Wow- when you look at al the Hatchlings have accomplished – it is very impressive. We have tried to make calling opportunities available for everyone to get their feet wet. Now it is time to raise the bar.
Childgrove will try to set aside one dance each month for the further development of the hatchlings. These can be used in any format that makes sense at that time. You can schedule the multi-caller format where everyone calls one or 2 dances and you program as a team – or we can use just 2 or 3 callers (who also need to coordinate their programs)
I have been asked (and reluctantly accepted) the responsibility of coordinating format and callers for each date. Do not approach Peggy about calling – she will simply set the dates and book the band – she will not book callers for these dances.
Hatchlings who have scheduled to call through Peggy from now to the end of June will stay on the schedule. All bookings beyond that are cancelled and will be handled in the new format.
Childgrove is committing 25% of the calling opportunities to the Hatchings. This is a bit of a risk. I am sure everyone will take this seriously and work to maintain the quality we are used to. Even with that – I am sure there is more demand than we can fill. I am not sure what we will work out to be fair to everyone. I expect I will make someone unhappy (remember – I didn’t ask for this job).
Now – about raising that bar…
By now everyone has had a chance to call several dances. No one is brand new and just needs some experience calling a dance. You should all be well beyond that first dance experience. Everyone should be aware of his or her strengths and weaknesses. Going forward I want all the callers to identify what they are trying to accomplish to improve. If you need suggestions you can talk to any of the more experienced local callers. I expect they would all be eager to help. That doesn’t just mean calling more dances than last time. Find specific things you need to do to challenge yourself and work on specific skills. It might mean just calling one dance that really needs your full attention.
Keep up the good work
Mac
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Thanks, Mac, for being willing to take on this task. Feel free to remind us again when we go all Diva on you, that you are a volunteer! [grin]
Let me clarify one issue. I did not go to Peggy and ask for a calling opportunity. She came to me and asked me if I would be willing to call half an evening. I don't know (or much care!) what went on before that led her to ask the question. I do know that I think I'm ready, so I said "yes."
With respect to strengths and weaknesses. I no longer get the deer-in-the-headlights feeling when I step up on stage, and people have complemented me on my clear teaching so I feel good about that. I don't think I need single-dance calling opportunities, although I will be glad to help out if I'm needed.
What I want to accomplish next is to develop the ability to put together an evening's program. I got a little taste of this on the BillyBob'n'Dale nite, and I'm looking forward to working with Wade when we split an evening.
I also would like to be comfortable handling the glitches that are sure to crop up. I admire the way Wade handled the half evening he called, and I have seen Karen switch almost seamlessly to a different dance when she saw something went wrong. I guess I have been fortunate in that so far I haven't had to cope with a breakdown, but that means I don't know how well I would handle it.
Oh, and I want to learn to call squares [someday.]
Dale
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