Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[Greg McKenzie]

James,

Thanks for your studied reply to my post.

Jim wrote:

> First, I see no point in urging dancers to brisk circling in cases
>
where the action following "circle left 3/4; pass through" gives the
> dancers adequate opportunity to make up time...
>

I agree with the suggestion of urging dancers to circle briskly.  It's a
short, quick comment that can help.  My concern was in structuring my calls
so that they match the timing of the dance precisely.  My goal is to teach
the dancers that my calls contain reliable information about the timing of
the dance.

Second, in cases where I think inspiring dancers circle briskly *is*
> worthwhile--for example, when "circle left 3/4 (6); pass through (2)" is
> followed by "new neighbors balance"--I think it is no sin to finish the
> call "pass through" before beat 6 of the circle.  In fact, in such
> cases, I usually give the call "pass through" on beats 3 and 4.
>

That seems to be what most callers do in this case.  That's what I was
doing...until I resolved to fix the structure of my calls to match the
actual dance timing.

It is not a "sin" to call early.  Nor is it a "sin" to attempt to teach the
timing of the dance with verbal instructions.  What I hope to avoid is
standing before a mixed crowd of dancers.  Asking an excellent band to hold
their music.  And asking a wonderful dance community to hold off on their
social interactions and listen patiently while I attempt to explain the
timing of the dance verbally with counted beats, steps, or whatever.  Then,
when the music begins, to embarrass myself by giving my calls either early
or late.  And that is why I asked for help here.

And I got some very good suggestions.  Hopefully I can now call the dance
with more confidence and the dancers will feel more confidence because my
calls are consistent with the timing of the dance.

The dancers in your video look like a competent group of regulars who are
able to adapt to poorly-structured calls quickly and graciously.  I'm sure
they have a lot of practice at it.  I find it very productive to be more
diligent in my own calling.

Well-structured calling is not easy.  It does however make a subtle but
significant difference in how confident the dancers feel--particularly at
open, public social events.  That is why I structure my calls carefully and
write the calls out verbatim on my cards.  That is also why I advocate for
callers at open public contra dances to use dance cards when calling.
Making up calls on the fly often puts the onus on the dancers to get the
timing right.

- Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[James Saxe]

On Feb 12, 2014, at 4:28 PM, Bob Isaacs wrote:

... when the A1 [of a Becket dance] is circle L 3/4 and pass  
through, new neighbor swing, that swing often gets compressed to  
about 6 beats.  Fortunately, Gene Hubert gave us a better alternative:

...
A1.  Slide L and circle L 3/4, neighbor swing


Instead of "Slide L and circle L", you could also use

   (With new neighbors) on the left diagonal, circle L ...

I've somehow gotten the impression that dancers on average find
it a little easier to think about finishing a partner swing (common
as the last move of modern Becket dances) facing new neighbors
on the left diagonal than to think about ending the swing facing
across and then shifting left.  Others may disagree, and it may
mainly be a matter of what dancers in a particular community are
used to.

When the call is "on the left diagonal, circle L" there may be
some question about whether to describe the amount of circling
as "3/4" or some other way (e.g., "7/8" or "almost once"), but
as long as the caller makes the ending position clear ("... until
you're on the side of the set with your neighbor"--adding, if
necessary, that men are on their home side and women are not), I
haven't noticed many dancers having problems with it.

--Jim

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[Bob Isaacs]

There's another aspect to this discussion; what about when circle L 3/4 and 
pass through is the first move in a dance?  Many Becket dances begin this way, 
and I have no problem with that if the next move is an allemande or a dosido.  
But when the A1 is circle L 3/4 and pass through, new neighbor swing, that 
swing often gets compressed to about 6 beats.  Fortunately, Gene Hubert gave us 
a better alternative:

 

Butter   Becket-L

 

A1.  Slide L and circle L 3/4, neighbor swing

A2.  Long lines, ladies chain

B1.  Hey (LR, NL, GR, PL)

B2.  Partner balance, swing

 

