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very good point!
but i would also like to point out that dancers have many different reasons for
coming to dances. some of them are to hear you play, but a lot of them are not!
are you talking travelling talent? or local dance?
seriously - spent a LONG time as a dancer before i ever thought of
the perfect last dance is the one where dancers go away happy.
i tell the band to save their very best piece for last, and i call a really
easy dance.
that goes double for the end of the first half - EASY dance means beginners go
away feeling good, HOT music makes the regulars happy.
i am highly amused and also in love with this thread.
it is the nature of our community to be inclusive. the thought that we have
excluded someone needs to be dealt with.
and we will. everybody is gonna throw their opinion out, greg will come back,
we will move on.
thanks, all :-)
ha ha! i've got one short comment.
i called a dance one time for some people who really wanted to dance, but
didn't speak english. we learned four simple dances, took a break, and then
did the same four dances again. they loved it the second time - they knew what
they were doing!!
by far, the best thing i ever learned to do was to engage the couple (or party
organizers, or somebody who is known to the crowd) in the programming. if the
bride gets up and says "let's dance!", people will.
if they want to do something else (and they might!), ask them to designate some
what is the perfect tempo for a hambo??
THANKS for bringing up this important teaching technique.
the way you phrase something can make ALL the difference.
instead of "this is a little tricky", i go with "this LOOKS a little bit
different, but you'll be surprised how easy it is!" or "here comes the fun
part!"
if you ACT like
hey ron - some good points! i think what we're coming up with here is that it
doesn't exactly matter WHAT you ask the band, as long as you set up some good
communication with them. take the time to talk, to ask who is in charge of
what, what they reallly like to do most, etc., etc., etc.
i often ask them to save their "best set" for the last dance before the break.
and i call an easy dance, so hopefully those who leave at the break walk away
thinking "good music, good dance!"
> From: contra...@gmail.com
> Date: Tue, 19 Feb 2013 22:58:42 -0500
> To: call...@sharedweight.net
>
s
>
> Share them with us all, Barb!
> Andrea
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> On Jan 18, 2013, at 11:18 AM, barb kirchner <barbkirch...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >
> > perry, the dance you're thinking of is called "contra corners cannon" or
> > some
perry, the dance you're thinking of is called "contra corners cannon" or
something similar. indeed - a very fun dance! i have the figures around
somewhere if you want them :-) barb
> Date: Fri, 18 Jan 2013 08:15:12 -0800
> From: ps...@yahoo.com
> To: call...@sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re:
when i am able to dance these days, i almost always dance the gent's role. i
have a problem with my right foot and too many guys just don't pick up on
signals and it gets tiring for me to tell people to stop yanking me around.
but even when i was a dancing fanatic, there were experienced
when i am able to dance these days, i almost always dance the gent's role. i
have a problem with my right foot and too many guys just don't pick up on
signals and it gets tiring for me to tell people to stop yanking me around. but
even when i was a dancing fanatic, there were experienced men
it's matti (not matty) mero.
he is in ted crane's database, but i'm not sure if that's current info.
> From: la...@emory.edu
> To: call...@sharedweight.net
> Date: Tue, 9 Oct 2012 14:21:16 +
> Subject: Re: [Callers] How to not contra dance safely
>
> Yes - that is it! Anybody have a
yes, those are all responsibilities of the caller - but those are the technical
responsibilities.
i think the most important role is that of party host/hostess.
i can't force anyone to have a good time, but i can set things up so they can
if they want.
dancers will come back if they have
disagree. one thing i learned from my university years (besides some things
about plants) was that it was CRITICAL to say things in various ways. i taught
science majors one semester, non-science majors the next. non-majors were the
most fun. you had to realize that every single person in
i have done this dance but have no idea what it is. i remember that i called
an "egyptian hey" - everybody did a hey but "walked like an egyptian". :-)
> Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2012 21:05:44 -0400
> From: thesmit...@gmail.com
> To: call...@sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] Looking for a
g a hey seems a bit
> > > arbitrary, but I assume the dance had a bad experience at some time.
> > >
> > > Beth
> > >
> > > -Original Message-
> > > From: Linda Leslie
> > > Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 11:24 PM
> > > T
ult for new
> > folks: right and left through for example. Banning a hey seems a bit
> > arbitrary, but I assume the dance had a bad experience at some time.
