My filing system is probably archaic. I have 4 main categories: simple, smooth, medium, and percussive. Then I have several rarely used categories: 3 face 3, multiple progressions, circles, mixers, etc.
I keep them in separate, alphabetized sections in my box. Top right corner of each card says either simple, perc., smooth, or med. At top center I have a shorthand-ish code for the signature moves, or "glossary." At the bottom of each card are notes for various oddities. If the progression isn't at the end of the dance I mark where it is with "prog." The only color I use is bright yellow to remind myself to tell the dancers this is a Becket dance, because that's the thing that trips me up most often. Works for me. -Amy On Wed, Jan 11, 2023, 3:52 PM Isaac Banner via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > Now I'm mostly just grumpy because I got all excited about Edge-notched > Cards and spent a good 30-45 minutes frustratingly discovering there's > nowhere to get these for a reasonable cost/scale anymore... > > Tossing onto the rest of the conversation, I have 9 categories in my box > but am broadly only half-satisfied with the results: > - Easy, sometimes boring > - Simple, but fun > - Full heys > - Petronellas > - Wave-balancey > - Intermediate > - Advanced 1 > - Advanced 2 > - "Garbage" (Contra Mixers, general random nonsense that I rarely call > outside of workshops, etc) > > Previously I had a system where I'd add a colored stripe for different > distinguishing moves in a dance - blue for a hey, orange for petronellas, > green for chain->star, yellow for long lines, etc - but that rapidly failed > to scale as I collected more dances than I had time to stripe. Like Angela, > I did however enjoy the splash of color while it lasted. > > *Goes back to scouring the web for viable edge-notched card replacements > in a sub-2.5in form factor* > Isaac Banner > Code Monkey, Contra Orangutan > > On Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 1:51 PM Angela DeCarlis via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Seth, I do my best to categorize difficulty by the dance and not the >> context. I think my Section III might include minor ventures outside the >> minor set, for example, but not big movements away. At a place like >> Pinewoods I might never touch a dance from Sections I or II. >> >> On Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 2:34 PM Tepfer, Seth <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> Angela >>> >>> I love the idea of the colored stickers on the top. That sounds so >>> colorful and enticing. >>> >>> When I started calling and building a collection of dances, I did a >>> similar sorting by difficulty - Easy, Medium, Complex. And mostly, it >>> works. However, My definition of difficulty changes in several different >>> ways. >>> >>> - As I learn how to teach a dance - there are dances that previously >>> I thought were challenging. But once I learned how to teach them >>> effectively, it turns out there were not that challenging. It was me that >>> was making them challenging >>> - Context makes a huge difference as to what is an easy or >>> challenging dance. >>> - A dance that might be considered easy for a regular dance might >>> suddenly become very challenging. We have had a huge influx of first >>> time >>> dancers in January - we call them the "New Years Resolution crowds". >>> "Air >>> pants" by Lisa G has no chain or courtesy turn, but would be far too >>> difficult for the first dance of the night with all these first >>> timers. I'm >>> pulling back to "Family Contra" or similar. >>> - On the other hand, if I'm calling in a school or for a wedding, >>> I MIGHT call family contra late in the session - but it would be one I >>> would build up to. In that context, "Family Contra" is advanced. >>> - Finally, at a dance weekend, a dance that in other contexts >>> might be considered intermediate difficulty becomes "no walk thru" >>> easy. >>> >>> >>> >>> Seth Tepfer, MBA, CSM, PMP (he, him, his) >>> Senior IT Manager, Emory Primate Center >>> ------------------------------ >>> *From:* Angela DeCarlis via Contra Callers < >>> [email protected]> >>> *Sent:* Wednesday, January 11, 2023 1:48 PM >>> *To:* Michael Dyck <[email protected]> >>> *Cc:* [email protected] < >>> [email protected]> >>> *Subject:* [External] [Callers] Re: mechanical sorting systems >>> >>> I love that Joe remembered the edge-notched sorting system I told him >>> about and also really love Jeff's suggestion of getting spiral-bound cards >>> and removing the spiral! I've drilled holes in index cards before as Joe >>> described, but the results weren't clean. >>> >>> *I don't remember who I first heard about this sorting system from, but >>> I recall that they said some well-known caller/choreographer organized his >>> cards this way. Anyone know who this was?* I've always wanted to >>> rediscover this knowledge! >>> >>> For my cards, I've only in the last year developed a system I'm happy >>> with after a decade of prototyping: >>> >>> - First, my box is divided into five sections (I, II, III, IV, and >>> V) according to *difficulty*. Dances in the I section are easiest >>> and won't even include a courtesy turn. Sections II and III are my >>> most-used; a typical regular dance evening will pull from these sections. >>> IV is for tricky dances — you could get away with one or two at a regular >>> dance with a competent crowd, or you could save them for Advanced Dance >>> events. V is really wacky hard stuff. Advanced as it gets. >>> - Second, each card has a colored sticker (something like these >>> >>> <https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.webstaurantstore.com%2Favery-5796-1-4-round-assorted-removable-see-through-color-coding-dot-labels-pack%2F15405796.html%3Futm_source%3Dgoogle%26utm_medium%3Dfreeclicks%26utm_campaign%3DGoogleShopping&data=05%7C01%7Clabst%40emory.edu%7C320567296483459d017e08daf4047b2e%7Ce004fb9cb0a4424fbcd0322606d5df38%7C0%7C0%7C638090597349435039%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=X92GqD513UOOFl%2FEw8Jmrs3hVyz317TO8qQ9kgCukzc%3D&reserved=0>) >>> to