Here the slide L and circle L is a true 8 beats, and neighbors can used their 
joined hands to pull into the swing.  Yes, circle and swing is very common, but 
that's a programming issue, not a timing issue - 

 

Bob

 
  

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[James Saxe]

On Feb 11, 2014, at 2:53 PM, Greg Mcenzie wrote, concerning the
dance "Kiss the Bride" by Jeff Spero" (see _Southern California
Twirls_ or http://www.quiteapair.us/calling/acdol/dance/acd_81.html
for instructions):

Kiss the Bride is particularly difficult because it uses the circle  
3/4,
pass through transition at the end and the last call I need to fit  
in is
"dosido" which takes two beats.  Because it is where the progression  
takes
place I also want to say "With the NEXT" to make that clear as  
well.  On my
current dance card I "solved" the problem by giving the "Pass  
Through" call
early.  That is unacceptable to me and I was trying to come up with  
a good

way to make it work using calls that are precisely in time with the
phrasing.



I will beg to differ with Greg on two points.

First, I see no point in urging dancers to brisk circling in cases
where the action following "circle left 3/4; pass through" gives the
dancers adequate opportunity to make up time if they use 8 beats to
circle left 3/4--as, for example, in "Kiss the Bride", where "circle
left 3/4; pass through" is followed by "new neighbors do-si-do and
swing".

Second, in cases where I think inspiring dancers circle briskly *is*
worthwhile--for example, when "circle left 3/4 (6); pass through (2)" is
followed by "new neighbors balance"--I think it is no sin to finish the
call "pass through" before beat 6 of the circle.  In fact, in such
cases, I usually give the call "pass through" on beats 3 and 4.

In illustration of my first point, look at this this video:

http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/contra/contra-modern/235-small-potatoes

The dance is "Small Potatoes" by Jim Kitch (alas, I couldn't find a  
video

of "Kiss the Bride"), called by Karen Jackson.  The description beside
the video frame gives the B2 of the dance as

(8) Circle left 3/4, pass thru;
(8) Next neighbor do si do

But if you watch what the dancers are doing, you'll see that they're
generally taking eight beats to circle 3/4.  You'll also see that they
generally have no trouble completing both the pass through and the
do-si-do in the next eight beats, so that they're ready for the balance
at the beginning of the A1 music.  The caller, by the way, utters the
"through" in "pass through" usually on beat 7 of B2, except in the
second round of the dance, where she says "through" on beat 6, and in
the sixth round, where says "pass through" on beats 9 and 10. (By the
sixth round she may have been about the drop that call altogether but
then noticed a few people who seemed still to need a reminder.)  There
may be some who would criticize Karen's timing, but when I look at the
video I don't notice even the slightest evidence that the call timing
is giving rise to any awkwardness on the floor.

In illustration of my second point (about calling "pass through" during
beats 3 and 4 of the circle), look at these videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_-uD_-nV6g
(Steve Zakon-Anderson calls a contra medley at the Concord
Scout House.  Notice his timing on the third sequence in
the medley, Lisa Greenlef's "After the Solstice", wich
starts around 5:40.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMInHQo4mJY
(Maggie Cowan calls "Black Bird in the Night" by Don
Flaherty.)

My mean reason for giving the call "pass through" on beats 3 and 4 is
that I hope the slightly "early" call will implicitly encourage any
slow circlers to pick up their pace.  If you say "pass through" on
beats 5 and 6, it's already too late to help any dancers who haven't
gotten their circles turned 3/4 of the way around by the time you say
"through".

A secondary advantage is that I then have all of beats 5-8 to give
the next call, for example:

 go ON to then NEXT; BALance and SWING
or
 make NEW VAVES and BALance NOW
or
 NEW LAdies  ALlemande LEFT
 [as in "THe Equal Turn" by Tom Hinds]
etc.

