Yes, I have heard both Susan and Beth call. Musical calls are fine, but they don't really allow the band to shine any more. Same thing with singing squares-- the band is backup, and the caller is the featured performer. Which is great, if that's what you like. It's not really what I like, though, and I'd guess that many dancers share that sentiment. Maybe, if there were callers who practiced so regularly with a particular band that they could fit their calls to that band's energy without detracting from it at all calling throughout the whole dance, that would be different. But I've never heard that happen. Even with callers who are members of the bands they call with, the bands sound best when those callers stop calling and take out (or focus on) their instruments.
On Wed, Sep 11, 2013 at 11:13 AM, rich sbardella <richsbarde...@snet.net>wrote: > Have you listened to Susan Kevra on her CD? She is very musical and > entertaining. Her calls are intergrated into the call. Beth Molaro? > Rich Sbardella > Stafford, CT > > > ________________________________ > From: Dave Casserly <david.j.casse...@gmail.com> > To: Caller's discussion list <call...@sharedweight.net> > Sent: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 1:05 PM > Subject: Re: [Callers] Calling squares at contra. > > > I agree with others who have mentioned that squares take longer to set up > and walk through, but have less dancing time, which can lead to some > frustration by dancers who came to dance and not to spend time setting up. > I used to much prefer when a caller did two squares in a row, because of > the reduced set-up time, and particularly if one of those squares is a > mixer. But I've come to see the point JoLaine and others have made that > doing so shuts out people who want to sit out one dance and not both. In > the dance I'm involved with here in DC, it's at least a semi-official rule > not to call two squares in a row (our booker informs callers not to do so). > > But my main reason for disliking squares has nothing to do with the dances > themselves, or even the greater setup time. It's that, as a musician, I > come to contra dances to hear the band play exciting, live music more than > I do to hear the caller's voice. With contra dances, this means that when > I'm dancing or playing, I want the caller to drop out as soon as possible, > and not to come back in and call the last time through, even if it's just > to end the dance with a partner swing. The end of the dance, with no > intervening voice, is the time when the band can really shine the most. > With squares, it's a totally different situation. The caller's calling > the entire time through, and the dance is as much about the calls as it is > about the music. As both a musician and a dancer, I find this pretty > unsatisfying. If I don't like the band much, or if it's a band that plays > monotonous music, then I'd just as soon dance a square as a contra. But if > it's a smoking hot New England dance band, I just don't want to hear the > caller's voice that much. I want the music to have a chance to shine. If > Crowfoot's on the stage, even when somebody who calls great squares > efficiently, like Lisa Greenleaf, announces to line up for a square, it's > pretty disappointing, and has nothing to do with how much I like that > particular square or caller. > > -Dave > > ______ > > From: JoLaine Jones-Pokorney <jola...@gmail.com> > > To: callers-requ...@sharedweight.net; call...@sharedweight.net > > Sent: Monday, September 9, 2013 8:47 AM > > Subject: [Callers] Calling squares at contra. > > > > > > Speaking as a dancer here and not a caller, I enjoy a square now and then > > but I really don't like it when the caller calls two squares back to > back. > > If I sat out the first one, that generally means I have to sit out the > next > > one too. The last time that happened in our community, one of the dancers > > complained that he had driven two hours to get there and had only gotten > > two dances in the second half because the caller had called two squares > > back to back and took a really long time to teach both of them. In my > > experience, the main reason contra dancers don't like squares is that it > > takes a long time to get set up, there is a chance you will get left out > if > > you're slow to find a partner and then can't get enough other people to > > make a square, and that it often takes more teaching time. I don't think > it > > has anything at all to do with the dance itself. > > So my advice is to call one square in the first half and one square in > the > > second half and find something that can be taught quickly and is > > interesting and fun. I will happily dance those squares! > > JoLaine > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > call...@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > call...@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > > -- > David Casserly > (cell) 781 258-2761 > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > -- David Casserly (cell) 781 258-2761
