Re: [Callers] Calling a "box circulate"

[Jen Morgan via Callers]

So something I heard Lisa Heywood do, that worked really well, was to get
everyone to walk single file in a little circle.  Then she added the stops
in the waves for the balances.  She also made it easier on the dancers by
calling a dances with a complete box circulate in ie you went all the way
round and ended up where you started.

I sometimes call it as "rotate" because that's quicker to say than "box
circulate" and makes as much sense.  Some experienced dancers are confused
by this even though I think the terms are meant to be interchangeable, but
I guess it wouldn't matter what you call it if they've never heard of it
before.

Jen

On Mon, 7 Jan 2019 at 08:46, Lenore Frigo via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I'm planning to call a dance with a box circulate, for the first time, and
> got to thinking, how do you call it during the dance? Do you use the actual
> word "circulate"? That seems clunky to me.I can think of lots of possible
> alternatives, but was wondering if there's a word that is commonly used.
>
> For context, I'll be calling this for a group that has for the most part
> never done a box circulate. (And while we're at it, if you have any tips
> for teaching the box circulate, I'd be glad to hear those as well!).
>
>
> Thanks so much,
> Lenore Frigo
>
>
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Re: [Callers] Fragile dancers, safety policies

[Jen Morgan via Callers]

Hello

I guess safety policies might come into three categories: things you might
due to reduce injury risk, things you might do to be better prepared if
injuries do happen, and things around legal liability.  I don't know if any
of this is helpful or relevant to your situation but maybe some of it will
be?

(1) Reducing injury risk
* People are more alert and less likely to be injured if they are better
hydrated.  I've noticed young dancers are always swigging water between
dances whilst older dancers rarely are (and yes I can work out why that
might be...)  But can you encourage them to drink water by making it easily
available, giving water breaks and comfort breaks more often?
* Do the frailer dancers maybe go home earlier?  Could you group the harder
dances at the end of the evening and focus on doing dances within their
capability whilst they are there?
* This may be a daft question, but what is good about the harder dances
that makes you keep doing them instead of simpler dances?  I say this
because I have been to a lot of events and workshops, especially English,
where the programme seems unnecessarily hard, with dances that were
technically difficult but not very satisfying.  I think callers sometimes
feel under pressure to do hard dances, when actually simple dances are
enjoyed just as much if not more.  If complex dances are unsafe for a
significant subset of your group, is it possible to just dial the
difficulty level down?  I may be off-base here as I don't know your club at
all -- you will know if this could work for your group.  ("Doctor doctor it
hurts when I do this."  "Well don't do that then!")

(2) Being prepared
* Does someone in the group have first aid training?  If not, is it worth
getting some (maybe at the club's expense)?
* Does the venue have a first aid kit?  Worth checking it and seeing if the
supplies are in date, you'd be amazed.  Is there a defibrillator nearby?
(village halls / community centres etc sometimes have one)
* Does the venue have an accident recording book or do you need your own?
* If you did have to call the emergency services have you memorised the
address of the venue (incl postcode) or do you have it close to hand if you
needed it?  (I know this sounds silly but I read an article once by a 999
call handler about how they often spend ages on the phone with panicking
people just trying to get them to say where they are.  Common sense
sometimes goes out of the window in stressful situations.)  If you did have
to call an ambulance for someone, where would it park?
* Is it worth collecting emergency contact details for everyone in the
group just in case?  And details on any pre-existing medical conditions you
might want to tell the paramedics about in an emergency?  You'd need a
confidential system for storing these.

(3) Legal liability
* Check that you have Public Liability Insurance which is definitely
suitable for the activity you're doing
* I do not know whether what you suggest, effectively a disclaimer, has any
legal effect.  I expect it depends on where you are.  This might be worth
looking into.

We danced in a set at Whitby with a couple of older dancers who had near
zero mobility.  I am not sure if they did not understand the
instructions,couldn't hear them, or whether they were just physically
unable to follow them.  We just danced around them so they were a sort of
fixed point in the set.  It mostly worked.  I think they preferred that to
not participating at all.

I hope it works out anyway!
Jen


On 30 Aug 2018 06:00, "Martha Wild via Callers" <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

What do you do if you have dancers who are becoming frail, but do not seem
to acknowledge it, and that you are concerned might fall and hurt
themselves (or others) at an English country dance or contra? Particularly
dancers who have danced for a long time and given much to the community,
but just refuse to admit that they are becoming hazardous to themselves and
others?

We have some very good and much older dancers, slowing down but still quite
capable, and it is not about these that I am speaking. I’m talking about a
dancer that everyone watches with great anxiety, and who has been gently
spoken to suggesting they only dance those dances that are identified (and
we’ve started identifying them) as slow and simple. Did not take the hint
and was rather affronted.

