Don and Kay and Bob and I worked out a couple more kinks in the Hay Makers, so I'd like to try it again at our next meeting.
I found a copy of one of the Dance A While books that Ted mentioned at our last meeting on Amazon, and ordered it. I also downloaded a couple of the Ralph Page Legacy Weekend Syllabuses from the University of New Hampshire Library of Traditional Music and Dance - they are great!
Then there are those copies of Larry Jennings' books Zesty Contras that I bought from the CDSS bookstore at the Cumberland Dance Week. I hadn't realized they would be full of such wonderful commentary as well as dances! For example:
If getting your dance across take you more time than it does other callers, do not make the excuse that you are being more thorough; admit that your words are not well chosen. Or, conceivably, you are not being sufficiently authoritative. This is a marvelous example of addressing a fake problem (that the dancers need extensive help) instead of the real problem (you have not prepared your words and/or your delivery of them).And this:
A large amount of encouragement and help is available to you if only you undertake your project with confidence.
M
E
1 comment:
Yup. Sugar Hill was terrific. I can hardly wait for the next dance weekend!
Along with the fabulous music and dancing, we got to experience many different callers over the course of the two days. Some were really great; a couple of them reminded me of why we practice our calls so much beforehand!
They ran out of volunteer callers about 3:30 on Sunday morning and asked if anyone else wanted to call. Had I been just the tiniest smidge more awake, I'd have called "Rendezvous." My hand was reaching for the dance card! But at that hour my brain had largely shut down and I didn't dare. Next time, though!
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