Re: [Callers] Differing styles of techno contra

[Dave Casserly]

I've danced to both versions of techno contras, and either called or played
music for both, too.  The earlier techno contras I danced at, including at
Youth Dance Weekend in 2008 and 2009, were the long-format version.  People
just put in a CD they'd mixed ahead of time, or something like that, and
let it go the whole dance, and the callers called a few different dances in
a medley.  I've never done one of those at a normal dance, rather than a
dance weekend.  So the crowd always knew what they were doing, no beginners
to integrate, several callers who would just take over and call when they
felt like switching dances.  I don't think it works very well for a normal
dance, but it's fine for a late-night activity when somebody just wants to
pop in a CD and get going, or if you want to have a long medley with a
bunch of experienced dancers.

I don't think I've ever called for the more common kind of techno contra,
the kind you'd find Douple Apex or Firecloud or DJ Improper or Phase X or
whatnot performing.  I've played music for it, though.  As a dancer, I
definitely have preferred the continuous kind, since, well, it's always a
lot of fun dancers just having a good time long after sane dancers have
gone to bed.  And I've never objected to chaotic partner and role
switching.  But I think the second version works better for a regular
series, since you can teach each dance, switch partners in an orderly
fashion, or otherwise run the night like a typical contra dance.

So, I basically see these two versions of techno contra as fulfilling
totally different needs.  As far as where goes, I think I've only danced
continuous-style techno contra at YDW, and that's the only time I've called
for a techno contra, except for one or two dances at Glen Echo near DC.  I
think there was a 30- or 40-minute medley at one of the Spark in the Darks
with Double Apex in the Boston area that I also danced at, but I don't
remember for sure.  As far as the normal contra-style techno dances, I've
danced them in several places along the east coast, mainly in the DC and
Boston areas (and have played for them a couple times in DC).

-Dave


On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 1:30 PM, Les Addison  wrote:

> I've done both as a dancer, and as a caller, I've only done a slot as a
> regular length dance.
>
> I've also danced to both live music and DJed music at techno contras.
>
> As a dancer, I prefer to have the dances be of a length that I expect-- it
> keeps me from needing to negotiate with my partner when to jump in/how long
> to dance. I've done techno contras with some really awesome callers, and
> most of them seem to end up with a bit more challenge about tracking where
> we are in the dance, so end up with a bit of calling to correct the
> dancers, and I feel like a continuous dance setup would make that even
> harder.
>
> I would have preferred, when doing the long long dances, to have been told
> that it was not only okay to drop out at the end, but expected.
>
> Les
>
>
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 9:46 AM, Kalia Kliban  wrote:
>
> > Hi all
> >
> > I have a question about two different styles of techno contra.  The
> > question is mostly directed at folks who have done both, since I'm
> curious
> > about whether you have a preference and if so, why.  Some techno contras
> > have continuous music -- the dancers just drop in or out at the bottom
> > whenever they feel like it, and the caller treats the night like one long
> > medley.  The other kind is more like a regular contra.  The caller
> teaches
> > a dance, the music starts, the dance runs for however long it runs, and
> > then it stops and folks re-partner for the next one.
> >
> > As a dancer, which style do you prefer?  How about as a caller?
> >
> > Kalia
> > ___
> > 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
>



-- 
David Casserly
(cell) 781 258-2761

Re: [Callers] Differing styles of techno contra

[Les Addison]

I've done both as a dancer, and as a caller, I've only done a slot as a
regular length dance.

I've also danced to both live music and DJed music at techno contras.

As a dancer, I prefer to have the dances be of a length that I expect-- it
keeps me from needing to negotiate with my partner when to jump in/how long
to dance. I've done techno contras with some really awesome callers, and
most of them seem to end up with a bit more challenge about tracking where
we are in the dance, so end up with a bit of calling to correct the
dancers, and I feel like a continuous dance setup would make that even
harder.

I would have preferred, when doing the long long dances, to have been told
that it was not only okay to drop out at the end, but expected.

Les




On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 9:46 AM, Kalia Kliban  wrote:

> Hi all
>
> I have a question about two different styles of techno contra.  The
> question is mostly directed at folks who have done both, since I'm curious
> about whether you have a preference and if so, why.  Some techno contras
> have continuous music -- the dancers just drop in or out at the bottom
> whenever they feel like it, and the caller treats the night like one long
> medley.  The other kind is more like a regular contra.  The caller teaches
> a dance, the music starts, the dance runs for however long it runs, and
> then it stops and folks re-partner for the next one.
>
> As a dancer, which style do you prefer?  How about as a caller?
>
> Kalia
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> call...@sharedweight.net
> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>

Re: [Callers] Differing styles of techno contra

[Donna Hunt]

 Around the Philadelphia, NJ, Delaware, NYC area, and Saratoga Springs (Dance 
Flurry) the Techno dances are run like "regular contras".  I have never 
experienced a continuous night of Techno.  

When people respond, please state where you've had the dance experience.  It 
would be interesting to see if there are regional differences.

 
As a caller and dancer I suspect that the continuous music/calling would be 
harder to change partners, integrate the beginners, certainly harder to see 
what's happening at the end of the lines making it harder to call appropriately 
for the crowd.  


Donna Hunt



 

 

-Original Message-
From: Kalia Kliban 
To: Caller's discussion list 
Sent: Mon, Apr 7, 2014 12:47 pm
Subject: [Callers] Differing styles of techno contra


Hi all

I have a question about two different styles of techno contra.  The 
question is mostly directed at folks who have done both, since I'm 
curious about whether you have a preference and if so, why.  Some techno 
contras have continuous music -- the dancers just drop in or out at the 
bottom whenever they feel like it, and the caller treats the night like 
one long medley.  The other kind is more like a regular contra.  The 
caller teaches a dance, the music starts, the dance runs for however 
long it runs, and then it stops and folks re-partner for the next one.