> >
> > Beth
> >
> > -Original Message-
> > From: Linda Leslie
> > Sent: Friday,
> On Feb 17, 2012, at 7:55 AM, barb kirchner wrote:
>
> >
> > i like teaching "the ladies' pattern". ladies walk the same path
> > (turn left, end on right) for a promenade, right and left through,
> > ladies chain, and hey. they're kinda used to looping out
> From: jim.s...@gmail.com
> To: call...@sharedweight.net
> Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2012 09:01:32 -0800
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Dances for 3s
>
> On Jan 30, 2012, at 11:59 AM, barb kirchner wrote:
>
> > gleeful threesome, by ? kirsten koth ?
>
> So far as I know "G
gleeful threesome, by ? kirsten koth ?
i'll find the card, but the general idea is "waves" of three (ie, middle person
faces cw, two outers ccw, or the other way around), in a large circle.
middle person allemandes with each, back to wave, all walk forward (so middles
go opp direction of
i call this fairly regularly and know a couple of others who also do
occasionally. i haven't had much trouble teaching the celtic hey. i find that
if i tell them it's easy and they can do it, they usually will.
i have a different conceptual vision of it than described below. everybody
yes, i agree. i'm not at all sure what your rationale is for some of your
statements, but they do not really match up with my experience.
> Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2011 20:56:42 -0800
> From: catherinea...@yahoo.com
> To: call...@sharedweight.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Borrowing call terminology
it really depends on the dance. most of the dances i've called lately have
been MUC (modern urban contra) dances. these large and energetic dances expect
most new dancers to come to class and have a general knowledge of what's going
on by the time the dance starts. that's what makes the
i don't have plans to join this group, as this is one of the few aspects of the
dance i haven't gotten sucked in to - at least so far!
BUT i want to say i think it's great that you've started this new discussion.
there are many people in the traditional music and dance community who are
lol. thank you, jeff. i'm sure that's exactly how i meant to explain it!!
but actually, you make a great point. when i think of the most satisfying
swings i've had, centrifugal force is a GREAT part of it. that's why leaning
back doesn't make sense - you should pull in. centrifugal force
i was the one who made a number of those statements, and i'll defend them now.
i focus a LOT on my teaching, especially beginners, and have very actively
pursued comments from new and old dancers and people attending my classes.
one of the biggest complaints i have had over the years is from
i also encourage experienced dancers to help (and we do get a fair number of
regulars at the classes most of the dances here in CO).
and i demo with an experienced dancer and have them buzz step WHILE i walk,"
demonstrating that you don't have to buzz, but can start whenever you feel like
ose figures we didn't teach, connection through shared
> weight and eye contact?
> Andrea
>
> On 9/1/2011 12:41 PM, barb kirchner wrote:
> > if i had just five minutes:
> >
> > 1. teach the swing, teach it well. point out that the person always ends up
> > on
if i had just five minutes:
1. teach the swing, teach it well. point out that the person always ends up
on the right or left (dep on gender) and drill that in. tell them that if
whoever they're dancing with doesn't put them on the appropriate side, just go
there. then i emphasize that in
this is a good policy, very relevant to both new and experienced dancers.
i especially liked the "john does this well - get some pointers" part, and
COMMUNICATE.
here's my personal story, as a relatively new dancer doing something wrong
without realizing it:
i was at one of my first dance
also flippant, but true:
good teaching and an open mind.
best comment i ever got "she can holler so pleasantly to get us to do what she
wants!"
so - learn to holler pleasantly.
and it's absolutely true that a very mediocre caller can have a fabulous night
with a good band, but it's
hmm...why is neutral better? when i go to a dance, i often dance the gents'
part. i started doing this because my home dance had more women than men and i
just wanted to dance. now i really like doing it - and i like doing it because
it is different than the ladies' part.
just because
i have called this dance many times.
i find that, with this figure, a picture is worth a thousand words. let me try
to say that in words! basically, i point my index fingers straight out and
make circles by moving the fingers down, out, up, and back to start. this
quickly makes the
good for you! i was in the same position a number of years ago in wichita, ks.
i went to manhattan, ks, and took an all-day class with enid cocke. we
started the wichita dance in 2002 with two callers, and the dance continues to
this day (though i no longer live there).