Also, Does anyone have any safety policies? For example, that by
participating in the dance, you are affirming that you believe yourself to
be physically able to do it? Or language to that effect?

Any advice?

Martha


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Re: [Callers] Folk Festival - Easy Contra dances to teach Beginners

[Jen Morgan via Callers]

Not necessarily.  I called a contra dance in the ceilidh tent at a UK folk
festival with few if any experienced contra dancers.  I made a list of very
basic figures and chose only dances with those figures in.  I think I used
either only right and left throughs, or only ladies chains, but not both
(can't remember which sorry!)  No work outside minor set, I preferred eight
bar figures to four bar figures (over and back etc).  Lots of line of four
lead down sort of dances.  Lots of the easier chestnuts.

And I delivered the explanation of how to line up, how to know if you're a
one or two, how the progression works etc, before *every* *single*
*dance*.  It worked and the dancers had a great time.

Hope it goes well!
Jen


On 24 July 2018 at 15:53, Mac Mckeever via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> I stay away from contras unless you have a good number of experienced
> dancers to hold things together.  There are lots of dances that are more
> self correcting and don't have the complexity that progression creates.
> Virginia Reel works good with beginners
>
> Mac McKeever
>
> On Tuesday, July 24, 2018, 9:48:59 AM CDT, Lorraine Sutton via Callers <
> callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> Hello All,
>
> I am calling a 2 hour Intro to Contra dance at an Ontario Canada
> Festival. ( more a music focus than a dance focus, at this festival)
>
> I would appreciate hearing from you as to contra dances ( lws proper
> & Improper) that you have found successful with very novice dancers and why
> you think those dances work for beginners.(I love Larry Jennings definition
> of easy vs complicated )
>
> I do plan on doing some non progressive lws as well as a both a circle and
> a Sicilian  circle in the program mix , to get the concept of progression.
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Lorraine Sutton  ( lorrainesutt...@gmail.com )
>
>
> ...
>
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Re: [Callers] hearing impaired

[Jen Morgan via Callers]

Hello Bill

This is from a friend who has more experience with this than I

I'll leave this to you to forward to the list.

From: bill fischer via Callers 

> does anyone have experience with hearing impaired calling?
>

I've taught English Ceilidh to a deaf group in the UK, and frequently call
in environments with some hearing-impaired dancers.

has anyone used signing for dances?
> or other solutions to make the dance accessible?
>
> Signing helps when you're reasonably close to the dancers, but isn't ideal
in a large room.  For the group, I had a number of hearing folks who spread
themselves through the sets, could sign, and were able to act as
interpreters during the walk-throughs.  However, they were also dancing,
and it's difficult (a) to sign and dance and (b) to look at the person
signing when you're also dancing.  So here are a few tips:

   - Bring bass bins or tip a speaker to point towards the floor if calling
   for a deaf group.  The organiser's suggestion - it gives a beat that can be
   felt - and very effective at keeping time.
   - Beg, borrow, steal, or buy a headset radio mic.  You'll need both
   hands free for my next point; the hearing folks will need you amplified; it
   keeps your face visible for the lip-readers; and you have a reasonable
   chance of getting a feed into the room's T-loop system if there's one
   installed.
   - Use full-body movements to show or mime the moves you want.  I'll hold
   out a crooked right/left arm for turns, hold an arm diagonally up for
   stars, hold arms as if I'm walking in a circle for circles, hold out hands
   to mime a cross-hand swing.  As ever, show these before the move happens,
   just as you'd start to call a move so that the call completes as the move
   starts.
   - If you have one or two hearing-impaired people, try to stay in line of
   sight of them, especially at the start of a move so that they can glance
   away as little as possible from where they are to get the next move.  If
   you have a group, try to stay on the stage so that you're in a known
   position for them.
   - If you have signers, get into a huddle beforehand and agree shorthand
   signs for the different moves.  You tell them what moves you'll be doing
   through the session, they devise the signs and communicate to the group the
   first time the move comes up.
   - Think about your move vocabulary.  It takes longer to teach each new
   move, simply because of the overhead of looking, signing, and associating
   the sign with the move.  Introduce new moves with consideration for the
   learning curve.
   - Remember normal hygiene for dealing with folks who may be partially or
   totally lip-reading: nothing in front of your face (including stand or
   handheld radio mics); face the audience.
   - Try not to mumble; and try not to SHOUT the occAsional SYLlable
   because it plays havoc with compressors in T-loops and hearing aids such
   that your audience may be unable to discern the syllable after the shouted
   one.

