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Dear Performers,
Here are details you’ll need for performing at CFCD.
📆 Request/Offer to Perform
We hire callers, bands and sound engineers. To apply, email us. The homepage has a calendar at the bottom with TBE indicating available dates.
🗺️ Location
Temple Beth El is at 400 Deering Ave Portland, ME. The outside doors stay locked and it is a strict rule for this venue that we never prop the door open. Someone will open the door for you. There is plenty of parking in the dedicated lot or on the street. Feel free to pull up to the front door to unload gear.
🎻 For the Band
Please send the sound person any special sound needs. Please arrive around 6:15pm for sound-check. We’ve been positioning bands on the dance floor (on level with dancers) but there is a stage available. Please tell us if you prefer the stage.
🔊 For the Sound Engineer
Please arrive around 6pm to setup sound. We’ve been positioning bands on the far end of the dance floor. There are electrical outlets behind the moveable wooden "walls" that hide the chairs.
Please play recorded waltz music at the break if you can. We have a modest sound system available but you’re encouraged to bring your own.
🎙️ For the Caller
Expect a high number of inexperienced dancers. We use Lark/Robin dance roles. Please run a beginner lesson and include: dance role is unrelated to gender, inviting someone to dance, declining a dance, asking what role they dance, if they prefer flourishes. The beginner lesson is usually well attended. It is helpful to encourage new dancers to dance with experienced dancers, a mixer is one way to do that. See schedule for timing.
🕖 Schedule
Timing is flexible as needed.
6:00 Organizers open the building; Sound Tech begins setup
6:15 Musicians set up and do sound check
6:30-7:00 Caller arrives
7:00 Sound check complete; Beginner lesson led by Caller (feel free to wait 5 or 10 minutes for latecomers, or if you want to do a shorter lesson).
7:30 Walk-through for the first contra begins
8:30 Announcements (Caller: Please line up dancers for the last contra of the first half, then introduce Organizer for Announcements)
8:45 Waltz and break
9:00 Second half
9:55 Last waltz
10:00 Take down/cleanup begins
11:00 The building alarm turns on automatically
❄️ Covid/Weather/Cancellation
Performers need to mask except when in the stage area. Check the weather. We will try not to cancel within 2 days of the dance.
💵 Pay
Unless otherwise discussed, every performer (musician, caller, sound tech) is promised $100 base pay plus one share of the event’s net (after expenses) profit. Historically, shares average $44. For base pay and profit share, the band is considered as at most 4 people. Individuals performing multiple roles (e.g. caller and sound combined) receive multiple base pays, but only one profit share. CFCD may also take a single share of profit. Payment is made in cash at the end of the evening. You will be asked to sign that you received your pay. We’re experimenting with paying bands by check (mailed the next day) to have fewer things to manage the night-of.
If any individual’s annual pay exceeds $600, you will be asked to fill out a W-9 and we will send you a 1099-misc at tax time.
🛏️ Housing
We're happy to find you a place to stay with one of our organizers or community members after the dance (or the Saturday before! Make a weekend of it!)
📞 Contact
The dance organizers can be reached at CommonFloorContraDance@gmail.com. If you want a live conversation or an urgent reply, call/text Alex (207-939-9971) or Hannah (860-318-6957).