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by Allan
Hurst - allanh[at]myrealbox.com – Last updated
7/15/1998
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to HTML with minor revisions 8/4/03
So
... what really happens at GCA Caller School?
- Are you forced to run naked through
an obstacle course while instructors slap you with wet crinolines?
- Are you mercilessly quizzed on
obscure calls until your head explodes?
- Do they strap you down and inject
"caller drugs" into your brain?
At
the time this article was originally published, I’d been to GCA School two
years in a row, and I remained amazed (in a positive way) at what happens
there. In 1997, I attended the School’s
basic class, for those without any prior calling experience whatsoever. In 1998, I had a base of regular calling
experience to build on, and attended the advanced class. Oddly enough, the class structure/format
didn't change between the beginner and advanced classes. But I'm getting ahead of myself...
When
I first realized I had an interest in calling, I was very shy about expressing
it to other people. A lot of people in
my home club were very surprised that I was going to attend caller school,
while others commented that they’d been expecting me to go for some time. Almost universally, however, there appeared
to be a distinct lack of understanding of what actually goes on at caller
school. Chances are, if I’d known up
front what was involved, I would have felt more comfortable attending the first
time.
There
seem to be a number of myths and misunderstandings surrounding caller
school. Kris Jensen asked me to write
up some of my experiences for the GCA “Call Sheet” newsletter, in an attempt to
dispel some of the fear and mystery of GCA Caller School. I’ve organized my thoughts according to
specific myths and misunderstandings that have been thrown at me the past
couple of years.
MYTH:
"Only experienced callers should attend caller school. "
REALITY: GCA
Caller School is for callers working at all levels, even people who haven't
ever called before.
The
first day began with an all-students meeting at which we were split up into
three groups: basic, intermediate, and advanced. There were students at GCA Caller School with experiencing
ranging from several years' worth of calling to those who had never picked up a
microphone before, and everything in-between.
The
calling coach staff sat down before school started and reviewed the calling
experience of each student for the past year.
Based on the amount and quality of the experience, each student was
assigned to one of the three groups.
The quality of the GCA Caller Coaches is always top-notch; this year,
the coaching staff included Anne Uebelacher, Saundra Bryant, and Johnny
Preston.
A
special note for those with little or no experience calling: GCA Caller School
is an especially good (read: “safe”) way to find out if calling is something
you really have an interest in.
MYTH:
"GCA Caller School is a boot camp, not for the faint of heart."
REALITY: GCA
Caller School is a supportive learning and coaching environment.
The
school's teaching format rotates each of the three coaches through a full day
with each group of students. Assistant
coaches are usually on hand to provide additional help and support to the
coaches and students as needed.
The
first thing each coach does at the beginning of each day is talk with each of
the students to get an idea of what their calling experience has been to date,
and what specific things (if any) each student wants to work on during the
current session. A general discussion
of common areas of interest often kicks off the session, followed by the coach
getting each of student up on-stage, on the mike, to evaluate the student's
experience and skill level.
The
actual curriculum covered in each of the three class levels (Basic,
Intermediate, and Advanced) is surprisingly similar. The main difference in each class lies in (1) the average length
of experience of the students, and (2) which subjects are covered in more depth
than others. Some of the subjects
covered include stage presence, mike technique, choreography, sight calling
& resolution, music selection, turntable use & technique, and the
business side of calling.
MYTH:
"Experienced callers don't get nervous, and I get nervous, so I probably
don't belong at GCA Caller School."
REALITY: All
callers -- experienced and new – get nervous.
All
callers that I've talked with have admitted to being nervous before starting
each dance, and GCA Caller School, while it can be an intense experience, is a
safe environment in which to "try one's wings".
Last
year, all three caller coaches told me, "If you're not at least a little
bit nervous when you step up to the mike, something's wrong." Anne Uebelacher told me she believes the
nervous energy gives the caller a bit of a performance edge.
I
quickly realized that if veteran callers can be nervous in front of a group,
it's OK for newer callers to be a little nervous, too. While I started out
quite nervous on the first day of both schools I attended, by the third day I
had relaxed substantially, and was very sorry to see the school end.
MYTH:
"Everyone else at caller school will laugh at me."