As a dancer, which style do you prefer?  How about as a caller?

Kalia
___
Callers mailing list
call...@sharedweight.net
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers

 

[Callers] Differing styles of techno contra

[Kalia Kliban]

Hi all

I have a question about two different styles of techno contra.  The 
question is mostly directed at folks who have done both, since I'm 
curious about whether you have a preference and if so, why.  Some techno 
contras have continuous music -- the dancers just drop in or out at the 
bottom whenever they feel like it, and the caller treats the night like 
one long medley.  The other kind is more like a regular contra.  The 
caller teaches a dance, the music starts, the dance runs for however 
long it runs, and then it stops and folks re-partner for the next one.


As a dancer, which style do you prefer?  How about as a caller?

Kalia

[Callers] "First Time Dancers Get in Free" Promotion

[William Loving]

"First Time Dancers get in Free" Promotion Results:

For five weeks this winter we ran a special promotion at the Downtown Amherst 
dance that all First Time Contra dancers get in free. The results were 
impressive:

Jan 29 -12
Feb 26 - 10
Mar 5  - 20
Mar 19 - 8
Mar 29 - 9

Total new dancers: 59  Avg: 11.8   Median: 10
Overall attendance was normal meaning the variations in "Free" numbers was not 
affected by the band as far as I could tell.

Many of the new dancers said they would be back and in fact I saw quite a few 
of them both at subsequent dances in Amherst and at Greenfield. Some came early 
in the promotion and then brought friends the following week. Our organizing 
committee has discussed various options to draw new dancers, primarily "First 
Time Free" and "Second Time Free". The "Second Time Free" option gives you more 
feedback about how many returnees you are actually getting; the "First Time 
Free" simply lowers the bar to the ground and is harder to resist (friend to 
friend). (We also included the option for anyone who might have tried contra 
once or twice a long time ago to be considered "First Time" but I don't know 
that anyone came in saying that.)

Our series averages 75-85 total each week with a range of 60-160 depending on 
the band. The median is definitely under 100 but has gradually increased over 
the last almost four years.

I think the promotion was a tremendous success and we're having an ongoing 
discussion about whether to try "Second Time Free" for a while or just 
implement "First Time Free" periodically. For programming reasons, I don't 
think it makes sense to have it for every dance, especially dances that will be 
extremely full, such as if Elixir or PeM play or if it's a techno contra (which 
has other issues for beginning dancers). However, we might pick a month or a 
block of dates and do it again periodically.

Sincerely,

Will

Will Loving
Founder & Programming Director
Downtown Amherst Contra Dance
http://amherstcontra.org

Re: [Callers] Creating a CDSS dance depository

[William Loving]

"First Time Dancers get in Free" Promotion Results:

For five weeks this winter we ran a special promotion at the Downtown Amherst 
dance that all First Time Contra dancers get in free. The results were 
impressive:

Jan 29 -12
Feb 26 - 10
Mar 5  - 20
Mar 19 - 8
Mar 29 - 9

Total new dancers: 59  Avg: 11.8   Median: 10
Overall attendance was normal meaning the variations in "Free" numbers was not 
affected by the band as far as I could tell.

Many of the new dancers said they would be back and in fact I saw quite a few 
of them both at subsequent dances in Amherst and at Greenfield. Some came early 
in the promotion and then brought friends the following week. Our organizing 
committee has discussed various options to draw new dancers, primarily "First 
Time Free" and "Second Time Free". The "Second Time Free" option gives you more 
feedback about how many returnees you are actually getting; the "First Time 
Free" simply lowers the bar to the ground and is harder to resist (friend to 
friend). (We also included the option for anyone who might have tried contra 
once or twice a long time ago to be considered "First Time" but I don't know 
that anyone came in saying that.)

Our series averages 75-85 total each week with a range of 60-160 depending on 
the band. The median is definitely under 100 but has gradually increased over 
the last almost four years.

I think the promotion was a tremendous success and we're having an ongoing 
discussion about whether to try "Second Time Free" for a while or just 
implement "First Time Free" periodically. For programming reasons, I don't 
think it makes sense to have it for every dance, especially dances that will be 
extremely full, such as if Elixir or PeM play or if it's a techno contra (which 
has other issues for beginning dancers). However, we might pick a month or a 
block of dates and do it again periodically.

Sincerely,

Will

Will Loving
Founder & Programming Director
Downtown Amherst Contra Dance
http://amherstcontra.org

Re: [Callers] Tica Tica Timing

[JD Erskine at Island Dance]

On 04/Apr/14 20:23, gretchenda...@yahoo.com wrote:

Tica Tica Timing was written by our own Dean Snipes here in Charlotte NC. Glad 
to see it spreading across the country. It's a great dance.


It is a great dance. I had it from my caller friend in Seattle, who 
encountered it "further South". Came up in discussion when I was looking 
for other, simple (enough), fun Becket dances.


It's a back pocket dance for me, as is Midwest Folklore.

Try any of them in a circle, there's no/little Up, Down in many Beckets. 
Of course cicularising it means sliding in as a couple, once a dance has 
started, isn't as easy an option.


Cheers, John
--
J.D. Erskine
Victoria, BC
Skype:
island.dance

Island Dance - Folk & Country
dance info - site & mail list
http://members.shaw.ca/island.dance/