On how the "most booked weekend callers" interact with age, pre-covid I made lists of how often people were being booked to call (and play): https://www.jefftk.com/news/gigstats. Here's the 2019 one: https://www.jefftk.com/p/festival-stats-2019
Jeff On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 2:36 PM Keith Tuxhorn via Contra Callers < contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > Julian, I don't know how old you are. That plays a role in promotion and > "the height of your profile", as does where you live and do the bulk of > your calling. > > I developed my skills in Texas/Oklahoma, and had a good reputation as a > reliable and creative caller there. But being in TX is like being on an > island, with two effects: 1) You won't get hired to call any weekend there, > because you're not special, people can dance to you regularly. (I was hired > as a second caller for one weekend.) 2) You won't get known by any dancers > outside of TX unless they travel to TX for TX dance weekends. 3) TX dance > weekends are booked largely on the cumulative reputation of the caller and > band. Some rising callers and bands will get a chance if enough TX people > have traveled to see them someplace else, but they have to have some > reputation. 4) FYI, it's impossible to get booked 40 times/yr in TX if you > just do contra/ECD. If you can teach/call squares, you stand a chance... > Your visibility is helped a lot by living in an area with a large dancer > population, and many dance locations within a reasonable distance. > > For a few years I booked myself around the country as much as I could, > along with trying to make a living. I got great reviews in the PNW and > Midwest. I was chosen as a feature caller for the second Catapult! > weekend... I then had a few years of health and family issues, which > weren't resolved until Covid was almost upon us... The past couple years > I've gotten booked for a few IL/MO dances, within a couple hours of my > home.... Back in the Midwest, there are lots of callers looking for work > again in a contra market that is nowhere near 100% of what it was > pre-Covid. You may be experiencing the same thing out east. > > Ageism exists to an extent, particularly when it comes to booking dance > weekend talent. There are still the dozen or so "Hall of Fame" callers, age > 55+, who are always mentioned in dance weekend planning. This is not a > knock on any of them, they've earned their status. I know almost all of > them, have learned from them, and love them. But, only in my opinion, I > think that group of older callers takes up all the air, leaving none for > other callers in that age group to be considered for weekends. Time marches > on, to everything there is a season, you get the drift... Without going on, > I think if a caller is older and has not entered the weekend "circuit" in > the last couple years, it's not likely to happen, regardless of talent > level. Bookers will move on the new/upcoming/hot stuff. > > If you are any age below 50, however, then start building tours around the > country, and keep learning new skills. The Hall of Famers can't do every > weekend, and, as above comments have mentioned, many bookers/groups really > would like to see you do a full set, so go do their local dances. Personal > contact is your best selling point. I would agree that good referrals from > better-known callers and dance organizers is a big plus, probably the > next-best selling point.... And I guess a website is still helpful as a > location for performance videos... Do under-40s still use that tool? Only > partly joking, I'm not sure where young people gather most information > anymore... > > Hope these few bits of info are helpful. Best of luck! Enjoy the ride, > wherever it takes you! > > Keith Tuxhorn, contra/ECD caller > Springfield, IL > > On Fri, Mar 17, 2023 at 3:09 AM Colin Hume via Contra Callers < > contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > >> On Thu, 16 Mar 2023 11:51:29 -0400, Julian Blechner via Contra Callers >> wrote: >> > Any suggestions for website designers for caller pages or contra >> performer pages? >> >> I can build you a simple website if you're happy to update the HTML >> yourself - >> I don't use Content Management Systems. >> If you'd like a data input screen that will cost a little more. >> I wrote data input screens for Sharon Green's website: >> http://greenerywest.net/ >> to allow her to update the Home page and to add and edit dances linked to >> from the Dances page: >> http://greenerywest.net/Dance_Pages/Dance_Pages.php >> and she's very happy with it and knows nothing of HTML. >> I also set up the Folk Sales site: >> https://folksales.com/ >> and of course my own website: >> http://colinhume.com >> >> Colin Hume >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net >> To unsubscribe send an email to >> contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
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