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 fact, i never officially made it - i was on probation
until i moved. i called at glen echo and at two dance weekends before i was
allowed to audition at my "home" dance. in the end, it didn't really affect my
calling career much.
joy, you make a bunch of great suggestions below. there are dances everywhere
- i contacted organizers all over the place. i put a lot of miles on my car,
for sure! but that gave me the chance to let people see me call and hear my
name. if i worked hard and did a good job, people noticed and that got me more
gigs.
but the thing i like best is the concept of teaching beginners' workshops. i
consider that one of the most useful things i ever learned to do. in fact, i
concentrate far more on how i'm going to teach the class than i do anything
else.
if i can teach the "newbies" to do everything i want them to do, i KNOW i can
teach everyone else. i never quite understand when organizers ask if i want
the "regulars" to teach the class - i think it's not only the most important
thing i do in terms of teaching, it's even more important in setting a happy
and relaxed tone for the beginners. i try to make it feel like a "party" right
away, never a "class". i also give them a chance to become familiar with my
calling style, and i can emphasize what's in the first part of my program.
i've seen a number of callers teach great classes - and in my mind, the thing
that they all have in common is that they make people feel COMFORTABLE and
COMPETENT. gotta say i've seen some "great" callers teach classes that made me
cringe, too! in my mind, working on my teaching skills has done far more to
improve my calling skills than anything else.
i've often had people comment that i am good at getting beginners to do "hard"
dances. my personal opinion is that i don't call "hard" dances. what i do is
make sure i know exactly how to teach every figure and that it is reasonable to
do those figures in the amount of time allowed. i regularly call grand squares
for groups of beginners and dances such as kathy anderson's "tropical
gentleman" at local dances.
two tidbits - though i've called at dance weekends and big dances across the
country, i prefer the smaller dances. you get to know everyone and i think
they're more fun. also, i used to be a "square dance bigot" - HATED the
things! that is, until i heard callers like cis hinkle and kathy anderson and
lisa greenleaf and ron buchanan and beth molaro and david kirchner and big bill
sudkamp, who were all very good at it. now i love 'em and love to call 'em.
what a difference a good teacher can make!
barb
http://www.barbkirchner.us
> From: [email protected]> To: [email protected]> Date: Tue, 19 Aug
> 2008 21:12:35 -0400> Subject: Re: [Callers] Trouble Getting Gigs (very long)>
> > I can commiserate with your dilemma and have lots of thoughts running >
> through my head about this.> > I met a lot of resistance to getting booked in
> my local series...
> I started contacting organizers and especially dance-bookers for > dances
> within a 1-4 hour drive radius of me. I'd look at online > schedules and look
> for openings. I'd "cold-call" email them, > introducing myself...
> > So based on my experience, the first thing I'd advise is to expand > your
> > range of potential gigs. Experience is experience even if you > have to
> > drive to get there. Also, as one friend said, It's amazing > how much more
> > talented you become when you come from 100 miles away!> > Looking back, I
> > can see that I did a number of things to maximize > those experiences...
> After the dance, I thank the organizer for having me call for them > (even if
> things went poorly)...> > Another thing that helped my teaching/experience
> was regularly > teaching the beginners workshop for a local dance. That gave
> me lots > of opportunity to try different ways/methods/sequences of teaching
> the > basics within a certain time period...
> > Traveling some is not a bad way to go...Good luck!> > Joy Greenwolfe>
> > Durham, NC>
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