would greatly enhance our toolboxes. What do you think?
This list is truly amazing. Thank you everyone.
warmest regards,
Paul
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2011 09:49:04 -0500
From: Luke Donev <[email protected]>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Compact dances
Message-ID:
<[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
On Sat, Mar 26, 2011 at 12:06 AM, Paul Wilde <[email protected]>
wrote:
What I would like is for people to make suggestions of fun, flowing
dances that are compact, especially in their width. I think having
a "list"
or some other organizing format, of these "compact dances" would
greatly
enhance our toolboxes. What do you think?
Paul
______________________________
Hi Paul,
Good topic, thanks for starting it.
I remember being at a crowded dance in Montpelier with Nils Fredland
calling, and he did 4 face 4 dances. I was initially surprised, but
it made
good use of the space. By merging two sets laterally it eliminated
the space
that would normally be between those sets and made folks aware of 7
other
dancers instead of 3 other dancers.
I think it depends on the geometry of the hall, but 4 face 4 dances
can be
good, non-obvious, efficient use of space. Just something to add to
that
part of your tool-box.
--
Luke Donev
http://www.lukedonev.com
[email protected]
------------------------------
Message: 5
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2011 11:20:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Callers] Quadrille Formation and ONS
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Paul
Barbara G. here. I would be very interested in this list you are
suggesting about compact dances. I have had the occasion, as I'm
sure many of us had, to change up my program once I was in the hall
and saw how crowded it was getting. I have stopped in the middle
of a walkthrough, to the surprise of several seasoned callers in
the room, and changed the dance. I didn't know this was a "no no"
but also I feel you are doing what is best for the dancers. I did
it without a lot of fuss or explanation and it worked fine.