REALITY:
Everyone I've met at GCA Caller School the past two years has been very
supportive.
Last
year, I was scared to death of being made fun of when I admitted I’d never
called before. Nobody laughed, and
several people were actively welcoming and encouraging that I was trying this.
This
year, when I raised my hand and said that I'd primarily been calling from cards
for the past year, I expected a barrage of laughter. What I actually received was lots of support and encouragement to
use cards to work out complex sequences (especially at higher levels), but to
try sight calling during the School, as a means of expanding my calling
horizons. Nobody at GCA Caller School,
either last year or this year, ever laughed at or made fun of me...or each
other.
MYTH: Caller
school must have some pretty weird rituals and exercises.
REALITY: GCA
Caller School is designed with a number of exercises to encourage the students'
professional and technical growth as callers.
While
some caller school exercises push the "comfort envelope" a little
bit, none are rude or mean-spirited.
Here's
a sample of some actual exercises I've worked through in past GCA Caller
Schools. Please note that not all of
these exercises are performed in every class, every year. The exact exercise and curriculum is
determined by the coaches each day of school.
I’ve
been told by many of the coaches and other attendees that these exercises are
fairly typical for most caller schools, not just GCA’s:
- Write three short figures, which will
ideally resolve.
- Call the choreo you've just written, and
make sure it works in a “live” square.
- Coach and peer analysis of choreo to check
for bad flow and overflow.
- Call anything EXCEPT the following three
calls...(e.g., find alternative sequences)
- Fill out the "Analyzing A Call"
worksheet for a call or family of specific calls.
- All class members hand in three pieces of
choreo, which the coaches shuffle
and then call while the class dances, to
pinpoint common choreo mistakes,
and make callers aware of how it feels to
dance their own choreo.
- Get up on-mike and call for five minutes,
not worrying about resolving; just
keep the dancers moving smoothly.
- Each student take a turn resolving a square
which the coach has mixed up.
- As a group, work through the sight
resolution process on a mixed-up square.
(I've seen this done with the students both
inside and outside the square.)
- Pick out identifying features of a primary
and secondary couple in the square.
- Have each student start calling, then turn
the student around and continue
calling without actually watching the
square, to build formation awareness.
- Perform a patter tip and a singing tip.
- Work through singing or vocal exercises.
- Talk about and practice breathing
techniques.
- Discuss appropriate professional behavior,
demeanor, and attire.
MYTH: "I'm
not `good enough' to go to Caller School yet..."
REALITY: If
you never attend school, learning is much more difficult.
Judging
from a number of conversations I've had with other GCA Caller School students,
contemplating attending the school is far scarier than the actual
experience.
People
attend GCA School for a number of reasons, including, but not limited to:
- Wanting to be a club caller
- Wanting to be a square dance teacher
- Wanting to improve skills in either of the
above roles
- Wanting to learn more about how choreo
works to become a better dancer
- Wanting to write choreo, but not
necessarily perform it
- Wanting to perform an occasional singing or
patter tip, but don't want to write choreo
- Just curious about what's involved in learning
to be a caller
It's
also a great way to meet other callers (newer or experienced) and begin
building life-long professional calling relationships. Many of the experienced callers you see
performing so smoothly together today, most likely first met each other many
years ago in the same calling class.
GCA
Caller School can be a lot of hard work, but every student I've attended with
has expressed an incredibly strong feeling of accomplishment and achievement of
goals they'd never dreamed they could reach.
I personally would encourage anyone with even a minor interest in
calling, choreography, or performance technique to consider attending GCA
Caller School.
Remember:
today’s GCA Caller School student is often tomorrow’s rising and/or established
square dance caller!
GCA
Caller School is usually held the first three or four days prior to each year’s
IAGSDC convention. For information on
the next GCA Caller School, visit the GCA’s website at http://www.iagsdc.org/gca/callerschool
[end]
Allan
Hurst lives, dances, and calls in the San Francisco Bay Area, with semi regular
visits to Chicago. He is a member of El Camino Reelers, Foggy City Dancers,
Midnight Squares, Squares Across the Border, and Chi-Town Squares. He can be contacted via email at “allanh
[at] supportnet.com”