here's what i do, and i'm pretty happy with my routine. all
comments/questions are welcome.
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ask people if they've ever been to a dance before. explain that it's a
party - we're just here to have fun. say: if you've ever turned on the
stereo in your house and walked around in time to the music, well, that's
what we're going to do tonight. sometimes you walk around by yourself,
sometimes with somebody else, sometimes you're just waiting for it to be
your turn to walk around in time to the music...
teach swing first. demo balance/swing. everybody gets a partner. take
hands as if for two-hand turn, talk about giving weight. two hands
together, everybody turn to your own left - right feet close to partner's
right feet, etc., etc. walk forward - nobody ever walks backwards or slides
sideways during swing. now teach ballroom hold - emphasize that ladies put
their hands behind gents' shoulder and hold on - ladies are responsible for
carrying their own weight during the swing, otherwise guys' arms will fall
off by the end of the evening.
i NEVER teach a buzz step to beginners - just tell them to walk. but i demo
swing with someone where i walk and they buzz - it works fine. tell them to
just walk - at some point they'll feel how the buzz step works and they
should go ahead and try it out. explain to ladies what to do if
semi-experienced show-off guys try to twirl them or swing too fast.
teach balance. have everyone turn same direction as you, say something
like: people will do lots of things for a balance. here's one that's
guaranteed not to injure anyone. step forward on right, then left. back on
left, back with right. repeat three times. face partner, balance. demo
b/s again - then have them do it while you call it, as if during dance.
tell them you will always let them know which way to end the swing during a
walkthru, and that means the "pointy hands". have them swing and face down,
swing and face up, swing and face you. note that if they end with "pointy
hands" facing correct direction and let go those hands, ladies will always
be on the right ("ladies always go on the right because ladies are always
right", it's easy to remember, etc., etc. - anything entertaining/humerous
can go here - just say something so that they will REMEMBER that LADIES GO
ON THE RIGHT).
practice the swing until you think they've really got it.
line 'em up, explain hands four, ones and twos, etc. whole numbers mean you
always end where you start - have them circle left 1x, circle right 1x.
face N, face P, face N, face P - emphasize orientation.
teach DSD, allemande. DSD 1x with P, end where started. DSD 1x with N.
repeat. teach allemande. alle P 1x, alle N 1x - always end where started.
now get into fractions - DSD N 1 1/2 - change places - say hello to new N.
circle L 1x, circle R 1x, DSD P 1x, alle R N 1 1/2, FACE NEW NEIGHBOR.
repeat this with some variations several times so they understand
progression.
teach long lines f/b. teach promenade - LADIES NOTE which direction they
turn. teach R/L thru - LADIES turn same direction!! be very clear about
courtesy turn. repeat these three or four times. note that promenade and
r/l thru are figures that allow COUPLES to trade places. a chain allows
LADIES to trade places.
teach ladies chain - LADIES TURN SAME DIRECTION, SAME COURTESY TURN.
call "dance" (do lots of swings!) - various figures that cause people to
progress occasionally, just the few things you've taught. just repeat these
few figures until they're really comfortable.
tell everyone they're officially contra dancers now, explain hands
four/walkthru/new partners/etc. if anything goes wrong, it's th caller's
fault (of course, if it works, the caller also gets all the credit :-).
encourage them to ask experienced dancers to dance, and to find a partner
quickly and get at the head of the line.
TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF on complicated figures by telling them WHERE TO END.
let 'em know it's ok if they're confused, that you're watching out for them,
that if things go wrong it's not their fault.
i NEVER teach a hey in a beginner's class. if they can swing and know how
to do a courtesy turn and aren't confused about general orientation, that's
what's important. i repeat the basics many times in the class because
that's 90% of what we do.
TEACHING A HEY - i always do it during the walk-thru. i usually line up a
foursome that i know can do a hey. i tell them do demo it twice, once
correctly, once completely wrong. i explain that it's ok to wander around
as long as no one is injured, AS LONG AS EVERYONE ENDS UP IN THE RIGHT
PLACE. i always do a dance with a full hey so they can END WHERE THEY
START. compliment them during the dance when they try "both kinds" of hey.
sooner or later, everyone will get it when they run into people who actually
know how to do it. TAKE THE PRESSURE OFF on complicated figures by telling
them WHERE TO END. let 'em know it's ok if they're confused, that you're
watching out for them, that if things go wrong it's not their fault (yes, i
know i repeated that - it's important).
after the first dance of the evening - ask how many people are new, welcome
them to the party/dance. ask the "experienced male" dancers to help you out
by not spinning new ladies around during the first half of the dance - give
them a chance to get oriented first. this usually works pretty well.
***************
i've seen plenty of other good beginner's workshops that are different from
mine. this is what i'm comfortable with.
i ALWAYS ask to teach the beginner's class at every dance i call. sometimes
they give me the option of not teaching, sometimes they prefer to teach it
themselves (such as glen echo and river falls). i ALWAYS ask to teach
anyway. community building is important, and a good class is the first step
in making newbies feel good about the dance community.
at least once a week, i "rehearse" my beginner's class - talk through the
whole sequence in my head, just to make sure i won't forget anything when i
actually get to the dance.
i'm interested to hear what other people do, and any comments about my
routine.
barb
http://www.barbkirchner.us
