On 5/30/2017 2:16 PM, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:
So, a while back I was working with a band and they played a tune that was sort of new for them, and the A part was fine, but the B part was unusual anyway, and hard to know where the count was, in particular because they were unfamiliar with it, and I tried to count and call so the dancers could keep going, and it kept coming back together in the A, but falling apart in the B, until things snowballed and the dance completely fell apart. What is the best thing to do or say in a situation like that so that the band doesn’t feel too much as if it is their fault, and the dancers don’t feel it’s their fault? And yes, it’s always the caller’s fault, since I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what the heck was going on with that tune, but the dancers couldn’t find their way in it either. Anyway, back to what to do to make everyone feel a little better after that. Martha
Much depends on your band. I was once able to rescue a situation like that by saying to the band "I need stronger phrasing," but not every band can respond to that mid-tune. I've had some cases where the tunes were just weird or wrong in some way and unfixable, and the bands were unwilling or unable to change tunes. Usually I've just gritted my teeth, kept calling and calling and ended the dance as quickly as I could. I was able once, when the problem with the tune was evident right away, to stop the dance as we were heading into the second time through. I said something on mic like "Sorry about that folks. I need to pick a different tune," which kind of deflected it from the band to me. The musicians were cool about it and since the dancers hadn't really gotten into the groove yet it worked ok. But when you're well and truly into the dance and it's a dysfunctional slog, it's hard to pull the plug.
It helps to have a bulletproof fun dance that you can switch to after something like that, a quick teach with a strong tune, where you can shake off the ickies and get everyone back into a good mood.
Kalia