--Jim

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[Greg McKenzie]

When I indicated I might drop a dance because of a complex string of calls
Rich wrote:

> There would be a lot of dances to drop.  A square dance caller might say
> Pass thru and Dosi Next.  It easily fits in, takes a syllable out and
> dancers hear Dosi as Dosido.  In walkthrough you could explain your call if
> needed.
>

Good suggestion!  (Those square dance callers know stuff!)  Using "Dosi" as
Dosido is a great idea, though I would not use it in a dance with the first
dosido of the evening.   I would, of course, use a more effective word
order and say:

"Pass thru to NEXT and Dosi."

- Greg

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[Greg McKenzie]

Thanks Lindsay.  This piece is excellent.  It highlights the nonverbal
teaching that is central to community dance.

- Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA


On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 7:07 AM, Lindsay Morris wrote:

> Bruce Hamilton's excellent one-pager on how experienced dancers can best
> help  >newcomers
> is worth a read.  In fact, it's worth handing out at the dance.
>
> 
> Lindsay Morris
> CEO, TSMworks
> Tel. 1-859-539-9900
> lind...@tsmworks.com
>
>
> On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 9:54 AM, rich sbardella  >wrote:
>
> > Greg wrote:
> > ...But that's a lot of words to cram in at the very end of the dance
> > phrase.  If the dance started with "Balance and swing" for example, I
> could
> > fit in the word "Balance" which only takes one beat.
> > I'm thinking of just dropping the dance from my repertoire.
> >
> >
> > There would be a lot of dances to drop.  A square dance caller might say
> > Pass thru and Dosi Next.  It easily fits in, takes a syllable out and
> > dancers hear Dosi as Dosido.  In walkthrough you could explain your call
> if
> > needed.
> >
> > Rich Sbardella
> >
> >
> > 
> >  From: Greg McKenzie 
> > To: Caller's discussion list 
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 5:53 PM
> > Subject: Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance
> >
> >
> > Dave wrote:
> >
> > > Logistically, I think Greg's approach is difficult to make work.
>  There's
> > > always a new move happening after the pass through, so in effect,
> you'll
> > be
> > > calling four beats of "pass through, something something," usually
> > "balance
> > > here" or whatnot.  Because there's no break between the instruction
> "pass
> > > through" and the instruction that follows it, I don't think dancers
> > > generally realize from that phrasing that the pass through is intended
> to
> > > occur after exactly six beats of the circle.
> > >
> >
> > You are absolutely correct Dave!  Structuring calls precisely is often
> very
> > difficult and I sometimes simply drop a dance because the prompts become
> > too jumbled when actually given at the correct beat.  I posted to this
> > thread because I was, coincidentally, working on a dance called Kiss the
> > Bride by Jeffery Spero.
> >
> > Kiss the Bride is particularly difficult because it uses the circle 3/4,
> > pass through transition at the end and the last call I need to fit in is
> > "dosido" which takes two beats.  Because it is where the progression
> takes
> > place I also want to say "With the NEXT" to make that clear as well.  On
> my
> > current dance card I "solved" the problem by giving the "Pass Through"
> call
> > early.  That is unacceptable to me and I was trying to come up with a
> good
> > way to make it work using calls that are precisely in time with the
> > phrasing.
> >
> > My current card reads:
> >
> > B2:  _ _ _ _ [Hands Four and] Circle RIGHT!
> >_ [Three Places], Pass Through, with the NEXT Dosido
> >
> > To fix the timing I'm considering something like:
> >
> > B2:  _ _ _ _ [Hands Four and] Circle RIGHT!
> >_ _ [Three Places], Pass Through, NEXT Dosido
> >
> > ...But that's a lot of words to cram in at the very end of the dance
> > phrase.  If the dance started with "Balance and swing" for example, I
> could
> > fit in the word "Balance" which only takes one beat.
> >
> > I'm thinking of just dropping the dance from my repertoire.
> >
> > Thanks for reading.
> >
> > Greg McKenzie
> > West Coast, USA
> > ___
> > 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
> >
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> call...@sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>

Re: [Callers] Tactile adjustment (was Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance)

[Harold E. Watson]

First you have to define the term touching on the dance floor.  Many people do 
not like to manhandled through a move to show them how it flows whether it's 
the call of not.  Even just a re-direction by pushing their shoulder or arm can 
intimidate or embarrass them.  When teaching as the caller and a single dancer 
is completely lost, I tend to ignore it and let them work it out during the 
dance.  If several dancers are having the same issue, I may ask one of them if 
it's okay to follow them through the figure and redirect them if necessary.  
They become the demonstration set and everyone cheers when it finally works.  
But I still try to do that type of intervention rarely.

