I agree with Bob. After the initial mention of who starts the Hey, the
dancers may find it harder to track both the shoulder they are using and
the role of the person they are passing.
I often will drop roles and say things like, "Right in the Middle; Left on
the End; Right in the Middle; Left on the End" (or whatever is needed for a
particular Hey).
Once the alternation of shoulders is established, I'll drop that and start
focusing the dancers' attention on other things (e.g., "Keep going" in a
Full Hey), including where they need to end the move ("All the way over;
all the way *back*"; "Find your Partner, Balance & Swing").
The only part of this for which timing is *essential* is the actual
command--"Hey for Four" (or however it's phrased), which must come just
before the dancers start the move. The additional verbiage are just "helper
words," and the timing is less crucial, though they obviously need to come
*no later* than when the dancers are executing that part of the move.
On Fri, Feb 28, 2020 at 6:57 AM Folk Dance via Contra Callers <
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I'd drop the all the passes and after the initial ravens right, just say
> left *beat* right *beat* *left* *beat* right *beat* left *beat* right
> *beat* balance and swing
>
> That way you're providing a scaffold without obscuring the
> underlying music you're trying to link them to.
>
> Bob
>
> On Fri, Feb 28, 2020 at 2:50 PM Jeff Kaufman via Contra Callers <
> contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> I don't think there's anything special about they hey: always cue things
>> so that they start on the beat after you finish speaking.
>>
>> You might find "ravens left" etc works better than "ravens pass left",
>> being shorter. Otherwise it's hard to get all the words out.
>>
>> Jeff
>>
>> On Fri, Feb 28, 2020 at 6:06 AM Katherine Kitching via Contra Callers <
>> contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> hello - first time posting to this list so i'm sorry if I do it wrong
>>> (looked in archives and couldn't see obvious answer)
>>>
>>> I am going to teach and call my first dance with a hey this Saturday..
>>> (ie tomorrow)
>>>
>>> our group takes things slow so i'd like to cue every interaction for the
>>> first few times, as our previous caller did.... I don't know how common
>>> this is but our previous caller would actually say--
>>>
>>> ravens pass right
>>> neighbours pass left
>>> larks pass right
>>> partners left
>>> ravens pass right
>>> neighbours pass left
>>> larks pass right
>>> partner balance and swing
>>>
>>> I'm wondering if someone can clarify for me about delivering the calls
>>> for this hey....normally of course I deliver instructions so the last bit
>>> of instruction ends on the beat prior to the figure starting.
>>>
>>> But in the case of the Hey, if I remember correctly the caller actually
>>> called out the actions *as* they were happening....
>>>
>>> Am I remembering correctly and if so is this the best approach?
>>>
>>> In essence-- do I start by calling "ravens pass right" *just before*
>>> they do it, or *while* they are doing it?
>>>
>>> thanks muchly :)
>>>
>>> Katherine Kitching in Hfx NS Canada
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