give a sense of the dance's *disposition*. Pink is very >>> balance-y, orange is moderately balance-y, yellow is moderately smooth, >>> green is very smooth. The important distinction here is that I'm not wed >>> to >>> how a particular bit of choreography should be danced (i.e., a band could >>> successfully play a smooth tune to an orange-coded dance) but my coding >>> does give a sense of where to look for certain moves: if I want >>> petronellas, I look in the pink dances first. >>> - *The stickers are placed along the top edge of the cards and >>> positioned according to difficulty, with dances in Section I having >>> stickers on the left of that edge and dances in Section V toward the >>> right. >>> This makes sorting and identifying dances very easy.* >>> - Finally, within each colored section I alphabetize. >>> Occasionally I know the name of a dance I'm looking for (though not >>> always!) and in those cases I usually remember enough about the dance to >>> guess where in my box it will be. >>> >>> I've been really happy with this sorting system. Programming is easier. >>> It means that if I need to change plans, I can select dances very quickly. >>> It also means I can replace dances and re-sort my box at the end of the >>> evening without trouble. I used removable stickers so that I could change >>> my mind if needed, and this is the only thing I'd do differently so far; >>> these stickers fall off too easily, even when folded over the top edge. >>> >>> Bonus: My box looks like rainbow stripes from the top. >>> >>> And another mechanic: >>> >>> - I always add a tally to the back of a card after I call it... >>> - Regular at the top left, medley inclusion at the bottom >>> - This allows me to turn my box around and select for favorites >>> ("I need an old stand-by") or newly-collected ("I'm bored") >>> - ...and I also add dance titles to a google spreadsheet before I >>> re-sort the cards back into their categories >>> - What did I call last time I was at this dance? What worked and >>> what didn't? >>> - I can also pull an old program from a comparable event if I >>> don't have time to program from scratch >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> On Wed, Jan 11, 2023 at 11:26 AM Michael Dyck via Contra Callers < >>> [email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> On 2023-01-11 12:44 a.m., Joe Harrington via Contra Callers wrote: >>> > >>> > I heard recently (I believe from Angela DeCarlis) of a mechanical >>> sorting >>> > system based on the Jacquard loom concept that became the Hollerith >>> punched >>> > card system. I've never seen it in use. Does anyone do this? >>> >>> See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edge-notched_card >>> <https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FEdge-notched_card&data=05%7C01%7Clabst%40emory.edu%7C320567296483459d017e08daf4047b2e%7Ce004fb9cb0a4424fbcd0322606d5df38%7C0%7C0%7C638090597349435039%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=flN8KaAZJR3pf74clihLeTnkL4d8RO27SXe0BMODAAg%3D&reserved=0> >>> >>> [Ah, Jeff Kaufman beat me to it.] >>> >>> > Figure out the ten or so characteristics you might want to sort on. >>> For >>> > example, easy, medium, hard, bouncy, flowy, separates partners, >>> sweetheart >>> > (keeps partners together), etc. Take a stack of cards and drill holes >>> near >>> > the bottom edge, one per characteristic (you can drill a stack of >>> cards if >>> > you sandwich them between wood and clamp them). Now, on a given card, >>> punch >>> > out the rest of the paper between the hole and the edge of the card >>> for each >>> > hole the card DOESN'T match. >>> >>> Alternatively, you could punch out the margin when it *does* match >>> (which >>> would probably be less work). Then in the selection procedure, the cards >>> that fall out (as opposed to the ones that stay on the needle) are the >>> selected ones. >>> >>> > [...] >>> > >>> > Good hole alignment and clean punching would matter, I think. If you >>> are a >>> > real dance sorting fanatic, you could get like 30 holes around the >>> card >>> > edges, but that would limit the writing space. >>> >>> Back when I was young and had lots of time (and no computer), I made a >>> deck >>> of edge-notched cards to 'play' the game Mastermind: >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastermind_(board_game) >>> <https://nam11.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FMastermind_(board_game)&data=05%7C01%7Clabst%40emory.edu%7C320567296483459d017e08daf4047b2e%7Ce004fb9cb0a4424fbcd0322606d5df38%7C0%7C0%7C638090597349435039%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Fs%2BuqPhPZtbpVy5IoYMzEOQairVzH9ugrbuyp0DKFnA%3D&reserved=0> >>> >>> (4 pegs of 6 possible colors, so 1296 cards, each with 24 holes and 4 >>> notches.) As I recall, during the selection procedure, cards with a >>> notch at >>> the selected hole (which *should* fall out) would sometimes 'stay on' >>> the >>> needle just from friction with the neighboring cards. So I'd have to >>> jostle >>> the deck a bit to shake those loose. >>> >>> Also, V-shaped notches increased the chances that a card would fall out >>> when >>> it should. >>> >>> One way to avoid these problems is to have two opposite sets of holes, >>> with >>> complementary notches. In the selection procedure, you use two needles, >>> placed in complementary holes, and you pull them apart to separate the >>> cards >>> you want from the ones you don't. >>> >>> -Michael >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >>> To unsubscribe send an email to >>> [email protected] >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to >> [email protected] >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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