Well that was a lot of fun! It was family night at Youth Contra. Of course the Boyers are always there as a family, but some others of us had family home for the holidays. I got to show off my son, Peter, of whom I am most proud, and to meet Martha's offspring. I now have a face to go with the dance "Where's Alex?"
On the hatchling front, Karen and I called (I don't think Larry is a hatchling(?) -- he started the evening.) Karen's dances went smoothly, but I discovered what happens when communication breaks down between the caller and the band -- totally my fault by the way. I couldn't remember how long ago I had given them the "two more" signal and apparently I gave it in the A part anyway. After I wrapped the dance up with a partner swing, the band kept playing. Fortunately the dancers continued too-- I just had to tell them "Dance with the one you're with now" and they made it through one more round. I think "a learning experience" is a kind description of the result.
Otherwise, I was pleased with both my calling and Karen's. We're getting better at this.
And who could fail to enjoy an evening that featured "Joe the Juggler", although Bob was forced to comment that he was so proud of being a juggler that he was a juggler vain.
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2 comments:
I thought all the callers did great last night. I was particularly delighted by Larry's beginner class - he has a welcoming spiel that's just fabulous, setting exactly the right tone. I'd love to have a copy of it - did that part of the evening get filmed?
Given what Dale said, I think either the band or the dancers must have gotten off the phrase somewhere in the dance in question. I gave Dale a slightly hard time for giving us the "two more" in the first A section, then glanced down at the floor and saw no one waiting out at the top, so figured it was two more after the complete current one. Dale saw it too, and gave us the "two more" again later, right where we needed it - in the B2. We should have ended together, perfectly. That we didn't is curious.
I would also like to officially thank Alex for helping with sound. I hadn't quite realized that one of the perks of his working in a radio station is that he now knows about...sound equipment. Duh. Billy and Larry, of course, set up the equipment, so the lion's share of the thanks goes to them. But since Alex has always been one of my most reliable critics, it was nice that he could lend a hand to make some of the adjustments.
M
E
I second the notion that the Karen and Dale did great. The dances held together well and the dancers clearly had a lot of fun. Calling at a youth contra can be quite challenging given the wide range of experience and relatively high percentage of beginners. That equals a huge opportunity for growth on the part of the caller. If anyone else wants to call at a youth contra, just let me know. Y'all are more than welcome!
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