Contra Dance Caller, et cetera
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Contra Dance Related Things
Green Mountain Volunteers
GMV was created by Ben Bergstein in XXXX. The group learns a variety of traditional dances at regular rehearsals, then performs in period costume at community events and folks festivals all over the world. I joined the group in 1997, and my participation in GMV taught me much about the history and etiquette of American folk dance. I left the group in 1999 to join FolKids.
FolKids
FolKids was also created by Ben Bergstein. It is open to kids from 11 to 16 and has several volunteer staff. FolKids generally takes an annual trip, and have performed in China, Thailand, Turkey, throughout Europe, and most recently, Viet Nam. In 1999 I joined the group to help lead the weekly rehearsals, and was a staff member on the trip to the Sacre du Folklore in Reims, France in June 2000.
Queen City Contras
QCC is the group that runs the dance series in downtown Burlington, VT. I began volunteering for the dance in 1997. The group consisted of an ad hoc committee at that point, which usually meant that six to ten of us would get together and gossip for 45 minutes or so, then volunteer for jobs at the next dance. One key person did the programming and basically ran the show. Around 1998 she really wanted to retire so I took over her responsibilities. Like calling, programming and running a dance series is something you can only learn by doing. I made some mistakes, but the dance series survived. I also initiated some changes to the organization that I hope will ensure a healthy future for the dance series, like affiliating the group with the Country Dance and Song Society. We were already a member, but to become an Affiliate we needed to have Bylaws, a defined membership, and elected officers. Guess who won the first two elections for President.
I have come to look at the time I put into QCC as a great investment. I may put 10 to 15 hours a month into it (maybe more, I have never kept track), and as a result 60 to 100 people a month have a really good time for three hours. That is at least 180 hours of fun on 15 hours invested. I wish I could find a (legal) way to invest money like this.
Contracopia
In February 1999, I launched Contracopia, a web based music store just for contra dance music. I figured it would be a fun way for me to learn about web site design and ecommerce, then I could create other web sites that would earn me more money. Well, I learned a lot, but Contracopia ended up absorbing all my computer - oriented energy (I can only sit in front of a computer for so long). The difficult part was that Contracopia grew much more slowly than I anticipated. I find myself now thinking of Contracopia as a full-time hobby, and I just do whatever else I can (house painting, roofing, carpentry, dance calling, et cetera) to make ends meet.
I value your comments, whether it is constructive criticism or you just want to say "hi" Just click this link to Contact Patrick.
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