Congratulations go to Wade for calling his first whole dance at Childgrove! It was a wonderful dance, with interesting dances, and very well called. He has now graduated from "Fledgling" to "Caller" and earned his golden megaphone.
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8 comments:
I was very impressed - even the couple minor bumps were handled well. I especially liked the square - it required a lot of calling and would be easy to get mixed up - but it went very well and was a lot of fun. I was dancing with a new dancer who was still a bit scared - so it was nice that the square required the men to do most of the thinking.
do we see this as a challenge for other callers to add a square or 2 to there resume?
Mac
Okay.
Gauntlet thrown.
What are some good squares for beginners to call? Me, I'd like to do one with a Grand Square. Or maybe Dutch Crossing. Something simple...
:-)
M
E
Thank you to everyone for all the compliments. It's very gratifying to hear. I have to confess that I was astounded by the response I got for that square . . . and from contra dancers, no less! It was a little rough at the beginning, but then I got into the rhythm of it and by the end I was having a lot of fun with the calling. I now see why some callers are as fond of square dances as they are.
I find that I still struggle with keeping track of where the dancers started the dance and with how long I've been running a dance. Maybe I'll start to pay attention to that "instinctively" after a few more evenings of calling, but for now I'm glad that the clock at the back of the hall is there.
Wade
I am always grateful for the clock to watch during dances. I have the same "problem" you do, Wade, with remembering where the dancers started.
As far as squares go: I feel like I'd need a workshop on those before I would attempt calling one, even at the calling parties. I suggested to Ted that I'd like that, and he said: "Maybe at Kimmswick . . ."
~Karen
Good point! I always forget who's at the top of the set, AND I always forget to look at the clock. Thank goodness I've started developing a bit of a better sense of how long we've been dancing or I would be totally lost.
Maybe we should add "noticing who's at the top of the set" or "noticing the time" to our practices. Really. I think if we got in the habit of saying (out loud at Calling Parties, not out loud at dances) "Joe and the blonde in the polka dots are at the top of the set" (or whatever) we might start being in the habit of noticing such things when we call dances.
I remember Mac's saying he spent a whole squares workshop practicing remembering who was with whom in which spot - and he said it really helped him do that all the time.
M
E
I NEVER remember to see who's at the top of the set. It never fails that when I'm to the point that I can cut calling I ask the person waiting at the top about where they started and then time the dance from there.
And even when I remember who was at the top, sometimes I can't find them when I'm trying to judge how long we've been dancing!
New rule: Number one couple in the top set has to include someone who is tall and wearing brightly colored clothing.
The clock is your friend. I do check it. However I realize that I probably should carry around my own clock -- is there a clock at Kimmswick? [Is there time at Kimmswick?]
yay Wade!
Dan (in Boston)
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