Lots of great stuff in the discussion already. I really want to highlight something Alan Winston said:
*8) You have to be happy to be there, calling or not calling, leading the dorkiest, least challenging things, enjoying figuring out the thing that will work for the 17 people who got up to dance, and if you can't be delighted to be there in a situation that's just the opposite of calling dances for an experienced crowd, don't take the gig.* Sharing that joy is vital. The difference attitude can make trumps a lot of other stuff. I'll also re-iterate that weddings often only have ~3 dances. I thought it was a fluke the first few times it happened when I was calling; but it's pretty common. On a less meta, more technical level. I think it's really important to know when you can call mixers, and when you should call keepers. I recently had the pleasure of calling for a family dance with ~40 dancers; half of whom were under 6. There was no way I'd call something that made half a dozen 3 year olds separate from their parent. I don't think you need 20 dances memorized but having half a dozen circle and lengthwise keepers is really useful; or note how to make your mixers keepers (go back to the same person for the swing in La Bastringue , etc). Lately, I've been playing around with keeper dances where you shuffle position. At the family dance I did a circle keeper. Circle-Keeper-Shuffle A1 Ptr DSD Ptr 2 hand turn A2 All together: Circle Left Circle Right B1 In to the middle and back With Partner, promenade through the middle (B2) to another spot on the other side of the circle (yes, it's chaos, but it works out) For 20 couples, with many dancers still working on the walking thing, it went fine (1 1/2 phrases seemed to be the right amount of time to get through the middle). Nobody had to leave their partner, and you got to see lots of people. Another shuffle-keeper I've used lately (but not at the same dance as above) happens in a longways set. It's described here: http://www.madrobincallers.org/2014/02/01/new-longways-family-dance/ *Revive the High Five* Luke Donforth Type: Longways, proper A1 ------- (8) Single file lines go up and down ("gents" line go up 4 steps, "ladies" line go down 4 steps; all turn alone, come back 4 steps) (8) Partner allemande Left 1x A2 ------- (8) single file lines go down and up ("gents" line go down 4 steps, "ladies" line go up 4 steps; all turn alone, come back 4 steps) (8) Partner allemande Right 1x B1 ------- (8) Partner Do-si-do (8) Partner swing B2 ------- (16) Shuffle the set (Promenade randomly around the room, then come back to a different place to reform the long set) Notes: - During the single file lines going up and down, you can high-five your neighbors as you walk past them. - The caller needs to prompt reforming the line, often about halfway through the B2 the first few times, but folks usually settle in to it. - If you have multiple sets, you can mention to the dancers they can jump from set to set. That's how I'd call it at something like a wedding. For a Family Dance, or if I don't even want to deal with proper lines, I'd have everyone take hands in long lines and in A1 slide Right 4 steps and back, allemande partner; and in A2 take hands in long lines and slide left four steps and back, allemande partner. It removes the High Five part of the dance, but if it makes it function better for that bunch of dancers, that's the most important thing. Take care, Luke
