bjarvis | I survived ACDC!

ACDC has been a great success, I think. Overall, I think we had about 125 participants and, to my knowledge, all of them are still breathing. The biggest complaint I heard was from one chap who claimed that the C1 hall was too warm, but I also noted he was wearing a t-shirt, a flannel shirt and a heavy leather vest. When I suggested he might be more comfortable removing at least one layer, he reacted as though I had just shot his mother.

My duties in assisting the running of the fly-in have been relatively light. The largest portion of my work was in preparation for the event rather than at the event itself. During the fly-in, we've been locking up the equipment in the dance halls rather than in our room. The staffing of tables, assisting with raffles, etc., has been very easy. Best of all, we've had plenty of time for lunch & dinner with out-of-town friends (Brian & Mark, Rick,

otterpop58,

apparentparadox & Mark, etc.).

I can't say I've danced a great deal, but I had all the floor time I wanted. Since I'm only good to A2, my options are fairly limited at this particular fly-in anyway. I get to dance with Betsy Gotta regularly at various regional fly-ins so I didn't make a special effort to attend her tips. Likewise, I find John Sybalsky's choreo to be unnecessarily obtuse, or at least harder than I want to face at 9 AM after a late night. Heresy alert: I'm just not a fan of Ett's particular A2 style either... she seems much more interested in building choreo based on what Callerlab has left out of the definitions rather than working within them (or even a reasonable extension of them).

Dancing with Ben Rubright was an utter delight. While he does include a few figures which occasionally throw me for a loop, he doesn't stack them up side-by-side as John or Ett has. There's enough success within a figure or tip to be keep me going rather than discourage me from dancing. I've made recorded several of his sessions to transcribe & study in detail later.

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bearfuz and I learned C1, C2 and C3A from Ben Rubright; he is just totally amazing.

The C1 was a "blitzweek" crash course... held over two five-day periods at Cherry Ridge in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He was so impressed with how well we picked up the C1 that he invited us to attend his over-the-garage C2 group (from which we met

brindledbear). Because of work,

bearfuz couldn't attend the C2 some of the time, but I kept plugging along and, before I knew it, we were dancing C3A with him, too.

It was a really fun time and, as you now know, his choreography is something that a dancer can trust. That's why Ben's informal middle name is "with the wind in your hair".

Damn... and I would have liked to have danced to him once again, but alas, we were quite busy up here in NYC land.

XOXO

I'll have to watch to see if he has a C1 crash course again some time... that might be fun, esp. since I think I understand his thinking & approach better than I do Ett's who would otherwise be our only hope of getting to C1.

I love Ett but personally, I'd have to agree with your words and add that there are many other callers, to whom I will not dance, that are very similar.

One other thing Ben taught us is what to look for in a good caller.

When I suggested he might be more comfortable removing at least one layer, he reacted as though I had just shot his mother.

It ain't about the dancin', it's about accessorisin'. He spent hours putting that ensemble together, and he was good and damned if he was going to ruin his "look".

Bloody diva.

His "look" also made him look 20 lbs overweight but who am I to critique his wardrobe? :-)

When I used to go to the Dawn Dances in Brattleboro, VT, there was a couple who wore matching outfits. It was obvious that the one of them (the woman, I suspect) had made them. Every so often they would disappear and come back in yet another coordinated vest and shirt, and their other clothes would be coordinated: he in black trousers, she in a black skirt; he in blue trousers, she in a matching blue skirt, and so on. They only danced with each other, which to me really defeats the whole purpose of contra dancing and square dancing. But for them, it was all about the accessories.

Gimme a dry and clean t-shirt every couple of hours, and I'm happy.

They musta been "club dancers"!

Oh, wait, that's what this blog entry is about... sort of. ;-)

Actually John has mellowed out a bit the last few times I've danced to him out here. I remember the first time I danced to him, he did almost hole tips left handed. Glad ACDC went well.

OK, I hate to think of what you will write about me next year when I call. :)

Um, OK, and you are...?

C'mon Brian - who of next year's ACDC callers is most likely to read your journal?

I'm guessing Geo, but Linda would be a close second.

And presuming my first guess is correct, you have nothing to worry about: just call like you did during the GCA A2 timeslot at Pass The Ocean Hon last May and I'll be yours to do with as you please. :-)

Bingo! (That's a call by the way)
I forgot I called in Rehoboth. Zip lent me a record and mike I believe and I just sighted some stuff. I prefer to read, especially for gay groups, but then the success rate diminishes. It's a lot of work.
As for the doing as I please issue, those calls are off the list.
G

That particular tip stands out in my memory as some of the best A2 I've ever danced to... Do it again! Do it again! :-)

As for the doing as I please issue, those calls are off the list.

Indeed... and do that again & again too! :-)

Yuck. Remind me never to dance to Ett or John. I hate being forced to think during a tip. I want to dance, not solve three dimensional chess problems.

Of course, that's how X calls class level mainstream (well, on the rare occasion that she calls something other than a run or a circulate), so I should be used to it. :-p

It sounds like I would really love dancing to Ben though.

Said C1 dancer (whoever he is) is probably used to dancing so slowly (stop-and-start) as never to break a sweat with his leather bear gear on. He should grow a brain and sacrifice his idea of fashion for a little practicality on the dance floor.

Re Ett's A2 style: Just imagine what she does at C1! Concentric 1/3 Recycle... or something like that. And that's tame.

Glad you enjoyed Ben Rubright. John and I are particular fans of his, if only because we learned not only our C1 but also our C2 and our (now-mostly-forgotten) C3A from him. If you dance enough with him, the logic of his momentarily arcane figures comes clear... and you realize that it has really terrific flow. And of course, the more you dance with him, the more familiar those figures become. (Though that's of course true with any caller -- even Sybalsky. Well, maybe not.)

I survived ACDC!

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