Harold

-Original Message-
From: callers-boun...@sharedweight.net 
[mailto:callers-boun...@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Aahz Maruch
Sent: Wednesday, February 12, 2014 10:08 AM
To: call...@sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Tactile adjustment (was Circle & pass through as the 
last move of a dance)

On Wed, Feb 12, 2014, Lindsay Morris wrote:
>
> Bruce Hamilton's excellent one-pager on how experienced dancers can 
> best help 
> new
> comers is worth a read.  In fact, it's worth handing out at the dance.

Worth a read, yes; worth handing out, not sure.  I vehemently disagree with the 
injunction against touching -- anyone want to defend it?
-- 
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6http://rule6.info/
  <*>   <*>   <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html 
___
Callers mailing list
call...@sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

Re: [Callers] Tactile adjustment (was Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance)

[Colin Hume]

On Wed, 12 Feb 2014 08:08:07 -0800, Aahz Maruch wrote:
> Worth a read, yes; worth handing out, not sure.  I vehemently
> disagree with the injunction against touching -- anyone want to
> defend it?

I think you need to distinguish between a touch which is part of the
dance and one which isn't.  If we're doing a circle left or lines
forward and back and I can sense that my neighbour has forgotten to do
the ladies' chain I will urge her forward.  That's very different from
grabbing someone on the other side of the set and pulling them to
where they should be.

Colin Hume

Re: [Callers] Calling weddings and private parties

[Luke Donforth]

Lots of great stuff in the discussion already. I really want to highlight
something Alan Winston said:


*8) You have to be happy to be there, calling or not calling, leading the
dorkiest, least challenging things, enjoying figuring out the thing that
will work for the 17 people who got up to dance, and if you can't be
delighted to be there in a situation that's just the opposite of calling
dances for an experienced crowd, don't take the gig.*

Sharing that joy is vital. The difference attitude can make trumps a lot of
other stuff.

I'll also re-iterate that weddings often only have ~3 dances. I thought it
was a fluke the first few times it happened when I was calling; but it's
pretty common.
On a less meta, more technical level. I think it's really important to know
when you can call mixers, and when you should call keepers. I recently had
the pleasure of calling for a family dance with ~40 dancers; half of whom
were under 6. There was no way I'd call something that made half a dozen 3
year olds separate from their parent.

I don't think you need 20 dances memorized but having half a dozen circle
and lengthwise keepers is really useful; or note how to make your mixers
keepers (go back to the same person for the swing in La Bastringue , etc).

Lately, I've been playing around with keeper dances where you shuffle
position. At the family dance I did a circle keeper.

Circle-Keeper-Shuffle
A1
Ptr DSD
Ptr 2 hand turn
A2
All together:
Circle Left
Circle Right
B1
In to the middle and back
With Partner, promenade through the middle (B2) to another spot on the
other side of the circle (yes, it's chaos, but it works out)


For 20 couples, with many dancers still working on the walking thing, it
went fine (1 1/2 phrases seemed to be the right amount of time to get
through the middle). Nobody had to leave their partner, and you got to see
lots of people.

