This topic has been on my mind in recent months. It's been very helpful for organizers to communicate the local culture for callers doing a gig for the first time, for the reason Martha noted. "We're chatty, but the dancers pay attention. Don't take it as rude." was recent advice, as an example.
I find a few things I can do as a caller: - Shorter dances. I aim for 5 dances per hour as a target. Many callers do 4. When dancers have shorter dances, they are hungrier for the next dance, and they don't physically need as much of a break, so they line up faster. - Remind them of hands 4 early. I like "As you line up make sure you pass hands 4 down..." I repeat myself, but I've found this works for me. - Becket dance? Have them swing partner on the side. - Non - Becket? Do a zero move like a circle all the way or long lines. The movement of many people in the room is a really nice way to get attention without bossing people. - In general, earn trust. When I teach and call well, I garner attention easier. When my program fits the crowd well with varied moves at the right skill level, people are more attentive. - Develop a teacher voice. Some callers just don't sound confident and assertive. - Worse, I've seen a few callers get openly frustrated. No matter what, stay cool. Ron Blechner On Apr 23, 2015 11:26 AM, "Martha Wild via Callers" < [email protected]> wrote: > Good point Erik. Also, if you travel, different groups can have vastly > different cultures. Some years ago I was asked to call a zesty contra in > another state. I assumed they would want to do a lot of zesty dances and > planned accordingly. The food was placed outside the dance floor in a long > hall from the start. After the first dance, which seemed to go well, > everyone disappeared outside to eat and talk just as I was saying "take > partners for the next dance". After a five minutes while I worried that > they hadn't liked the dance I'd called, people drifted back and lined up > again and about 10 minutes later I did the next dance. Same thing. I > finally realized that it was their custom to break after each dance, and > relaxed and stopped trying so hard to get them back and lined up. I got > through about four dances in the first half and four in the second, where I > had expected to do more like 11 or 12 total for the time. At the end of the > night, people came up and said, Wow, you really got us through a lot of > dances! > > Martha > > On Apr 22, 2015, at 6:59 PM, Erik Hoffman via Callers wrote: > > On the question of paying attention: > > A while back, in one of these e-groups, someone pointed out that we contra > dancers keep talking about "community." This post pointed out that we > contra dancers go to a dance, and, often forsaking applause (yet another > topic...), run off to find our next partner and line up for a dance. This > posting compared that to country-western dance, or swing dance, where they > would sit around a table and talk, get to know others through chatting, and > not dance every dance, but have other social things happen. It got me to > thinking: > > Often, after people have lined up, they talk with each other, their > partner, their minor set, or other people around them. Often callers strive > to get everyone to shut-up so they can start the dance. I've come to > believe this time of conversation is the main time we get to know a little > about each other and is thus a "community building time." > > My practice now is to say into the mic in a regular talking voice, "Are > you ready?" If the general banter keeps going on, I wait a couple beats, > and say, again, "Are you ready?" After two to four times of asking the > question, someone will say, "Yes!" Then another might do a loud, "Shhhh!" > When people finally quiet down, I teach the dance. > > ~erik hoffman > oakland, ca > > On 8/4/2014 10:26 AM, barb kirchner via Callers wrote: > > sometimes when dancers aren't paying attention, it's because there are too > many other things going on in the hall. > > sometimes it's the band warming up or sound checking, but i've seen all > kinds of things going on - bake sales, people on their mobile devices, a > group of beginners coming in who don't yet know dance etiquette, or maybe > the dancers are having trouble hearing you. sometimes musicians talk > loudly behind the caller (i'm a musician and a caller) and it's hard to > understand the caller because the chatter can be heard through mics or > pick-ups. > > you can't fix some of those things, but you can address retail events in > the hall, cell phones, sound system, etc > > are your experienced dancers modelling good dance etiquette? are you > teaching efficiently, or are you spending so much time talking that people > lose interest? > > sometimes, i just start the walkthru anyway. as soon as people realize > that most people are starting to swing, they get a little more interested > :-) > > cheers, > barb > > > > Date: Mon, 4 Aug 2014 13:05:57 -0400 > > To: [email protected] > > CC: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [Callers] When the dancers aren't paying attention > > From: [email protected] > > > > It depends why the dancers aren't paying attention. Are there lots of > > experienced dancers, such that the walkthrough isn't really necessary? > > Are they ignoring walkthroughs the first time through because they > > know there will be a second one? Are they just having a lot of fun > > with their friends and prioritizing that above listening to the > > caller? How does the dance go once it starts? > > > > A few strategies I might try: > > > > * Not bother with the walkthroughs entirely. If the crowd is ignoring > > the walkthroughs because as a whole they don't need them, then just > > call the dance. This means only picking dances that can be called > > no-walkthrough, but there are still a lot to choose from. > > > > * Give the dancers a bit longer between dances before starting the > > walkthrough. If they're chatting with neighbors and catching up, let > > them do that for a bit. Then once you start the walkthrough go > > quickly. > > > > * Ask the band for rolling starts, where they play music under the > > walkthrough. This makes it harder for people to talk and feels more > > like dancing. You don't have time to explain complex things, so you > > have to give that up, but it's much more forgiving than straight-up > > no-walkthrough. > > > > > > > > On Mon, Aug 4, 2014 at 11:08 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers > > <[email protected]> <[email protected]> wrote: > > > At Falcon Ridge this weekend, I saw a couple of different styles of > dealing > > > with that frustrating state of affairs when 50%+ of the hall just isn't > > > paying attention to the walk-through. I'm curious if you all have any > > > particular strategies you employ here, thoughts on how to deal with > this, > > > how to get the attention of the hall, etc. > > > > > > In dance, > > > Maia > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Callers mailing list > > > [email protected] > > > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing > [email protected]http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > >
