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Newer Caller Workshop

10:00AM to 4:00PM Saturday Sep 21, 2024

Basom Branch Library
1000 S. Bascom Ave
San Jose, CA Map

A special thank you to Mike Pogue for help making this workshop happen!

Free this time!

Dancers welcome and encouraged! Dancers always dance free. No obligation: dance all day or drop in for 5 minutes.

Preliminary Schedule

(we often don't follow this)

10:00AM		Hall opens Setup. Meet & greet
10:15AM		First-time caller exercise
10:45AM		Moving dancers around
11:30AM		How to resolve the square + Practice

12:30PM		Salad Bar (you may bring your own lunch)

1:30AM		Pairing Dancers + Practice
2:00PM		Practice
2:30PM		Last hour (+!) Every caller gets two final turns
4:00PM		Hall closes

Detail on the Special Sessions

First-time caller exercise

I recommend learning these figures:

#1
Join Hands Circle Left
Allemande Left
Right And Left Grand
Promenade Home

#2
4 Ladies Chain
Circle Left
Ladies In Men Sashay
Ladies In Men Sashay
AL RLG Prom

#3
Sides Lead Right
Circle To A Line
Forward And Back
Slide Thru
Square Thru 3
AL RLG Prom

Moving dancers around

We'll look at...

Formations and legal calls
Getting the dancers into standard arrangement
Flow, hand use, etc.

We'll do some team calling. Perhaps we'll get into standard facing lines and ask you what you would want to call next.

How to resolve the square

We'll look at...

Unscrambling the dancers (power calls)
Formations for resolve and how to get into them
Calls that move dancers to where you want them

We'll work as a team to decide what we could do in various situations.

For practice, someone might suggest a call or a formation. You start calling and try to use that call or get the dancers into that formation and then resolve. OR... You can call yourself into your own mess and then try resolving! We'll help each other out of sticky situations. Each person's learning experience can be everyone's leanring experience.

Pairing Dancers

We'll look at...

Calls that move dancers to where you want them
The power of calling in waves
How to convert from formation to formation while preserving your partner parings

We may explore other techniques as well.

Singing calls

Universal Singing Call Figure
Heads Prom 1/2
Square Thru
Right And Left Thru
Veer Left
Ferris Wheel
Centers Square Thru 3
Swing & Promenade

I highly recommend learning at least one complete singing call record. Try to obtain a copy of a tune that you like (ask your club caller or me) and start learning. Once you're comfortable with the figure on the record, try fitting the Universal Singing Call Figure (or a variation) to the music.

Dancing

We love dancers to help our newer callers learn and progress. Often callers will dance during other callers' turn, but this is an opportunity for any dancer to get more "floor time" and be exposed to unusual formations and positions. Our learning callers tend to be creative.

Typical Session

The goal is to keep things moving. Explanations will be kept to an absolute minimum with the focus on everyone calling as much as possible. An exercise designed for everyone will be provided for every session, however each caller may use their mic time any way they want. (call patter, do a singing call, sight resolve the square, read cards, test choreo, practice voice, etc...)

Typically one caller will be taking a turn and a second will be waiting "on deck". When a caller finishes, the "on deck" caller immediately steps up to the mic and begins their turn. Another caller will volunteer to be next waiting "on deck". When you're not calling or waiting on deck, you can plan your next tip, get feedback, or be a dancer for the other callers. Rotate out when you need a break. We'll take "unscheduled" 5 minute breaks when everyone needs a breather.

Homework

While this is a self paced workshop with no requirements, I think you'll want to get the most out of this rare and coveted time behind a microphone with 8 dancers at your disposal. There are things you can start working on that will benefit you immensely...

Know the Callerlab Lists, particularly the SSD list. See if you can rattle off every call on the list from memory (in no particular order). Test yourself: Count them and look to see which calls you missed. Try to say these first next time. A command of the list makes nearly every aspect of calling MUCH easier.
Memorize the figures in yellow boxes above. These figures have been carefully selected to give you the maximum benefit from your time spent memorizing them. Let your time on the mic be focused on technique rather than remembering what to call.
Try writing a sequence:
Heads ...blah, blah, blah, you fill it in... Promenade Home

Don't feel that you have to win an award, just get familiar with the process and come up with a list of questions to ask at the workshop.
Learn at least one singing call. Start with singing calls that you like - the ones you already sing along with. Even if you don't consider yourself a singer, even if you never intend to call below C1, learning singing calls - lots of them - will do more to help you sound like a caller than anything else.
Take a peek at this article: How To Resolve. This is pretty much the method I'll be teaching. If you're already familiar with the process, you can begin practicing early in the day rather than waiting until we cover it.

Details

A professional sound system, music, and mic will be provided. Of course you may bring and use any of your own stuff. Feel free to drop in and out. Attend any part of any session. We'd appreciate knowing when you think you might be attending so that we can plan food and possibly adjust the schedule.

Invite anyone you think would benefit and/or contribute.

Rich Reel 2024 Sep 12