I agree, Greg....a theme should never carry more importance than the actual 
programming.  However, if a caller has a large enough collection of dances 
to choose from, and enough experience to know what will work and what won't, 
then a theme can add a little fun to the evening.   In other words, having a 
theme is not NECESSARILY a recipe for disaster.  But it certainly requires 
extra care to avoid getting in over one's head.
~Barbara
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Greg McKenzie" <gregmck at earthlink.net>
To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers at sharedweight.net>; 
<callers at sharedweight.net>
Sent: Monday, February 15, 2010 11:25 AM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Valentine's theme dance - followup/aftermath


>
> At 05:20 AM 2/15/2010, Andy Shore wrote:
>>The program was a bit overly-ambitious for the crowd we got, but it
>>was fun and we made it through.  There were more "new to me" (marked
>>with the + above) dances than I like to present in an evening,
>>mostly because I was determined to stick with the theme.  In
>>retrospect that wasn't the best idea.
>
> Thank you Andy for this cogent and self-critical analysis.  We need
> more of that.  It is clear that you are learning from your experience.
>
> I admit that I view dance program "themes" with considerable
> dread...as soon as I become aware that the caller is embarking upon
> one.  As your analysis reflects, the selection of dances for a
> "theme" evening often veers far from the course of what program would
> "work" best for the crowd, the hall, and the music...all for the sake
> of keeping the names of the dances in character with some
> "theme."  This idea is a recipe for a difficult evening of
> over-teaching and long walk-throughs and "theme evenings" should be a
> signal of danger to all in the hall.
>
> I wish callers would consider any "theme" to be the developing
> story-line of all of the dances considered from the perspective of a
> mixed crowd of dancers looking for an enjoyable social evening.  This
> is how any good evening of contra dance should be programmed and the
> name of the dance is seldom a useful indicator of where the dance
> would best be positioned in the evening's program, or if it should be
> included at all.
>
> Just a thought.
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