I’ve had very good luck at weddings calling a Virginia Reel early on when there’s a lot of enthusiasm for participating (that tends to wane as the evening progresses). Virginia Reels seem to be in the American bloodstream. I have collected quite a few variants over the years but it doesn’t much matter which one I happen to pick. Good luck! - Jon
Sent from my iPhone > On Jul 3, 2023, at 3:53 PM, Joe Harrington via Contra Callers > <[email protected]> wrote: > > > Any advice for calling weddings? I've been asked to call my first one and I > don't see a lot of wedding-specific advice online. What do you ask them in > advance, how do you approach it, what are good dances to call? > > I'm assuming that a workshop is impractical, so it's barn dances and maybe > working up to a contra by the end? Try to teach a swing? Some advice I've > gotten so far: > > Band - can they play contras, am I DJing instead, if so what kind of music, > trad or pop? > Floor - make sure it's big enough, get length, width, and surface > Sound system - what is it and is there a sound tech? > Duration - how long they'll want to dance > Dancers - how many, any experienced guests? > Special dances - first, parents, bouquet, last? > Will the bride and groom dance? (If not, nobody will) > Will there be alcohol? (one person suggested doubling the fee if there is) > Will many women be in high heels? > > I welcome any advice! My main goal in taking wedding gigs is recruiting new > dancers to our local scene, if that matters. > > Thanks, > > --jh-- > > _______________________________________________ > 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]