when i lived in
hey chris - i have worked with bands before that didn't know what "contra"
music was, and it can be an adventure!
if you have a chance to talk to the musicians ahead of time, PLEASE DO SO. you
could give them a CD to listen to so they know what "contra dance music" sounds
like. there are
hi joy!! (and everyone else):
i, too, went through a period of trying to get booked locally with no luck. a
couple of years after i started calling, i moved to a city with a large weekly
dance, hoping to get some calling experience. but getting on the rotation was
quite difficult - in
RICKRACK - duple improper
barb kirchner/rich goss
a1 neighbors right-hand balance and box the gnat
gents allemende left 1 1/2 WHILE ladies orbit 1/2
a2 neighbors balance and swing (opposite side from where you started)
b1 circle left 3/4, swing partner
b2 half ricochet hey
also "cappucino reel" by don flaherty.
barb
> Date: Wed, 6 Feb 2008 16:16:05 -0600> From: jerome.grisa...@gmail.com> To:
> call...@sharedweight.net> Subject: Re: [Callers] Organizing Dance Cards> >
> Susan Kevra's "The Country of Marriage" has that "Mary Cay's" move as well,>
> done by the
if the experienced dancers are jumping the gun, i have no problem saying, early
in the evening, something like "i know a lot of you know this, but for my own
(the caller's) benefit, if everybody would do this TOGETHER, i can make sure
everybody has it and we'll be dancing sooner. thanks for
me, too - though back in the 50s and 60s, when i was a kid, i remember that my
teachers tried to "cure" me of this bad habit ;-p
http://www.barbkirchner.us
> From: la...@emory.edu> To: call...@sharedweight.net> Date: Tue, 5 Feb 2008
> 10:24:23 -0500> Subject: Re: [Callers] Waiting for Lefty>
here's another idea - when i first moved to boston in 2003, i was invited to
call a greenfield dance that was the same night as the peterborough fall
ball, or something like that - i'm sure i was the only caller who wasn't in
peterborough that night!! but hey - it was GREENFIELD, and i was a
bands that play together regularly ought not to take too long to choose
tunes. bands that don't (such as monday night at the scout house) need more
time. everybody has good nights and bad nights.
from my point of view as a teacher/caller, i know that dancers do much
better (especially newer
i'd be happy to do it, except i'm already playing that night!
but i need to find a caller to replace me in medway on 3 feb. anybody in
eastern mass available for that??
thanks!
barb
http://www.barbkirchner.us
Original Message Follows
From: Chris Weiler
teaching a hey - don't worry about it. seriously.
make sure that the dance you're using has a full hey, not half. it's much
easier if they know for sure where they're going. i just tell them it's ok
if they wander around and don't hurt each other, and then go back to where
they started and
i work on memorizing my walkthru. i rarely practice actually calling. for
me, the calling comes naturally if i know my dance. if i've memorized my
walkthru, i really know my dance well.
i go over my complete beginners' workshop before every dance. i go over my
complete walkthru for every
my all-time favorite is peter lippincott's snake river reel. i also like a
lot of the variations that have been written and call several of them, in
particular seth tepfer's and cary ravitz's versions.
anyway, here's peter's:
snake river reel - duple improper
a1 ladies to the middle, make
i rarely call contra corners because it can be so difficult to get the
timing right, even for experienced dancers. i'm far more interested in
getting everybody to dance to the music, and feel happy/satisfied with what
they're doing, than to execute some complicated figure.
there are some
here's what i do, and i'm pretty happy with my routine. all
comments/questions are welcome.
ask people if they've ever been to a dance before. explain that it's a
party - we're just here to have fun. say: if you've ever turned on the
stereo in your house and walked around in
i like tom hinds' "gypsy round two"
DI
a1 ones, as a couple, gypsy R with gent two
ones gypsy L with lady two
a2 ones in the middle, down the hall
turn alone, come back
b1 circle L 1x
neighbor DSD
b2 ones B/S, end facing gent two with arms around each other at end of
swing,
chris, it has not been my experience that dancers/organizers who complain
about lack of variety in a program are talking about different formations.
i have never been to the whitefield dance, and i don't know anything about
it - so i could be wrong in this instance. but i have been to dances
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