Cheers,

- Peter



On 19 June 2018 at 15:13, bill fischer via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> good day!
>
> thanks for providing this outlet for us!
>
> does anyone have experience with hearing impaired calling?
> has anyone used signing for dances?
> or other solutions to make the dance accessible?
>
> grateful for your thoughts
> billy fischer
> 312 litchfield turnpike
> bethany ct 06524
> 203-393-3464 land
> 203-314-0221 cell/text
> www.billthedancecaller.com
>
>
>
>
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Re: [Callers] Politically Correct?

[Jen Morgan via Callers]

Hello folks

I'd just like to second what Ron said.  We keep hearing about how
organisers would like to "get Young People in", but then express disdain
for the things we care about, such as avoiding offensive language.

The idea that we should be allowed to say whatever we want when calling as
long as we don't intend any disrespect seems naive at best.  For example, I
might want to say something like "This is so f---ing cool!" when I'm
calling, and intend no disrespect by it.  But I still wouldn't say it,
because some people *would* feel disrespected by my using that language
over the microphone, even if that's not my intention, and I care about
them.  To say that only your intentions matter is to say that you either
don't recognise, or don't care, that other people may have different
feelings about certain words or turns of phrase than you do.  And some
words have a history which cannot be ignored and remains relevant no matter
what your intentions.  (unless you are Humpty-Dumpty)

"Political correctness" is what people call it when they have to treat
others with respect, and they don't want to.  A good trick is to go through
and mentally replace the words "political correctness" with "treating
people with respect".  It helps make it clear what people are really
saying.

I would second Ron's comments about the use of the n-word on this thread.
It's just a word that should never be used by white people, at all, ever,
no matter what the context.  Here's a quick explanation of why
.
(https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/11/9/16627900/ta-nehisi-coates-n-word
)

And as to your actual point Colin, I disagree.  Our inner thoughts and
feelings towards groups of people matter, like you say.  Our outward
behaviour matters.  And our choice of language matters.  Words absolutely
can cause significant pain.  And the fact is that just because a word may
not start off poisoned by racism (or some other form of contempt) doesn't
mean that it can ever become unpoisoned again.  Say a glass of water is
fine to start with and then someone defecates in it.  You can't just scoop
the turd out and call the water clean again.  Sure, changing our choice of
words is treating the symptom not the cause.  But if I was suffering from a
painful illness where the cause couldn't be dealt with straightaway, I
would definitely want the symptoms to be treated in the meantime!

I notice that a lot of people express resentment about being asked to
change their choice of words for others.  If those people find out that
they can get away without making a change, they are positively gleeful, as
though they have won a victory.  Expressing resentment at being asked to
change your choice of words, glee when you can get away without doing so --
there is no surer way to express your contempt for the feelings and
opinions of others.  When you are in the position of being an old white
male, with good standing in the community -- and in this community some
callers are positively revered to the point where many act as though they
can do no wrong -- it must be easy to believe that no one but yourself
matters.  Consider, though, whether this attitude is really good for a
community long term.

Jen


On 28 March 2018 at 07:45, Ron Blechner via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> "Living Tradition"
>
> Preserving tradition and being appropriate to our day and age are not
> mutually exclusive.
>
> I actually love rich traditions that we keep alive. We talk about "living"
> traditions, so what do we mean by this phrase?
>
> For something to be alive, it changes. It adapts. What it doesn't do is
> stay stagnant and unchanging. The whole reason contra dancing is still
> alive today is because it's alive and changing.
>
> By insisting on holding onto traditions verbatim, we are actually doing
> more to kill them than save them. Sure, we'll preserve them this way - as
> one does a taxidermied animal: perfectly preserved, sitting on a shelf,
> dead.
>
> I'd prefer my traditions alive. I'd like to keep sharing them with younger
> generations. That means that people like Rich are asking the right
> questions. That means we need to consider that language changes and that we
> need to speak in a language that reaches an audience not merely just our
> own.
>
> Hey, isn't that the whole point of being a dance caller? Being heard by
> your audience?
>
> In dance, again,
> Ron Blechner
>
> On Wed, Mar 28, 2018, 1:33 AM Ron Blechner  wrote:
>
>> I want to echo the words of Alex D-L and Dave Casserly.
>>
>> I'm also appalled at the casual use of the n-word on this thread without
>> anyone whatsoever calling it out. This is really giving me pause. :(
>>
>> Contra's attendance is dwindling - I hear it from every organizer I talk
>> to, with a couple exceptions. I also hear about the desire to "get the
>> young people to dance". Hmmm.
>>
>> Ron Blechner
>>
>>
>> On Tue, 

Re: [Callers] Super easy dances - do they exist?