Another shuffle-keeper I've used lately (but not at the same dance as
above) happens in a longways set. It's described here:
http://www.madrobincallers.org/2014/02/01/new-longways-family-dance/

*Revive the High Five*
Luke Donforth
Type: Longways, proper

A1 ---
(8) Single file lines go up and down ("gents" line go up 4 steps, "ladies"
line go down 4 steps; all turn alone, come back 4 steps)
(8) Partner allemande Left 1x
A2 ---
(8) single file lines go down and up ("gents" line go down 4 steps,
"ladies" line go up 4 steps; all turn alone, come back 4 steps)
(8) Partner allemande Right 1x
B1 ---
(8) Partner Do-si-do
(8) Partner swing
B2 ---
(16) Shuffle the set
(Promenade randomly around the room, then come back to a different place to
reform the long set)

Notes:

   - During the single file lines going up and down, you can high-five your
   neighbors as you walk past them.
   - The caller needs to prompt reforming the line, often about halfway
   through the B2 the first few times, but folks usually settle in to it.
   - If you have multiple sets, you can mention to the dancers they can
   jump from set to set.

That's how I'd call it at something like a wedding. For a Family Dance, or
if I don't even want to deal with proper lines, I'd have everyone take
hands in long lines and in A1 slide Right 4 steps and back, allemande
partner; and in A2 take hands in long lines and slide left four steps and
back, allemande partner. It removes the High Five part of the dance, but if
it makes it function better for that bunch of dancers, that's the most
important thing.
Take care,
Luke

Re: [Callers] Tactile adjustment (was Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance)

[Aahz Maruch]

On Wed, Feb 12, 2014, Lindsay Morris wrote:
>
> Bruce Hamilton's excellent one-pager on how experienced dancers can best
> help 
> newcomers
> is worth a read.  In fact, it's worth handing out at the dance.

Worth a read, yes; worth handing out, not sure.  I vehemently disagree
with the injunction against touching -- anyone want to defend it?
-- 
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6http://rule6.info/
  <*>   <*>   <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[John Sweeney]

Responding to a couple of points:

If you don't like saying "beats", say "steps":
"You usually have 8 steps for a circle, for this one you only have six
steps".

To get them round a circle faster without going into too much detail use
phrases such as:
"You need to get around this circle a little faster, you'll find it easier
if you put your elbows down and your hands up" - demonstrate - this tends to
make the circle smaller and increases connection so the better dancers have
a chance of pulling the slower ones round.

Happy dancing,
John

John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[Lindsay Morris]

Bruce Hamilton's excellent one-pager on how experienced dancers can best
help 
newcomers
is worth a read.  In fact, it's worth handing out at the dance.


Lindsay Morris
CEO, TSMworks
Tel. 1-859-539-9900
lind...@tsmworks.com


On Wed, Feb 12, 2014 at 9:54 AM, rich sbardella wrote:

> Greg wrote:
> ...But that's a lot of words to cram in at the very end of the dance
> phrase.  If the dance started with "Balance and swing" for example, I could
> fit in the word "Balance" which only takes one beat.
> I'm thinking of just dropping the dance from my repertoire.
>
>
> There would be a lot of dances to drop.  A square dance caller might say
> Pass thru and Dosi Next.  It easily fits in, takes a syllable out and
> dancers hear Dosi as Dosido.  In walkthrough you could explain your call if
> needed.
>
> Rich Sbardella
>
>
> 
>  From: Greg McKenzie 
> To: Caller's discussion list 
> Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 5:53 PM
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance
>
>
> Dave wrote:
>
> > Logistically, I think Greg's approach is difficult to make work.  There's
> > always a new move happening after the pass through, so in effect, you'll
> be
> > calling four beats of "pass through, something something," usually
> "balance
> > here" or whatnot.  Because there's no break between the instruction "pass
> > through" and the instruction that follows it, I don't think dancers
> > generally realize from that phrasing that the pass through is intended to
> > occur after exactly six beats of the circle.
> >
>
> You are absolutely correct Dave!  Structuring calls precisely is often very
> difficult and I sometimes simply drop a dance because the prompts become
> too jumbled when actually given at the correct beat.  I posted to this
> thread because I was, coincidentally, working on a dance called Kiss the
> Bride by Jeffery Spero.
>
> Kiss the Bride is particularly difficult because it uses the circle 3/4,
> pass through transition at the end and the last call I need to fit in is
> "dosido" which takes two beats.  Because it is where the progression takes
> place I also want to say "With the NEXT" to make that clear as well.  On my
> current dance card I "solved" the problem by giving the "Pass Through" call
> early.  That is unacceptable to me and I was trying to come up with a good
> way to make it work using calls that are precisely in time with the
> phrasing.
>
> My current card reads:
>
> B2:  _ _ _ _ [Hands Four and] Circle RIGHT!
>_ [Three Places], Pass Through, with the NEXT Dosido
>
> To fix the timing I'm considering something like:
>
> B2:  _ _ _ _ [Hands Four and] Circle RIGHT!
>_ _ [Three Places], Pass Through, NEXT Dosido
>
> ...But that's a lot of words to cram in at the very end of the dance
> phrase.  If the dance started with "Balance and swing" for example, I could
> fit in the word "Balance" which only takes one beat.
>
> I'm thinking of just dropping the dance from my repertoire.
>
> Thanks for reading.
>
> Greg McKenzie
> West Coast, USA
> ___
> 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
>

Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance

[rich sbardella]

Greg wrote:
...But that's a lot of words to cram in at the very end of the dance
phrase.  If the dance started with "Balance and swing" for example, I could
fit in the word "Balance" which only takes one beat.
I'm thinking of just dropping the dance from my repertoire.


There would be a lot of dances to drop.  A square dance caller might say Pass 
thru and Dosi Next.  It easily fits in, takes a syllable out and dancers hear 
Dosi as Dosido.  In walkthrough you could explain your call if needed.

Rich Sbardella
 


 From: Greg McKenzie 
To: Caller's discussion list  
Sent: Tuesday, February 11, 2014 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Circle & pass through as the last move of a dance
  

Dave wrote:

> Logistically, I think Greg's approach is difficult to make work.  There's
> always a new move happening after the pass through, so in effect, you'll be
> calling four beats of "pass through, something something," usually "balance
> here" or whatnot.  Because there's no break between the instruction "pass
> through" and the instruction that follows it, I don't think dancers
> generally realize from that phrasing that the pass through is intended to
> occur after exactly six beats of the circle.
>

You are absolutely correct Dave!  Structuring calls precisely is often very
difficult and I sometimes simply drop a dance because the prompts become
too jumbled when actually given at the correct beat.  I posted to this
thread because I was, coincidentally, working on a dance called Kiss the
Bride by Jeffery Spero.

Kiss the Bride is particularly difficult because it uses the circle 3/4,
pass through transition at the end and the last call I need to fit in is
"dosido" which takes two beats.  Because it is where the progression takes
place I also want to say "With the NEXT" to make that clear as well.  On my
current dance card I "solved" the problem by giving the "Pass Through" call
early.  That is unacceptable to me and I was trying to come up with a good
way to make it work using calls that are precisely in time with the
phrasing.

My current card reads:

B2:  _ _ _ _ [Hands Four and] Circle RIGHT!
       _ [Three Places], Pass Through, with the NEXT Dosido

To fix the timing I'm considering something like:

B2:  _ _ _ _ [Hands Four and] Circle RIGHT!
       _ _ [Three Places], Pass Through, NEXT Dosido

...But that's a lot of words to cram in at the very end of the dance
phrase.  If the dance started with "Balance and swing" for example, I could
fit in the word "Balance" which only takes one beat.

I'm thinking of just dropping the dance from my repertoire.

Thanks for reading.

Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA
___
Callers mailing list
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[Callers] Circle Left, Pass Though, Timing, & Teaching...

[Erik Hoffman]

It is interesting to read all these comments on circling, teaching, and 
timing.


When I first started contra dancing, in 1980, it was extremely common, 
in my neck of the woods (California, more specifically, Santa Barbara), 
for the caller to take a few moments once or twice during the course of 
the dance to teach a styling point. At that time, we dancers honored and 
listened and learned. I don't know when it got to the point where a 
caller stopped being enough of an "expert" to no longer get that 
respect. Perhaps it was about the same time squares went out of fashion, 
and only smooth, equal contras became the norm.


