[Callers] Ralph Page Tips for Callers - March 1953

The following was printed in ³Northern Junket², vol 3, no 11, March 1953. It¹s humorous, insightful and very telling about the differences between contra dances then and now (see tips #1 and #3). I¹ve read some pretty wild stories about Œcountry¹ and barn dances in different parts of the US in the

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

> > From: Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing > Subject: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing > > Callers -- > > > > So what do y'all think? What do you do? How you do think people like it? There are some dances where you are placed far from your partner at the end

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

I sometimes change it. If there's already a partner swing close to the end, then changing the end may just end up giving a partner swing that's too long. On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 10:27 AM, Bob Isaacs wrote: > > Come to think of it, there's one very good time a night to

Re: [Callers] dances with no partner swing

For one, lots of people tend to not repeat partners during an evening. I take a pass on that if there's no partner swing or it turns out to be a mixer. On a similar vein, if it's a dance where only the actives swing (or in general when #1's have a different roll), make sure that everyone gets a

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

Come to think of it, there's one very good time a night to change the ending (a tip learned long ago from David Kirchner); the first dance of the evening. This acts like an auxiliary sound check - if many dancers don't swing or look confused, especially in the far corners of the hall, you're

[Callers] dances with no partner swing

I have wondered about this issue for years. I understand the value of calling simple dances with no partner swing at venues such as one night stands, or at a middle school where the kids might be too shy to enjoy dancing with a partner of the opposite gender, but as a dancer it drives me nuts.

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

As a dancer, I always enjoy it when the caller modifies to make a dance end with a partner swing, but as a caller I think it might get boring if I did that every time. It's the surprise element that appeals to the dancers. When I'm choosing dances for the evening I usually try to make the last

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

Hi All: I'm one of those callers who often changes a contra to finish with a partner swing, although for really good bands who know to finish with a flourish I'll avoid that. But I never call the whole last time through and it bothers me when others do it; that's just a bad case of caller

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

I also speak from limited calling experience (4 years, in Maine and more recently Boston). I do give more programmatic weight to becket dances towards the end of the halves, and occasionally i'll modify a B part that already circles left to end with a partner swing. (I take a fairly conservative

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

I'm assuming this discussion is about contra dances? If there are folks who are "bored" with the "utter predictability" of a partner swing at the end of a dance then I am perplexed as to what the heck they are doing at a contra dance in the first place. Why not swing, squares, or just about any

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

On 04/01/2012 04:23, Richard Mckeever wrote: Many callers like to start calling again the last time - I don't see the reason for that so I don't do it. I think it's to remind the dancers that the caller (who dropped out the calling many turns back) is still in charge and is the one who

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

As a dancer, I'm always a little disappointed when the dance doesn't end with a swing, but especially when it ends with new neighbors. Ladies chain to left hand star is quite disappointing. I'll even go so far as to notice the caller isn't doing it and when I see her signal for the last time

Re: [Callers] Changing on the last round for a partner swing

I've had dancers express to me their disinterest in hearing the caller's voice at the end of the dance, regardless of how mellifluous that voice is - their point was that the music told them the dance was ending. They didn't need a caller to do that. So (in my very limited experience) I choose to