I LOVE calling weddings, family reunions, and the like - really my preferred group of dancers as I love the challenge of keeping it fun and playful.
I agree with all the good points that have been made and wanted to throw in one dance suggestion that I've had a lot of fun with at weddings: Kings and Queens by Peter Amidon. I use it following all the suggestions for drama and royal behavior in New England Dancing Masters great book, Sashay the Donut. I have everyone line up, with the bride and groom at the top of the line, so they're the one's who are active in the walk-through. This means they start the dance at the bottom and are, hence, the last ones to go through, so I can end the dance with "Announcing the Bride and Groom!" with everyone bowing low to them as they pass down the line. So fun! On Feb 10, 2014, at 1:00 PM, Erik Hoffman <[email protected]> wrote: > A couple things: > > First, I wrote a book on this subject: /Old-Time Dance Calling for Weddings, > Parties, and One Night Stands/. Still available. I think there's only one > "hands four" dance in the book, and recommended only for a group that really > gets into the dance, and is ready for a bit of teaching. Otherwise it's > whole-set dances, mixers, and fun dances. > > Second, as Bill Olson pointed out: the dancing at weddings is not the main > event. Make the dance serve the event, usually bringing people together, and > honoring the honorees. Doing this with grace and humor puts people at ease; > it makes people comfortable with each other. > > I'd like to also echo the sentiment that one or three dances is often enough. > Remember, at most of these events, our dancing is totally new, and most > people will never come to a contra, square, ceilidh, or barn dance. For them > time is different: they're caught up in the frenzy of trying something new > and it stretches the seconds. > > Susan Michaels is a wonderful, and extremely creative humorist. Her use of > funny descriptive terms can be a great help if it fits your style. Use it! > > Lastly, right & left: I have no problem with this, either. In a foursome, > I'll often say, "right hand star, other hand star." No worries... > > ~erik hoffman > oakland, ca > > > On 2/10/2014 7:59 AM, Les Addison wrote: >> I went to a great workshop that Susan Michaels taught on this topic. >> >> Some of the highlights that I remember from that workshop: >> >> * Pied piper or conga line-type way to round up the dancers >> * Use terms that are not gendered for the dance roles (e.g., suns and >> moons) since this avoids lots of problems. "Talls" and "Smalls" is also a >> good pairing, and gets you an adult in each pair. >> * Circle dances are good >> * A dosido is "drive into the garage/back out of the garage" >> * Don't use any figure in both the left and right direction-- star, circle, >> allemande, or two hand turn should only go one direction. >> * Feel free to use calls from English, contra or squares if their name is >> easy/self-explanatory (two hand turns are easier than swings if you have a >> group that doesn't do any sort of couple dancing, and doesn't require a >> gent-and-lady hand position) >> >> Les >> >> >> On Mon, Feb 10, 2014 at 7:48 AM, barb kirchner >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> by far, the best thing i ever learned to do was to engage the couple (or >>> party organizers, or somebody who is known to the crowd) in the >>> programming. if the bride gets up and says "let's dance!", people will. >>> >>> if they want to do something else (and they might!), ask them to designate >>> some energetic types to help you round up people. >>> >>> best accidental thing i ever did - an afternoon reception with food and >>> drink outside. when the bride was ready, some of the musicians (those with >>> portable instruments) walked through the crowd, playing. people followed >>> them back into the hall, just like the pied piper! >>> >>> don't be afraid to make things up as you go - just stay calm and go ahead >>> and do your job :-) i know that a lot of stuff i call at family dances >>> and parties comes to me on the fly, and so i just do it. >>> >>> and i don't think of these gigs as "dances" - so i don't feel constrained >>> to do "dances", per se. esp at family dances, i'm likely to ask the kids >>> what they'd like to do - it's okay with me if they just wanna gallop around >>> in time to the music for awhile. >>> >>> good luck to you! >>> >>> barb >>> >>> >>>> From: [email protected] >>>> To: [email protected] >>>> Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 15:33:03 +0000 >>>> Subject: [Callers] Calling weddings and private parties >>>> >>>> Good morning everyone. >>>> >>>> I've been calling for 15 years and to this day, the hardest dances for >>> me to call are private parties, like weddings. Usually, a "soon to be wed" >>> couple comes to a regular dance for the first time, has a great time, and >>> that's what they want at their wedding reception. What they fail to >>> realize is the atmosphere of a wedding reception is completely different >>> than a normal contra dance. The focus of attendees to a contra dance is >>> the dance. The attendees of a wedding reception are there to socialize and >>> usually drink. >>>> I learned through trial and mostly errors that actual contra dances are >>> rarely a good idea at such an event. The stumbling block is the contra >>> progression and has caused more private dances to crash and burn than I can >>> count. You don't want to spend much time teaching as the dancers will lose >>> interest very quickly. So, I keep a stash of very simple proper dances, >>> circles, and squares which seems to work the best. The Virginia Reel is >>> always a favorite because it can become totally messed up, will still be >>> fun, and is easy to recover. Even little kids can join in. >>>> Would other callers share some of their experiences and solutions for >>> these types of events? What dances have you found to be the most >>> successful? I thought this might be relevant because if you call dances >>> long enough, at some point you will be asked to do one of these. >>>> Harold >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Callers mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >>> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers <>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<>:<> Delia Clark PO Box 45 Taftsville, VT 05073 802-457-2075 [email protected]