[Jen Morgan via Callers]

Re two hand turn, I too have had the problem of dancers trying to turn
under their arms instead of walking round each other -- also the same
problem for right/left hand turns.  I sometimes say things like "keep
your hands low and walk round each other clockwise" or even "walk
round each other with your joined hands at the middle of the circle"
which seems to help.

Re don't they get taught this in schools, no they don't.  :(  Everyone
who can teach this stuff has a day job and isn't available in the
school day to teach it.  Plus schools are so busy getting kids to cram
for their many exams that they don't have time to arrange that sort of
activity for children.  Teaching a bunch of teenagers to strip the
willow won't help you pass an ofsted inspection.

Jen



On 17 June 2017 at 18:07, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers
 wrote:
> 2-hand turns --  one year I was teaching a dance that had a 2-hand turn --
> which I discovered was beyond their comprehension.  Lots of blank faces and
> a few tried to hold onto each other and turn under their own arches.  I
> grabbed a young fellow close by and demonstrated a 2-hand turn and there was
> a huge "a" from the group.  Who'd have thought that was a foreign term
> for 18-year olds.  Why don't they teach this stuff in school anymore?
>
> Thanks for asking the gender question.  I still use ladies and gents when
> necessary, but I add "those who are pretending to be gents" and "those who
> are pretending to be ladies".  They're just kids and no one seems to mind.
> But I've found it's easier to use mostly gender free dances.  That's why
> Grease and Glue worked fairly well this year.  Don't have to be proper,
> don't have to be improper, just have to have a partner.  Same with most easy
> longways dances -- doesn't matter which side of the set you're on.
>
> On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 11:51 AM, Linda Leslie 
> wrote:
>>
>> I use two hand turns with groups like yours….elbow swings work, too. Since
>> there is more distance between dancers, they don’t seem to have any
>> discomfort with these moves.
>>
>> A question for you, though:  if girls are dancing with girls, and boys
>> with boys, how are you approaching the use of language to distinguish
>> positions?
>>
>> thanks! Linda Leslie
>>
>>
>> On Jun 17, 2017, at 12:31 PM, Linda S. Mrosko via Callers
>>  wrote:
>>
>> That Tony Parkes dance looks good, but I'd never be able to use it with
>> this crowd.  In years passed, I tried to teach them swings -- but I guess
>> everybody still has cooties at 18 years -- never worked -- plus, you have a
>> good number of girls dancing with girls and boys dancing with boys and it
>> makes some of them uncomfortable.  This is a crowd that, when I tell them,
>> let's make a big circle all around the room, they have trouble with the
>> concept of what a circle looks like.  Not to re-mention the acoustics.
>>
>> As a contra dancer, I understand flow from figure to figure, but Swat the
>> Flea into a right shoulder DSD wasn't a problem with this crowd.
>>
>> But thanks for sharing Tony's dance.  I don't remember ever seeing it
>> before.
>>
>> On Sat, Jun 17, 2017 at 4:55 AM, John Sweeney via Callers
>>  wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Linda,
>>> Re your Box ‘n’ Swat:  I have a somewhat similar dance in my
>>> files:
>>>
>>> Circle Mixers Are Fun (by Tony Parkes)
>>>
>>> A1) Into the Middle & Back x 2
>>>
>>> A2) Partner Right Hand: Balance & Box the Gnat; Partner Dosido
>>>
>>> B1) Partner Left Hand: Balance & Swat the Flea; Partner Seesaw (Left
>>> Shoulder Dosido) 1 & 1/2 to meet your New Partner
>>>
>>> B2) New Partner Balance (OR Gypsy) & Swing
>>>
>>> Note that your sequence of Swat the Flea into Dosido involves
>>> passing by the right when you are holding left hands.  Tony’s sequences
>>> above allow much easier flow and connection as you can pull past with the
>>> connected hand.
>>>
>>> Last time I had the challenge of working with a room full of
>>> noisy youngsters (most of whom didn’t speak English) I just led by example,
>>> starting with a Grand March then did:
>>> Sausage (Circle) to the Left/Right (Till I was at the top)
>>> Long Lines Go Forward & Back
>>> Top couple Gallop Down (I just took the person opposite and galloped);
>>> Next Couple; Next Couple; Next Couple
>>> Repeat
>>>
>>> Once they has used up a bit of energy I was able to get them to
>>> quiet down a bit!
>>>
>>> Happy dancing,
>>> John
>>>
>>> John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 625 362
>>> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Looking forward,
>>
>> Linda S. Mrosko
>> 102 Mitchell Drive
>> Temple, Texas 76501
>>