Last night's workshop at the calling party was great. Ted presented a comprehensive overview of calling: the art of calling the dance itself, choosing dances, interacting with dancers, and working with the band. Ted, I hope you'll let us post your notes for the talk. Mac chimed in with lots of tips, and Judy offered her insights from a dancer's perspective. The rest of us got to ask questions and offer suggestions based on our own experience. So much valuable experience, shared so willingly!
And then we danced, of course, with greater or lesser success in the calling. I muffed mine, but the dancers mostly got it in spite of the tendrils growing out of my head, and Ted and others had valuable suggestions about how better to teach the figures.
This group is amazing. Thanks, all.
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I think Ted's insights were extremely valuable, and I very much appreciate the time he put into planning for the event and presenting the information. I do however reserve the right to very respectfully disagree with him about writing new dances.
I don't think we should make a point of writing new dances, and it be that we're trying too hard. I certainly don't think we should be calling mediocre (or worse) dances just because they're new. However I think every now and then a new idea comes along and it's worth experimenting with that idea in a dance.
I feel the same way about new songs, by the way. There are certainly enough songs already written (or passed down from previous generations) to keep musicians busy for a long time, but if a new song comes along that has something to offer, it should receive a fair hearing.
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