{"items": [{"author": "Perry", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129696000012", "anchor": "fb-10100129696000012", "service": "fb", "text": "As someone who booked dances for a long time, I completely agree that these are two goals for bookers. Callers and musicians are part of the community and need live dances to develop.
As a budding caller 15 years ago, it was great to have the support of my own dance community, even if I didn't have the skills, talent, or name recognition of their favorite callers. It certainly helped me grow into a caller well liked by a lot of dancers.
Later on, when I booked bands and callers, I was hoping to mix up established talent with new talent who often wasn't as good. Dancers didn't like the newer bands and attendance wasn't as good as it was when established name bands were in town.
You definitely need a community spirit that understands that not every dance will be great, but many of the regular dances will be great and others will be mediocre. But the mediocre nights are just as important if the bands and callers are to develop to become better. Dancers need to understand that and support budding talent as much as established talent.", "timestamp": "1577825371"}, {"author": "Rebecca", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129697581842", "anchor": "fb-10100129697581842", "service": "fb", "text": "I have benefitted greatly in my development as a contra musician from BIDA\u2019s band-booking policies. Thanks for everything you are doing.", "timestamp": "1577826283"}, {"author": "Bob", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129707167632", "anchor": "fb-10100129707167632", "service": "fb", "text": "I make a priority of booking newer and/or younger talent, both callers and musicians, for the Rochester Thursday Night dance. I agree that having a place to fledgeling is so important.", "timestamp": "1577830689"}, {"author": "Wang", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272", "service": "fb", "text": "When I saw your example of booking Alex with 2/3 of Maivish (or 2/3 of Crowfoot), I wondered if BIDA was deliberately booking established bands with the proviso that they let a less experienced musician sit in for educational purposes.
The English dancers do something like that in New York. There are a few apprentice musicians and some nights we'll have an apprentice in addition to the usual musicians.
But it sounds like BIDA instead tries to put together collections of musicians, favoring less experienced ones?", "timestamp": "1577924604"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129912700742", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129912700742", "service": "fb", "text": "→ We didn't put them together; they've been playing together and asked for the gig.
But the combination of experience levels was a major thing that made me want to book them.", "timestamp": "1577926780"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129913234672", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129913234672", "service": "fb", "text": "→ When BIDA was very young I remember some amount of putting groups of people together, but I think we're not doing that anymore? Not completely sure; you'd need to talk to Julie about how she'd been doing booking.", "timestamp": "1577926829"}, {"author": "Dave", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129942461102", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129942461102", "service": "fb", "text": "→ My recollection is that we did that a few times explicitly at the beginning, and it was mostly awkward. It worked better the few times we had an established musician come do a workshop and work with a newer band or group of musicians rather than just playing a single gig. David Kaynor played one of our early dances with a group of less-established musicians and also did a workshop with them, etc, which was the only time I recall it being anything but stressful.", "timestamp": "1577930665"}, {"author": "Wang", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129943005012", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129943005012", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Oh, it sounds like I got it exactly backwards, then: BIDA tries to book existing groups, favoring those with a mixture of experience levels or with less experience across the board, and does not play matchmaker with individual musicians. Is that right?
Dave, I'm curious what went wrong the few times you tried it.", "timestamp": "1577931012"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129943628762", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129943628762", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Dave looking back at the booking spreadsheet, it looks to me like \"book a one-off combination of mentor musicians and mentee musicians\" was the first six dances, and then progressively less often with the last one that looks like this being 2010-11-21 at PACC (which I think came from asking Edward who he would like to play with?)", "timestamp": "1577931187"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129943913192", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129943913192", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Wang \"BIDA tries to book existing groups, favoring those with a mixture of experience levels or with less experience across the board, and does not play matchmaker with individual musicians. Is that right?\"
That's more of a Julie question. I know how I think of it, and what I'm planning on doing for the next few dances, but I'm just taking this on (and ideally only temporarily)", "timestamp": "1577931286"}, {"author": "Jeff Kaufman", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129943988042", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129943988042", "service": "fb", "text": "→ But yes, that's my impression of Julie's approach, and what I'm planning on doing.", "timestamp": "1577931348"}, {"author": "Dave", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129945045922", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129945045922", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Wang, I found it awkward asking established musicians to play with particular young musicians we were hoping would be mentored. That wasn't the model we used exclusively-- we were trying out a bunch of different things. We usually asked either the mentee or mentor who they wanted to play with but people often weren't available or sometimes literally everybody wanted to play with Max and we felt weird about trying to book him every month for six months.", "timestamp": "1577931884"}, {"author": "Julie", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129946637732", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129946637732", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Hello! Jeff's description isn't exactly how I've been booking for the last 10 years - there are more nuances to it - but I don't have time right now to explain. Look out for a future blog post or something!", "timestamp": "1577932875"}, {"author": "Wang", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100129953963052", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100129953963052", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Dave, thanks, that makes sense.
Julie, no problem.", "timestamp": "1577937056"}, {"author": "Audrey", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100130012076592", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100130012076592", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Jeff Kaufman when I was first starting out, BIDA asked Larry Unger and Eden if I could sit in with them as part of the musician mentorship program. Not sure how they felt about being asked if a stranger could play with them, but I\u2019m really really glad they let me!", "timestamp": "1577991004"}, {"author": "Dave", "source_link": "https://www.facebook.com/jefftk/posts/10100129690276482?comment_id=10100129894971272&reply_comment_id=10100130038568502", "anchor": "fb-10100129894971272_10100130038568502", "service": "fb", "text": "→ Audrey, if I recall right, Larry and Eden had heard about you when they played in Hawaii and were excited about it. They may have been the people I heard about you from in the first place, although I'm not sure if that's how Julie heard of you.
Weird to think of how long ago that seems. We were kids just out of (or in your case, just starting) college. Really incredible amount of time for Julie to put in the awesome service she did in booking for BIDA.", "timestamp": "1578000567"}]}