Thursday Contra Dances at The Concord Scout House
1st and 3rd Thursdays, 7:30-10:00 PM
Thanks again for being a part of NEFFA’s Thursday contra series in Concord. Those of you who are band contacts please share this information with your group!
LOCATION
Concord Scout House, 74 Walden Street, Concord, MA
https://www.neffa.org/thursday-contras/
There are three performer parking spaces down the drive to the right of the front door (the left space is for the sound tech). Please park tightly so that three cars can get in. Note: The side entrance near the church is not to be used for equipment loading due to tracked-in debris damaging the floor finish.
COVID PRECAUTIONS
- Masks must be worn properly at all times. Acceptable masks are N95, KN95, or KF94. Callers may wear a surgical mask for calling, but then please switch to better protection when off stage. Wind players please contact the committee ahead of time; after checking with your bandmates, we would most likely require same-day testing if you can’t wear a mask.
SPECIAL INFORMATION FOR CALLERS
Please read our caller guidelines at http://www.neffa.org/Thursday/caller_info.html
SET UP AND SOUND
We have an assigned Dance Manager who will introduce themselves upon your arrival. Feel free to communicate with them during the evening.
You have some options for handling sound for your evening, but generally Dereck Kalish provides the sound:
- Dereck Kalish (dereckkalish@gmail.com) provides his own equipment, which includes a Berhinger XR16 digital mixer, and all-RCF speakers: four monitors, two mains, and a subwoofer.
- When Dereck isn’t available, we have other sound technicians on call. Most likely they will be using our house system, augmented by their own equipment. The house system includes a QSC Touch-mix 16 channel board. We have three powered monitor speakers (two FBT Jolly 8ba’s and one Behringer Eurolive B208D). In addition, we could hook up one or two passive EV 100S as additional monitors, if needed. All monitors have independent mixes. The house speakers are older, but well-maintained 2-way speakers with 15″ woofers.
- Provide your own sound. We give you an additional $75 if you provide sound yourself. Our experience is that unless you provide a full-time person to monitor sound, the quality of the resulting sound is usually below average.
In any instance where we do not control the sound, we may make suggestions to the sound engineer with respect to the mix and volume.
Please let Dereck or your other sound tech know if you have special sound requirements.
A few days before the dance, you’ll get a reminder about the upcoming event, as well as an invitation to provide (via a webpage) an inventory of sound equipment needs for your group. Please have the appropriate member of your group respond to that request, as it makes for a more relaxing setup, especially if the band’s arrival is delayed.
SCHEDULE
There is a beginner lesson at 7:10, as needed. The dance starts at 7:30.
The first half ends with a waltz somewhere around 9:00. The break lasts about 10-12 minutes; it’s up to the band, in communication with the caller, to get things started again. At the beginning of the second half, dancers expect a hambo or other couple dance, although you may just start up with a contra if the band would rather; ask a committee member for guidance on this if you have questions.
We have a “soft” 10 PM stop; we leave the exact timing up to the performers, but we do expect to have the sound off by 10:20 PM.
PAYMENT
We assume that all performers will be happy with an equal split. Our policy allows a caller who is teamed up with a musical group larger than a trio to request to be paid 1/4th the available performer money, with the band splitting the remaining 3/4 (in other words, a larger share for the caller). It is our experience that virtually all callers are happy with an equal split, but if you’d like a different arrangement, please notify the Dance Manager before the break that evening.
The available pay per person is a guarantee plus bonus (for sufficient attendance). The guarantee depends on the number of performers:
3 $130 per person
4 $120 per person
5 $110 per person
6 $100 per person
6+ $100 per person
HOUSING
Most performers either live within easy driving distance or have friends with whom they can stay. If you would like help in finding hospitality, please let Lisa Greenleaf know at least two weeks before your date.
PROBLEMS
If there is any question of a bad weather cancellation, or if any other problem presents itself, check in with Dereck Kalish or Lisa Greenleaf. In an emergency on the night of the dance, you can call Dereck (cell) 617-233-3005 or the Scout House kitchen phone 978-369-3455.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Please contact any of the following if you have any questions during the evening: Dereck Kalish (Chair), Lisa Greenleaf, Terry Huffaker, Dan Pearl, and Sue Rosen.