It's interesting to think that, when we did unequal dances, and triple 
minors, and squares, and there was a wider variety of dances at the 
contras I went to, there was a lot more to learn, and needing the 
expertise of the teacher was greater. Now, though, as many have pointed 
out, some points of style have gotten lost -- and just letting 
"experienced" dancers do the teaching is not bringing these points back.


Let's take this item that's been discussed Circle left 3/4 and pass through.

Well, let's start with allemande: I learned from my caller/teacher (in 
the course of regular evening dances...) that one could adjust the 
timing of an allemande by getting closer or farther from your allemande 
partner. We did dances that required once around in 8 beats. No problem: 
let your arms unbend a bit, give good weight, and it's a joyous 
connection. Need to get around 1-1/2 in 8 beats? No Problem, bend arms a 
bit more and it's easy. Twice around in 8, as in Hull's Victory? Easy -- 
and Rollickin'! -- just make it close.


Same is true of circles. There are dances where it's all the way around 
in 8, then 3/4ths around in 8. Change the timing by the circumference of 
the circle. Do we teach this? No. And there are times when it's 3/4ths 
around in 6, and pass through for 2. It's easy if we give weight in a 
circle and make the adjustment to the diameter. But it's rarely pointed 
out. As a matter of fact, weight in circles is actually very rare these 
days, and that gratifying sense of connection has gone under some rock 
somewhere. And this does not get taught from the floor. Not sure what to 
do because:


If one does take a couple minutes to make a particular styling point, 
many "experienced dancers" don't listen, or worse, act like the teacher 
is saying something stupid and dramatically do the opposite of the 
suggestion. I've had this happen to me. So, this is a long diatribe of 
not sure what we should do, but I think thinking about how to present 
styling -- especially when it comes to safety -- no gripping, smooth 
connection, symmetrical allemandes, etc. is important -- and not 
effectively taught from the floor unless you know all your helpers are 
on the same page.


erik hoffman
oakland, ca

On 2/11/2014 4:12 PM, Maia McCormick wrote:

I agree that the caller trying to teach too much verbally gets pointless
very quickly. There are definitely pointers that callers can give that will
help dancers a bunch, but they should be given quickly and succinctly,
and/or shown through demonstration ("try the allemande the angry,
competitive way! Now try a noodle-arm allemande. Okay, now try it a way
that feels better to both of you.") It's distressingly easy for a caller to
make him/herself tune-out-able.

Along the lines of what Jonathan said, I'd be wary of even bringing up
"beats" to dancers at all. A lot of dancers aren't necessarily even
familiar with that terminology, or at least don't think of dancing in terms
of beats/phrase length, so to make a passing mention to the number of beats
something takes may be MORE confusing than not mentioning it all. Instead,
I would go with something like "the circle left is faster than you think!"
or "make sure you pass through in time to balance your next neighbor!" (and
then be really precise with calling the balance so it lines up directly
with the big beat--dancers on the whole tend to FEEL the beat 10x better
than they intellectually understand it).


On Tue, Feb 11, 2014 at 6:09 PM, Greg McKenzie  wrote:


Donna wrote:


Personally I prefer that the "regular dancers" do not verbally "teach"

the

new dancers.


I agree wholeheartedly and would not suggest that the regulars speak at all
during a walk-through.

The only exception to that might be when a caller is doing such a poor job
that confusion is spreading wildly through the hall.  Sometimes it is
necessary to clarify something when the caller makes a serious error and
does not realize it.  Otherwise some dancers may think that the confusion
is *their *fault.  That would be bad.

The vast majority of the teaching that takes place in the dance hall is
non-verbal.  As the only person in the hall with a microphone it is very
important that the caller realize that fact.  Talking on mike is often much
more disruptive than talking in the dance line.

- Greg McKenzie
West Coast, USA
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