Great party last night! Wow. We have three (3!) choreographers in our midst - two of them brought dances to try out, and one of them wrote a dance just sitting there while we snacked and dished.
Through the amazing process of Self Selection, we ended up with Nearly Perfect gender balance right from the start - not that it particularly matters, but it makes teaching a difficult dance easier when you have an obvious marker. On the other hand, when my partner and I waited out at the bottom wrong once, I simply swung the person who came at me, who happened also to be a lady, and my partner, for the first time that I can remember, without skipping a beat, simply swung the gentlemen who came at him! We continued in crossed-over genders for a while, then switched back smoothly during a swing. Even though that's the nicest thing to do in a situation like that, I've never before danced with a group of people who managed it. Most people act all worried and whiney until everyone rattles and bumps their way back into their properly appointed girl/boy places. Go Hatchlings!
To save time at Calling Parties, I like to try out several easy dances at once as no-walkthrough dances. The ones I picked worked great except for one where the "actives" swing in the middle at the end. At that point, everyone had been up and down the line enough to have become thoroughly unaware of whether they were ones or twos - a simple "the couple below swing in the middle" would have solved it, and that's what's on my card now.
Speaking of cards, did I tell you about my new toys? I switched from my book of 8.5x11 pages (folded) to the more traditional 4x6 cards, found a GREAT set of nesting clear plastic card holders and some cute little binders for cards at some OfficeMax/Depot/Staples place on the way to Cumberland, along with an adorable "mobile printer" that now sits on my desk an arm's length away so I don't have to walk ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE ROOM (about 6 feet) to the big All-in-One printer over there. I've posted the templates I use for the cards (and the ones I used for the 8.5X11 sheets of paper). The page is linked from the right-hand column --> under Card and Dance Planning Templates.
Remember that there are multiple calling opportunities coming up: email Greg if you want to call at the Flash Dance this Sunday at the Garden, contact any of the Childgrove callers if you want to call a dance or two at a regular dance, and don't forget the First Saturday Hatchling Dance coming up in September. Already we have nine callers signed up for that one! We have a standing invitation to call at Cape Girardeau, and Larry Boyer often welcomes us to call at the Youth Contras too. And, as if that were not already riches enough (now how much would you pay?) there is another Flash Dance we can call at before the Hatchling Dance on September 6, and we have been asked to call at the Grand Center and Arch celebrations the weekend of September 27-28.
Any of us who are learning to call English too should contact Missy to call a dance at the Dance Discovery Open Calling night August 12. Even if you don't plan to call, I hope you'll let her know how much we appreciate the opportunity. If you're a member of Dance Discovery, and haven't been for a while, this would be a good one to attend! If you think you might enjoy dancing English-y dances as part of a performance dance troupe, talk to Kay or Chrystal or Missy about it - they can fill you in.
M
E
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4 comments:
I figure everyone (except Karen) should get a chance to guest call before it's my turn, but if there aren't any other takers, I'd be glad to call again.
Just an observation, Sunday 9/7 is the day after the hatchling dance.
Judy, you can reach me by putting a dot between my first name and my last name; at gmail dot com.
Oh, and I nominate Wade or Bob to call the other half of Martha's dance. I think either of them is ready to do a good job.
Of course my previous comment would have made more sense if Martha hadn't edited the blog entry on which I was commenting (ain't technology wonderful?)
Once upon a time, it said:
[begin quote]
Judy reminded me that she welcomes someone calling a couple of dances when she calls. Her dates are Sun. 9/7, Sun. 10/5 and Sun. 11/16.
Let her know if you want to call.
I would also like to take up Mac's challenge to do a half a dance. (Want to get those little gold wings...) Anyone else want to do it with me?
[end quote]
And, while I'm here. If anyone wants to see the dance I called last night (or what's left of it after some major changes to respond to the feedback from the dancers) you can try this link
An observation: while it's really good not to go out and snare every "extra" calling spot, leaving none for the rest of us, I don't think there is a reason why you have to wait until everyone has had a turn. If you are eager to call, contact one of the regular callers - or the visiting ones, if you know them already. (Also volunteer at Flash Dances, Youth Contra and Cape Girardeau!)If we start stepping in front of each other, we might want to sit down sometime and go over the schedule and let folks know which dates we would like to call. But as long as it works, getting in touch with one of our callers gives you practice in being organized and assertive, both good caller virtues!
Does anyone else have any ideas about how we might fairly divvy up calling opportunities?
M
E
In the past when a new caller was ready to try a half an evening - we paired them with a more experrienced caller so they could work together developing a program, etc. However if 2 newer callers are confident enough they feel they are ready to try it together - that is fine too. I suspect that most of you are more ready than you give yourselves credit for and that two new callers will put more effort into working together than has been the case with a new caller paired with a more experienced one.
Get in touch with Peggy - she does book well in advance - but occasionally has an open slot she needs to fill.
Mac
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