One never knows which butterfly wing-flap will start a fascinating discussion or result in someone's leap forward. Thanks, all, for the rich discussion and fresh thoughts.
Rob - - - - - - - - - - - - Robert Matson Innovation Media Corp. The Innovation Works, Inc. Cell: (917) 626-2675 On Mon, Jan 13, 2025 at 1:51 PM Erik Hoffman via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > I did something similar to Diane Silver in my “deep collection” period, > the difference was I recorded every dance I attended—with permission, of > course. Then, when I became the house caller in San Luis Obispo, I’d use > the hour-and-a-half drive from my home in Santa Barbara, to listen to the > dances and scrawl the choreography on the way. Saved me from the missing > the walk-through. One advantage of this, I also caught the teaching. I’d > have times when I’d say, “that description didn’t work that well,” or, > “that was a great way to teach that dance.” > > > > Thus, I recording dances, with that permission first. You get to go > through a walk-through, feel what is like to go through the teaching, then > re-live it when listening to the recording as you transcribe the dance. I’d > also get to enjoy the music and process the dance. OK, I’m not recommending > writing while driving, but finding a time to listen, transcribe, and review > your experience. It’s a great way to learn, at least for > > > > Another technique I tell students to is when the caller stops calling, > call the dance as dancing. Call under your breath if calling is not needed, > call out loud if your in a trouble spot. This is a way to feel how the > place the timing of the call to end on the phrase preceding the motion. > > > > Cheers, > > Erik Hoffman > > Of Santa Barbara, now in Oakland, CA > > > > *From:* Diane Silver <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Monday, January 13, 2025 10:27 AM > *To:* Erik Hoffman <[email protected]> > *Cc:* Shared Weight - Contra Callers <[email protected] > > > *Subject:* Re: [Callers] Re: Unifying contra dance formats with AI > > > > > > Any teacher will tell you that engaging with the material leads to > mastery. It's why authentic, problem-based learning is considered better > than book-learning, and it's also why, at the very least, you were assigned > study guides or outlines or such when you were in school -- forcing you to > re-write info from the textbook, rather than just reading it. > > Most of my collection is dances I collected by dancing them myself. When I > was starting out, I was in deep collection mode, and kept a little notebook > in my dance bag. I'd finish a dance, get my next partner, then scurry over > to my notebook to jot down the dance we just did before I forgot it, then > scurry back to the line before the music started. I often missed the > walk-through, but I figured, if I can't dance without a walk-through, I > have no business trying to be a caller. Then at home I'd transcribe the > scribbles onto cards. I have no doubt that that process helped me as a new > caller. I have often wondered if it's really a service to new callers when > they ask to just take a picture of my card. The teacher in me wants to take > the road of tough love and make them do the same work I did, but I usually > let them just have it because they haven't asked for that level of > mentorship. > > > > On Sun, Jan 12, 2025 at 5:01 PM Erik Hoffman via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > > From Louise Siddons: > > Also, specifically in terms of programming (which someone mentioned), > there are aspects of calling where experience is a key element of the > learning process. Shortcuts will be detrimental to the caller’s experience > even if the dancers don’t notice. > > > > From me: > > This is much like late Larry Jennings’ decision to transcribe dances in > his book, *Zesty Contras* and *Give-and-Take* with abbreviations and in a > form that was not common in the time. His thinking was people using his > books would have to think about the dance they were planning to call had to > think about the dance as they re-transcribed it. I recall the challenge of > putting dances down on a card (remember those?) (and I know people still > use cards…) from *Zesty Contras* and doing just what Larry intended: > thinking a dance through as I put it down in my re-abbreviated cards. > > > > Cheers, > > ~Erik Hoffman > > Oakland CA > > > > *From:* Louise Siddons via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> > *Sent:* Sunday, January 12, 2025 12:35 PM > *To:* Shared Weight Contra Callers <[email protected]> > *Subject:* [Callers] Re: Unifying contra dance formats with AI > > > > > > AI is resource-intensive and an environmental disaster. Using it for > trivial purposes feels worse than pointless to me. > > > > Also, specifically in terms of programming (which someone mentioned), > there are aspects of calling where experience is a key element of the > learning process. Shortcuts will be detrimental to the caller’s experience > even if the dancers don’t notice. > > > > In the spirit of slow food, might we not consider ‘slow folk dance’ as > taking a positive, sustainable position in relation to the climate crisis? > There is no actual need to make anything related to contra dancing more > efficient. > > > > (I’m reminded of the joke that dancing is a very complicated way of going > nowhere. Surely in some sense we embody the idea that the journey is the > destination?) > > > > Louise. > > (Winchester, UK) > > _______________________________________________ > > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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