[Callers] Alternate Role Terms
Hi everyone, Tavi Merrill and I have started a very active discussion on the Facebook "Contra Dancers" Group ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204574738 ) about finding a new pair of neutral, logical, easily assimilated terms for the traditional Gents/Ladies terms as well as their variants, men/women, lead/follow, bands bares, etc., all of which have various issues for various people within the dance community. As Linda Leslie has already noted in the thread, "Larry Jennings once said that the person who came up with just the right terminology was going to be responsible for the next evolutionary leap in contra dancing. A great challenge that has been around for several decades! Wonderful to see the suggestions! And debate the merits….." There is another thread on the same group about the issue of gender or role balancing at weekend events and some of the issues with the existing terms are addressed there, but the main thread is about brainstorming new possibilities and I'd like to invite you all to join in on FB or to develop an additional discussion here. There have been many interesting as well as highly amusing suggestions but there is a consensus I think that agrees on the need for something: 1. Matches the one/two syllable form of gents/ladies, men/women, etc. 2. Sounds distinctly different for easy recognition 3. References Left and Right (for left-hand person and right hand person) 4. Is gender and connotatively neutral without a lot of referential baggage So far, I think the best one we've come up with so far is "Port/Starboard", which seems to meet all those requirements. Sincerely, Will Will Loving Downtown Amherst Contra Dance http://amherstcontra.org
[Callers] Callers Companion on the iPad
Dear friends, First, I'd like to thank the over 50 callers who have purchased Caller's Companion in the last three years. It's fun seeing you out there calling and I really appreciate both the support and invaluable feedback that you've given so I can improve this tool. Special thanks to Linda Leslie, Nils Fredland and Bev Bernbaum, my early adopters and beta testers. Second, I'd like to let those of you who have or are planning to get iPads know that I've finally posted a new version of Caller's Companion that works with the recent Free version of "FileMaker Go for iPad" (which is needed to run CC on the iPad). The previous version of FileMaker Go cost $40 so I know this is a big help. I'll be adding a special iPad page to the website soon. Finally, for those of you who would like to know more about CC or try it out, just download the current demo at http://callerscompanion.com. You can enter up to 50 dances in demo mode and use it as long as you like. For current CC users, I've also posted a Convertor that will allow you to convert your existing file to the new format at http://callerscompanion.com/ConvertHelp.html Sincerely, Will Will Loving Callers' Companion - The Dance Callers Assistant http://callerscompanion.com Downtown Amherst Contra Dance http://amherstcontra.org
[Callers] "Techno" / "Crossover" (etc) Musician & Callers Alert
Hi everyone - CDSS will be reprinting my Facebook article about organizing techno/crossover dances. It will be published in both in print and online. https://www.facebook.com/notes/will-loving/putting-on-techno-contra-dances-my-experience-over-the-last-2-years/10151541411764182 The article includes a list of musical groups that perform in the "techno/crossover" mode, along with a list of callers who have experience calling such dances which generally requires some additional skills, effort and awareness (see the article for more thoughts on that). If you know of anyone - musician or caller who should be on the list at the end of the article, please email or message me directly, meaning don't just reply through SharedWeight. Deadline is fairly soon. Thanks! Will Will Loving Founder & Artistic Director Downtown Amherst Contra Dance http://amherstcontra.org
Re: [Callers] Creating a CDSS dance depository
"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
[Callers] "First Time Dancers Get in Free" Promotion
"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
[Callers] Contra Dance Birthday Round
Dear Contra friends, With the help of a number of contributors I believe I finally have a good accounting of the origins of the now rapidly spreading “Contra Dance Birthday Round”. You can read all I’ve put together here on the Downtown Amherst Contra Dance website, with more details, links to recordings and sheet music: http://www.amherstcontra.org/Amherst_Contradance/Birthday_Song.html We’ve known for a long time that the song was composed in the 1950s or early 60s by Dorothy Dushkin, co-founder of the Kinhaven Music School & Camp in Weston, Vermont, but the origins of the tune have remained a mystery until recently. Some years ago, long-time contra dance caller Ralph Sweet came across an out-of-print Girl Scout songbook at a flea market, and in it he recognized a song that had the same melody as the birthday round. He bought the book, took it home and then, misplaced it for a time. In today’s mail, I received from Ralph a photocopy from that book with the song “Whene’er You Make a Promise”, written in 1828 by English composer William Shield, who also composed the tune to “Auld Lang Syne” (to lyrics from Robert Burns). The original lyrics are lovely and may also be familiar to anyone who was in the Girl Scouts or Girl Guides, this apparently having been sung as a campfire song for generations. When e're you make a promise, Consider well its importance And...when...made, Engrave it upon your heart. Enjoy! Will Loving Northampton, Massachusetts USA
[Callers] Proactive Management of “Problem Dancers” — Creating a Dance Environment Safe for All
Country Dance and Song Society (CDSS) has just published my article: "Proactive Management of “Problem Dancers”—Creating a Dance Environment Safe for All" in the Winter "CDSS News" If you are involved in community dance organizing in any form, I encourage you to take a look. http://www.cdss.org/images/newsletter_archives/articles/CDSS_News_winter_2015-2016_proactive_management_loving.pdf Will Loving • Downtown Amherst Contra Dance (most Wednesdays) http://amherstcontra.org https://www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Amherst-Contradance/196206887090444 • Greenfield Challenging Contras (4th Fridays) https://www.facebook.com/groups/greenfieldchallenge/
