contra calling
Not sure if I've written much on this yet. I keep coming back to the driving an automatic vs. driving a manual analogy. Calling is definitely like driving a manual, while dancing for me is like driving an automatic.
Called my first 1/2 a dance November 17th, (here we have a bunch of callers who rotate nights and call 1/2 a night each) 2nd set. Well it was a lot like that first trip out solo with all the kids, driving the stick shift. Nobody talk, and nobody ask me anything, and I'll try my best not to stall out in the middle of the intersection, and we might have to restart the car a few times regardless, and we may never get out of 3rd, but we made it to the store! Yeah. So I know it will get better.
Some things I can work on:
Dropping out too early
- I assume people "get it" too quickly, and I need to remember my own confused moments on the dance floor and give them more time to get into the groove
Graciousness
- always something I need to work on anyway, I tend to abrupt and abrasive rather than gracious. I need to be careful of using people's names (making them feel singled out)
Planning ahead
- I need to diagram every dance I'm going to call, and practice calling it, before the dance. Otherwise I am not in a space to answer questions. I need to continue to interact with the person calling the other 1/2 of the dance, before the dance, to find out what they are calling and fit our evening together smoothly, and to avoid duplicating dances.
Observation
- If I learn to pay more attention to what is going on with the dancers as I do the walk-through, I will someday be able to answer questions more intuitively and might be able to call a dance cold. As it is I have a hard time seeing how the progression should work out. Also I need to take a strong mental note of who is at the front when the dance starts, so I have a good idea of when to end the dance. Also I need to look for a time when no one is out to cue the band to end the dance, remembering that I'm giving the band 2x through the progression worth of notice
Notation
- I need to note on the card for all the dances I call, where the progression takes place, what is happening in each figure (is this star with old neighbors or new neighbors? Am I with my partner? etc.)
I noticed at the dance I called that there were a couple of people who the dance fell apart around, almost every single dance. One of these surprised me, but then I realized that the reason I don't notice it when I dance with him is I give him a really strong back-lead wherever needed! Nothing I can do about that, they will either get better or not. I also had major issues with our second line. I called 4 dances, 2x when I used a second line, the second line fell completely apart and could NOT get it back together, while the 1st line had it perfectly.
I noticed at our last dance, that this problem with the second line falling apart was happening to the caller as well. I think if I need to ask for a second line in the future, I will ask the dancers to break it up so that the all the 1's OR 2's move to the second line, and then we regroup in hands four, instead of just moving the back half of the line over. My theory is the people in the back just aren't as on the ball, so if the line is getting broken up they need to be spread out, otherwise they will never get a chance to interact with enough dancers who "get it" to make the figures work.
Christian gave me 3 cd's he burned for me of contra music, so I have plenty to practice calling to now! And I talked to Andy, the pianist with the Reel McCoy, about possibly doing a cover of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down," and he seemed enthusiastic. So I downloaded actual sheet music and am taking it to him at church today since we both go to First Congo. I wrote a contra to the tune (it needs speeding up a bit to work) and I'd love to be able to try calling the dance with the music that inspired its genesis.
We are all registered for Memfest. Hopefully this baby will be as sweet and cooperative as my others, and like contra dancing more than Peter (who made it clear fairly early on that he does not enjoy contra! Abinadi on the other hand loved contra.) The baby should still be small enough to wear in a front carry as well as in a back carry, so it just depends on my post-partum recovery and baby's temperament, how much dancing I'll get to do. Baby should be 2-2.5 months old by then. I'm also planning on helping to man- err- woman- the sign-in table during the workshop- I need to look up the schedule and email the director about what times I'll definitely be available. Time enough come next year to worry about finding a sitter so Patrick can come too- how much he does will depend on his knees, but I'm hoping he'll at least be able to handle the Friday and Sunday dances since that will give him a day to rest in between. Although I hope he can do a beginners waltz workshop and get in a few practice waltzes as well.
Called my first 1/2 a dance November 17th, (here we have a bunch of callers who rotate nights and call 1/2 a night each) 2nd set. Well it was a lot like that first trip out solo with all the kids, driving the stick shift. Nobody talk, and nobody ask me anything, and I'll try my best not to stall out in the middle of the intersection, and we might have to restart the car a few times regardless, and we may never get out of 3rd, but we made it to the store! Yeah. So I know it will get better.
Some things I can work on:
Dropping out too early
- I assume people "get it" too quickly, and I need to remember my own confused moments on the dance floor and give them more time to get into the groove
Graciousness
- always something I need to work on anyway, I tend to abrupt and abrasive rather than gracious. I need to be careful of using people's names (making them feel singled out)
Planning ahead
- I need to diagram every dance I'm going to call, and practice calling it, before the dance. Otherwise I am not in a space to answer questions. I need to continue to interact with the person calling the other 1/2 of the dance, before the dance, to find out what they are calling and fit our evening together smoothly, and to avoid duplicating dances.
Observation
- If I learn to pay more attention to what is going on with the dancers as I do the walk-through, I will someday be able to answer questions more intuitively and might be able to call a dance cold. As it is I have a hard time seeing how the progression should work out. Also I need to take a strong mental note of who is at the front when the dance starts, so I have a good idea of when to end the dance. Also I need to look for a time when no one is out to cue the band to end the dance, remembering that I'm giving the band 2x through the progression worth of notice
Notation
- I need to note on the card for all the dances I call, where the progression takes place, what is happening in each figure (is this star with old neighbors or new neighbors? Am I with my partner? etc.)
I noticed at the dance I called that there were a couple of people who the dance fell apart around, almost every single dance. One of these surprised me, but then I realized that the reason I don't notice it when I dance with him is I give him a really strong back-lead wherever needed! Nothing I can do about that, they will either get better or not. I also had major issues with our second line. I called 4 dances, 2x when I used a second line, the second line fell completely apart and could NOT get it back together, while the 1st line had it perfectly.
I noticed at our last dance, that this problem with the second line falling apart was happening to the caller as well. I think if I need to ask for a second line in the future, I will ask the dancers to break it up so that the all the 1's OR 2's move to the second line, and then we regroup in hands four, instead of just moving the back half of the line over. My theory is the people in the back just aren't as on the ball, so if the line is getting broken up they need to be spread out, otherwise they will never get a chance to interact with enough dancers who "get it" to make the figures work.
Christian gave me 3 cd's he burned for me of contra music, so I have plenty to practice calling to now! And I talked to Andy, the pianist with the Reel McCoy, about possibly doing a cover of Neil Young's "Don't Let It Bring You Down," and he seemed enthusiastic. So I downloaded actual sheet music and am taking it to him at church today since we both go to First Congo. I wrote a contra to the tune (it needs speeding up a bit to work) and I'd love to be able to try calling the dance with the music that inspired its genesis.
We are all registered for Memfest. Hopefully this baby will be as sweet and cooperative as my others, and like contra dancing more than Peter (who made it clear fairly early on that he does not enjoy contra! Abinadi on the other hand loved contra.) The baby should still be small enough to wear in a front carry as well as in a back carry, so it just depends on my post-partum recovery and baby's temperament, how much dancing I'll get to do. Baby should be 2-2.5 months old by then. I'm also planning on helping to man- err- woman- the sign-in table during the workshop- I need to look up the schedule and email the director about what times I'll definitely be available. Time enough come next year to worry about finding a sitter so Patrick can come too- how much he does will depend on his knees, but I'm hoping he'll at least be able to handle the Friday and Sunday dances since that will give him a day to rest in between. Although I hope he can do a beginners waltz workshop and get in a few practice waltzes as well.