Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Just to expand people’s idea of “techno”, let’s include “non-traditional music contras”. People often conflate these. As an umbrella term, “techno” does not have to mean dimmed or special lighting. There’s a lot of fun in dancing to any music appropriately edited for contra dancing in normal

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Ah, whoops, wrong link: http://contra.maiamccormick.com/blog/2019/04/07/techno-reflections/ On Sun, Apr 7, 2019 at 12:26 PM Maia McCormick wrote: > (And if anyone wants to refer back to this, it's up on my blog > !) > > On

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

(And if anyone wants to refer back to this, it's up on my blog !) On Sun, Mar 31, 2019 at 4:27 PM Maia McCormick wrote: > Thanks for the advice, all! While it's fresh in my mind, wanted to report > back and call out a few

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

I’ve called to a techno contra once - but the person who put the techno tracks together was smart, contra savvy, and mindful of phrasing, and used pieces that had good 8 count beats, and made the transitions work so that they were at proper junctions and could sync people up again. It was

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Definitely this. I’ve largely stopped going to techno contras because it’s so hard to keep the phrasing. The pleasure of contra (and English) dancing for me is hugely tied up with everyone on the floor moving together, so when that doesn’t happen it doesn’t much interest me. Read Weaver

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Thanks for the advice, all! While it's fresh in my mind, wanted to report back and call out a few pieces of advice from this thread that were particularly helpful (or that I ignored to my own detriment). Just my observations--hope this is helpful to someone! *1. Demos are indeed hard* I agree

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

: [Callers] Calling techno? I don't think you would ever play a random non-vetted techno track for contra, though. The DJs who get booked for these events are specifically techno contra DJs. On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 11:59 AM jim saxe via Callers wrote: On Mar 28, 2019, at 2:39 PM, Bob via Calle

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Here's a "how-to" that I wrote several years ago that covers putting together dance medleys and mixing music, including what to do with "non-square" phrases. *Crossover contras: music and dance medleys:* *Creating a fun and danceable contra dance medley to alternative music* Erik B. Erhardt,

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

I don't think you would ever play a random non-vetted techno track for contra, though. The DJs who get booked for these events are specifically techno contra DJs. On Fri, Mar 29, 2019 at 11:59 AM jim saxe via Callers < callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > On Mar 28, 2019, at 2:39 PM, Bob via

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

I mix lots of genres of music for contras. The only track I’ve ever called without mixing was the first release of Mika’s “Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)” on Cartoon Motion. It goes 7x through so it was a real short dance but a nice filler with a no-walkthrough dance. Everything else needs

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

On Mar 28, 2019, at 2:39 PM, Bob via Callers wrote: > ... > Live or mixed recordings? If live then it should be perfectly square AABB. If > mixed, the only thing you can count on is 8-beat phrases. ... Can you even count on 8-beat phrases if someone, such as a caller or a knowledgeable DJ,

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

al Message- From: Sivier, Jonathan E via Callers To: Shared Weight Callers' Listserv Sent: Thu, Mar 28, 2019 7:17 pm Subject: Re: [Callers] Calling techno?     Keep calling.  My experience has been that techo music has plenty of beat and no phrasing.  So dancers don't know when to stop the curre

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Keep calling. My experience has been that techo music has plenty of beat and no phrasing. So dancers don't know when to stop the current figure and start the next one. Some figures like circles, stars and lines forward and back have a kind of natural timing so dances with those figures

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Hi Maia, Mostly I agree with Bob. I find that dance length isn't much different in practice. No-walkthroughs should be fine under the same circumstances as regular contras. There are many reasons to choose easier dances for techno contras. The music and lighting tend to push the balance of how

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Choose easy dances. The music is usually hard enough, and fun enough. Easy can allow for extra flourishes to add even more spice. Live or mixed recordings? If live then it should be perfectly square AABB. If mixed, the only thing you can count on is 8-beat phrases. Also if mixed you need to

Re: [Callers] Calling techno?

Ah, more specific questions! - have you found on-the-floor demos doable at techno, or should I not even try? - techno no-walk-through's: do they work? On Thu, Mar 28, 2019 at 5:13 PM Maia McCormick wrote: > Hey folks, > > I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so >

[Callers] Calling techno?

Hey folks, I haven't called all that many techno contras, and I'm slated to do so this weekend. Any tips or things to keep in mind about how techno differs from your standard contra evening? (Particularly curious about anything relating to dance choice and dance length.) Cheers, Maia