Calling in Knoxville
May. 5th, 2009 12:12 am![[personal profile]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jack_calls_dancesSo... I started calling contra dances about 8 years ago when I was in Knoxville, TN, but didn't start calling full evenings until after I moved to NC, and since then have been calling on a pretty regular basis. Tonight, I got a chance to call back in Knoxville. It was good to see some familiar faces, but the dance left me feeling kinda run down. For some of the first half, I really wasn't in best form -- more flubbed calls than I would really like. We were having some issues with the sound, and that had me somewhat distracted. The band was also tired and a little low energy -- the music was great, but the fiddler had been teaching all day and I think really wanted to be done with playing.
Both of those things aside, though, I think there's something about calling for a smaller group of mixed level dancers. I seem to get sucked into problems on the floor instead of the overall pattern. When I'm calling for a big group, I'm less likely to focus in on individual dancers and get sucked into the problems that one couple or hands four are having. With a bigger crowd, I've got more dancers that I can watch be in the right place at the right time. Also, with smaller groups, I've developed the habit of moving around more -- suspect it would help me keep more of an overall perspective if I stayed up on the stage and had a little more distance.
However I'm feeling about it, I think that folks had a good time, and in the end, that's the main thing that matters. And now I can look forward to dancing in Winston Salem tomorrow with Adina calling and the Figments playing! Gonna be great.
Both of those things aside, though, I think there's something about calling for a smaller group of mixed level dancers. I seem to get sucked into problems on the floor instead of the overall pattern. When I'm calling for a big group, I'm less likely to focus in on individual dancers and get sucked into the problems that one couple or hands four are having. With a bigger crowd, I've got more dancers that I can watch be in the right place at the right time. Also, with smaller groups, I've developed the habit of moving around more -- suspect it would help me keep more of an overall perspective if I stayed up on the stage and had a little more distance.
However I'm feeling about it, I think that folks had a good time, and in the end, that's the main thing that matters. And now I can look forward to dancing in Winston Salem tomorrow with Adina calling and the Figments playing! Gonna be great.
