Hi Claire,
That's a good idea -- will help make all the dances easier and more
rewarding for them. Can you do an initial impromptu lesson that lasts
about 15-20 minutes which then flows gracefully into your first contra
dance?
Woody
On 5/31/2017 6:41 PM, Claire Takemori via Callers wrote:
Hi everyone.
I’m looking for advice. I’m calling a FFF next Sat and live in SF Bay Area,
where the average person has never heard of contra dance. I got advice from
Alan Winston, who called the contra dance a couple years ago when it was a 2
day event and the contra was Sunday evening. Now it’s a 1 day festival and the
contra is Sat 630-10pm. The other dance that evening is Blues/Fusion, which
I expect will have a HUGE crowd. There is also a contra dance about 30
minutes South of the venue and a waltz evening 30 minutes East, so I’m not
confident that a bunch of experienced contra dancers will show up. I’m sure
some will, as many are also musicians who will be volunteering that day.
I have several very easy contras (low piece count, connected, easy single
progression, stays in minor set, etc) and plan to slip in brief reminders
during each walk through (since new dancers can join at any time in the 3.5
hours). I’m sharing the contra calling with one person, and there is a caller
for a couple squares, and a caller of 3/4 time contras. I don’t know how the
eve will be broken down yet, but I’m likely to call 2-3 contras in each half.
It’s in a high school gym, so I know to keep calls short and clear due to
acoustics.
I’m wondering about offering a 20 minute lesson before the dance???
Thanks for any advice about free folk festivals (assuming there won’t be a lot
of experienced dancer ringers). I’m just back from FolkLife and NEFFA and they
are full of experienced contra dancers……
Claire Takemori (SF Bay Area)
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Woody Lane
Caller, Percussive Dancer
Roseburg, Oregon
http://www.woodylanecaller.com
home: 541-440-1926 cell: 541-556-0054
