[Callers] Re: Dance Tempos

2023-09-19 Thread Joe Harrington via Contra Callers
The Tempo Question...enough to start religious wars, so please let's tread lightly in replies! There are regional/style, complexity, and agility components. Dances in the northeastern US, simple dances called to non-beginners, and dances with more agile dancers tend to go faster. These are tendenc

[Callers] Re: Canadian border and U.S. callers

2023-09-19 Thread Jeff Kaufman via Contra Callers
But don't make the mistake we did of trying to cross at a tiny border crossing. If you're going in commercially they're likely to send you (as they did us) to a larger crossing. (Back when you could do Burlington-Ottawa-Montreal in a weekend we were driving to Ottawa. Blindly following GPS direct

[Callers] Re: New Terminology Question

2023-09-19 Thread Read Weaver via Contra Callers
I’m late enough to the discussion this may not matter, but: I started to write about the beginners’ class I used to teach, and while doing so I saw significant differences from others' lists of basic figures. I realized that they’re importantly different things. My class was about teaching figu

[Callers] Re: Canadian border and U.S. callers

2023-09-19 Thread Charles Abell via Contra Callers
Should not be a problem - NAFTA is good for US musicians/callers, but bad for Canadian ones. Few restrictions that I know of unless you're going to make thousands of dollars. In any case, I usually just say that I'm going to perform for a folk dance in a church basement and they tend to lose int

[Callers] Canadian border and U.S. callers

2023-09-19 Thread Sue C. Hulsether via Contra Callers
Cross-posting to Callers and Trad Callers lists, please excuse the duplicates. Friends and Colleagues, I am seeking wisdom from U.S. callers who’ve recently crossed the border into Canada to do a gig. Words to say or not say? Documentation of gig needed? Problems or ease you have had? thanks

[Callers] Re: Dance Tempos

2023-09-19 Thread Katherine Kitching via Contra Callers
We just did a caller-musician workshop where we talked a lot about tempos. Our conclusion was that the tempo can really vary with the dance.  We found a simple line dance like Gallopede/Virginia Reel might be danced up to 125bpm with a young energetic crowd our typical speed for most beginne

[Callers] Re: Dance Tempos

2023-09-19 Thread Keith Tuxhorn via Contra Callers
Hi Jeff! It does vary by community... If you played at 120 and up where I dance, the dance would be empty and/or over halfway through. Even at 116-120, older/less fit dancers are getting frustrated, sitting down to catch their breath, and leaving early. In my experience, 112-114 is the sweet spot.

[Callers] Re: Dance Tempos

2023-09-19 Thread Jeff Kaufman via Contra Callers
For me: 116-120: normal, hard to go wrong 110-122: usually fine, depending a bit on the dance and crowd 104-126: possible with the right dance and crowd, but on the edge of undanceable <104, >126: almost never a good idea Younger or more athletic crowds generally do better with another couple bpm

[Callers] Dance Tempos

2023-09-19 Thread Roberta Kogut via Contra Callers
Just wondering what tempos your bands are playing for contra dancers. Thank you! Roberta Kogut Western North Carolina ⁣Get TypeApp for Android ​___ Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to cont