There are usually two of us – that is myself and my trusty long time assistant-and-friend, Sam McGeorge.
Sam works on the dance floor, directing the “traffic”, and generally seeing that things run smoothly. She is also a caller in her own right, and can run Barn Dance evenings when I am unable to do so.
We provide:
an excellent sound system
a caller who runs the whole evening
an assistant to help on the floor
music on an ipod
We do not provide:
lights or
décor, or
hay bales
catering
venue
Format of the evening:
a maximum of 3 X 30 minute sets of dancing. During each set we usually do 3 different dances. If you want shorter sessions we can also do 4 X 20 min sessions.
during the breaks we play background music, which has a Western theme. Please note that we are not equipped to be DJ's, although we are happy to plug in your playlist if you prefer.
Tailor-made evening run to suit the people we are working for.
“ When my son, a 3rd year student at UCT, said that he wanted to have a Barn Dance for his 21st birthday party I must admit I was sceptical. How would a bunch of hip and hot young academics take to dressing up and spending the evening skipping and hopping about the dance floor? (Not to mention the family members, most of whom are in the late 50’s age group).
Well, what a terrific evening was had by all. Everyone “came to the party” and dressed up in cowboy dress, young and old alike. Caroline Blundell’s operation is slick and professional, taking a minimum of time to set up. She and her assistant, the charming Samantha, had their hands full with an excitable group of 20-somethings, but we were soon all doing the moves and having fun. I couldn’t understand why my jaw was aching until I realized that I was laughing more than I’ve done in ages!
The sets of dances were spaced to accommodate speeches, meals, and just plain “rest time” and we finished our last set at three minutes to pumpkin-time. Many of the students came to me afterwards and said how much they had enjoyed the evening. It was something completely different where everyone got to meet everyone else and it was an evening that I, certainly, will remember for a long time!”
