On Wed, 11 Sep 2013 12:50:39 -0700, Kalia Kliban wrote:
> My question is for the other callers who call a lot, especially if
> you travel to do it. What sorts of things to you do to take care
> of yourself when your schedule is really intense? How do you keep
> your calling fresh, and your attitude good? Do you have any
> personal routines that help you focus?
I was calling at Whitby Folk Week in August (4 evening dances and 7
workshops) then drove for four hours to get to Southam in time for a
long weekend there (2 evening dances and 4 workshops). I was
exhausted before I got there! But the adrenaline kicks in and I
believe I still did a good job. Taking care of myself - I sleep when
I can! I sometimes lie down at the back of the stage between an
afternoon workshop and an evening dance. I didn't do much dancing at
Southam because I knew my first priority was the calling. As for
keeping the calling fresh and my attitude good, it may be partly that
I have a large repertoire and therefore no chance to get bored! I
only repeated three of the Whitby dances at Southam, and one session
title ("Squares and Contras to make you think"). I don't have any
routine to help me focus, but the focus is certainly there - I'm not
thinking of anything else while I'm calling. People ask me to
announce things and I say "Yes, I'm perfectly willing to, but I won't
remember - come up and remind me". I even forget to try and sell my
own CDs.
The other thing that keeps my attitude good (or so I hope - you'd
better ask the dancers) is that I really enjoy calling, particularly
getting people through difficult dances and getting them to dance
better, but also the banter between me, the band and the dancers.
I see myself as an entertainer, not just a teacher, and I believe that
comes across as part of my attitude - I want people to enjoy their
dancing.
> There's a local square dance caller who does something like 320
> gigs a year. I need to ask him sometime how he does it, but he's
> always moving too fast to engage in conversation.
I imagine he's a full-time professional, and that's a different world.
I would hate to feel that I had to take all those gigs just to pay the
mortgage!
Colin Hume
Email [email protected] Web site http://www.colinhume.com
