On Wed, 27 Apr 2022 20:08:28 +0000, Bill Olson via Contra Callers wrote: > The BAND is suggesting the dance that you should call to a tune they want to > play?? uhhhh... > > That ain't how it works. Make it easy on yourself.. You are in control here.. > Just tell the band NOT to play the tune..
I don't agree, Bill. I think a good dance is when dancers, caller and band all enjoy it, so I try not to be the man saying "I'm in charge - you do what I say". For instance, I'm calling the opening contra dance at May Heydays tomorrow: http://mayheydays.org.uk/programme.html and the band said they had two good sets of jigs going into reels and asked whether these would fit any of my dances, so I told them which two and they'll enjoy the change and so will the dancers and the caller. Surely the way to approach it is: "That's a great tune, and it goes well to this dance, but it needs to go faster than you normally play it" - and then give a tempo indication. If they're a dance band (rather than a bunch of prima donnas) they'll welcome the opportunity to get the whole room dancing to a tune they really like playing. Colin Hume _______________________________________________ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net
