As a dancer, I always enjoy it when the caller modifies to make a dance
end with a partner swing, but as a caller I think it might get boring if
I did that every time. It's the surprise element that appeals to the
dancers. When I'm choosing dances for the evening I usually try to make
the last dance one that naturally ends with a partner swing. And if the
dance I'm calling is very high energy (down the halls, for example) and
is going well, sometimes modifying to end with a partner swing just adds
to the excitement.
I agree with Greg about contras being very predictable, that's why
contra dancing seems to attract people that would ordinarily never even
think of setting foot on a dance floor (in my dance community we call
this the "engineer effect", because of the surprisingly high percentage
of male dancers who come from the fields of science and engineering.)
-Lewis Land
On 1/4/2012 12:11 AM, Greg McKenzie wrote:
I'm assuming this discussion is about contra dances?
If there are folks who are "bored" with the "utter predictability" of a
partner swing at the end of a dance then I am perplexed as to what the heck
they are doing at a contra dance in the first place. Why not swing,
squares, or just about any other social dance? Contras are about as
predictable as any dance form gets so I pretty much assume that folks in
the hall enjoy the predictability. It gives them a sense of control and a
feeling that they "know the drill" and are on an "inside track." If you
want to get them on your side then why not give the regulars whatever cues
will help them to feel like a part of the action.
I try to fit a swing in at the end of the dance. I like to make the ending
as clear as possible, for myself, the dancers, and for the musicians. I
find that the musicians adapt quite easily to this sort of thing and most
appreciate multiple, clear cues that the dance is ending.
- Greg McKenzie
************
On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 6:00 PM, Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing<
wins...@slac.stanford.edu> wrote:
Callers --
Looking for opinions.
As a caller, I will usually alter (if necessary), the last dance of a
medley,
the last dance of the first half, or the last dance of evening to end with
a
partner swing if it doesn't work that way in the choreography. (You know,
that
"This time, circle half and swing your partner" or "This time, just keep on
swinging!" thing.)
I'll usually leave the other dances alone. They end how they end; the band
gets to crescendo and I don't have to be heard, and the dancers get
something
other than utter predictability.
(As a dancer I don't like utter predictability; I begin to get a teeny bit
bored if the callers changes every dance to end with a partner swing.)
But I mentioned this to my date, and she *loves* it when the caller
changes the
dance to make it a partner swing so that it feels like you're finishing
with
the partner who asked you, and feels disappointed if the caller doesn't
make
those changes. I mentioned the issue of stepping on the band's hot
ending; as
a dancer, that meant nothing to her.
So what do y'all think? What do you do? How you do think people like it?
(Nobody's ever complained to me that I didn't alter endings enough, and I
doubt that's the kind of thing anybody complains to anybody about, but it
probably has some impact on dancers enjoyment of the evening.)
Thanks!
-- Alan
--
===============================================================================
Alan Winston --- wins...@ssrl.slac.stanford.edu
Disclaimer: I speak only for myself, not SLAC or SSRL Phone:
650/926-3056
Paper mail to: SSRL -- SLAC BIN 99, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park CA
94025
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