Megaband 2026: Details about Playing the Dance

 

Venue: Smith Memorial Ballroom, Smith Student Union Building, 1825 SW Broadway, Portland. Enter only on Broadway. You will take the elevator or stairs to the 3rd floor where the Ballroom is located. (We can no longer use the walkway between Smith and the parking structure to enter the building although we can use it to exit.)

 

Parking: Parking Structure 1 ( PS1) is kitty corner across the street from the hall. (See attached map.) The address of the PS1 is 1872 SW Broadway. PSU is no longer using the scratch-off parking permits as we have had in years past. The weekend all-day (and evening) parking fee in PS1 is $7. You can pay at the machines inside (pay stations are located on the 1st and 2nd floors, in the SW and NW corners (nearest Broadway), or with Parking Kitty, code 81872. You can also park on the street and will only need to pay until 7:00 pm. This will probably be less expensive than parking in the structure. (Note – new street parking signs around PSU say pay until 10:00 pm on Saturdays, but this was postponed and changed back to 7:00 pm by Mayor Wilson last fall.)

 

If a situation arises the day of the dance that prevents you from attending, let me know via phone message or text: 503-348-1644. I hope this doesn’t happen!!

 

Arrival time: 5:45 pm. We will enter the hall a new way this year. As mentioned, you will take the elevator to the 3rd floor. Turn left after exiting the elevator, walk down the hall to the Vanport Room door and wait there. Be standing by that door at 5:45. Allow lots of time for parking and finding your way to the Vanport door. As soon as Erik, the set-up team, and I arrive, we will have the door unlocked and have access to the hall. The hall will be completely locked until we arrive.

 

Once in the hall, you will be directed to the secure room where your instrument cases and coats will be stored. We have volunteers lined up to watch the door to make sure no unauthorized people access the room. Once all the band coats and gear are in the room, you will need to show your button to gain access to it.

 

Take valuables with you to the stage but do not bring more on stage than you can fit under your chair.

 

Find your assigned seat. (There will be people to help). Your button and the Play Directions will be on your chair. Wear your button—this is how admissions will know you are a band member and don’t need to pay.

 

Do not adjust the fans or the lighting. They have been placed to provide the most comfort for the most people.

 

Bring to the dance:

· Water—at least a quart

· A light for your music stand if you think you might need it (the lighting for the front and middle of the band is pretty good, but the back two rows are quite dark.)

· Clothespins to hold your music down in case it is in the path of a fan

· Earplugs if you are sensitive to loud sounds—the monitors may be loud. (cont’d à)

· A cap to shield your eyes in case the lighting where you are is too bright

· Wear layers so you can adjust as the room temperature changes

· A seat cushion if you need it

· A snack if you will need that

 

Schedule of the Evening

· 5:45: Everyone standing by the door to the Vanport Room awaiting admission to the hall.

 

· 6:15: Everyone in place on the stage for the sound check. The check will be lengthy will be lengthy—one or two tunes played many times as every miked instrument is checked for sound and then the whole band is balanced for the monitors (speakers placed in front of and on the stage so that we can hear ourselves) and the floor. Occasionally there are sudden, short piercing sounds during the sound check. If you are sensitive to such noises, you may want to wear earplugs during the check.

 

· 6:45: The teaching session for newcomers to contra dance begins. There can be no tuning or plinking of instruments on the stage or in the hall during this session. You can leave the stage. It is helpful if you participate in this session as a dancer.

 

· 7:10: you will need to be back on stage. You can take a minute to tune between the teaching session and when we start to play.

 

· 7:15: The first half of the dance will begin. We will play 6 of our sets and a waltz. Heads up—there will be very little time between the end of the last set and the beginning of the waltz. See below for further description of how the dance itself will go.

 

· After the waltz: A 10-minute break. Possibly shorter if we have fallen behind schedule.

 

· After the break: We will play the schottische. If you are not back in place when we start the schottische, wait until it is over before coming back on stage.

 

· After the schottische: We will play our remaining 5 sets, the second waltz, and the polka. Again, there will be very little time between the last contra set, the waltz, and the polka. Have all of them ready to go.

 

· Finally at 10:30: Much applause and congratulations to all for a job well done.

 

· Please make a speedy exit from the stage and the hall. We have a firm midnight deadline to be completely out of the building and is crucial for our continued use of the hall. This window will be quite tight for the sound folks to pack up all their gear and be out. You will be able to exit the building via the skywalk to the parking structure (but you cannot enter the building this way).

 

· Head over to the After Party. Details about that in earlier messages.

 

How the Dancing Works

Before each of our sets, the dancers will find partners and line up. The caller will make some announcements and then walk the dancers through the figures of the dance they are about to do. The caller may walk them through the moves twice if the dancers are not catching on well enough the first time. All this will take 4 or 5 minutes, during which time we will prepare for the set we will be playing next.

 

Each dance will take around 8 or 9 minutes of our music. We will play each tune between 4 and 7 times. No one in the band will play every time through every tune except the miked back up, who will be playing most of the time.

 

Sections will be signaled in and out by the conductors. Our pre-arranged Variations will also be signaled by the conductors. It will be important to look at the conductor every time through every tune to see what will happen next. The signals are almost always given for what will happen the next time through the tune. For instance, if the conductor signals to play quietly, hold off on getting quiet until the beginning the next time around through the tune. Look for the signals in the B parts of the tunes and again right at the end of each tune. An exception to this timing of signals will come in Da Lounge Bar—a double-length tune (once through the tune is twice through the dance). For that tune, the signal will refer to the upcoming A and B parts or the upcoming C and D parts.

 

In the first half of the evening, we will play 6 of our contra sets and then a waltz. There is no teaching before the waltz, so we will need to quickly get ready to play it.

 

After the 10-minutes break, we will play the schottische, and then the above patten will repeat. We will play the remaining 5 of our sets, the other waltz, and the polka. Again, there will be no teaching before the waltz or the polka, so we need to be prepared to play them immediately after the last set, Reel Eugène / Turlute à Lisan Hubert.

 

Throughout the evening, be alert. If we get behind the careful schedule that Erik has worked out, we may need to shorten some of our sets. The switches may come sooner than you expect. If this happens, Gordy or I will try to let you know, but this kind of information is hard to communicate in a dance setting.