one thing i have done is give a lesson to a friend BEFORE going to the
dance. if you're travelling together, pick him/her up about 10 minutes
early and teach a swing. if you can manage, explain/teach a courtesy turn
(easier with more people, but possible with just the two of you).
if they know how to swing and know that ladies are almost always on the
right at the end of almost every figure, pretty much everything else can be
learned at the dance.
as a caller, i like people to tell me they've brought beginners, especially
if i don't get to teach a beginners' class. truthfully, most of the time -
i can tell!!
also as a caller, i make a point of saying something like "who's new to the
dance tonight? raise your hand! welcome to the party! everybody say hello
to our new friends..." or something like that. then i very specifically ask
the "experienced" male dancers to help by NOT twirling any woman that they
don't already know. "let everybody figure out which way they're going
before you add too much stuff, ok? thanks so much for your help!" if i see
guys spinning new ladies around, i'm not shy about talking to them between
dances (or even when they're out at the top of the line.)
as far as booking - i definitely go and ask all my favorite
beginner-friendly dancers to help out, at least for the first half of the
dance. guys who live to twirl their partners are NOT on this list. dancers
who are always on time for the next figure are at the top of this list.
as a caller, i think of myself as a "party hostess". it's my job to see
that everyone has the opportunity to have a good time at the dance - i can't
force them to have a good experience, but there are a lot of things i can do
to see to it that the environment is right.
if someone at the dance snags your friend and tries to teach them to swing,
or whatever, in a way that you don't think is right, explain to your friend
that everybody has their own way of doing things and there's room for a lot
of creativity at the dance. then say "i think this is a better way to
swing" and teach them again.
barb
http://www.barbkirchner.us
----Original Message Follows----
From: Chris Weiler <[email protected]>
To: Shared Weight <[email protected]>
Subject: [Callers] Fwd: Contra dance guests and booking ahead
List-Post: [email protected]
Date: Tue, 22 Nov 2005 08:15:44 -0500
A fellow dancer sent this question to me and thought it would be a good
thing to discuss. As dancers on the floor, how far do we go to protect
the friends that we bring from the less pleasant side of the contra
dance scene and provide them with a more pleasant experience?
Chris
>I was wondering if I could ask your both your thoughts
>and/or provoke a discussion on the callers discussion
>list.
>
>Last night I brought a guest to the VFW, who had never
>contra danced before. When I have done this before I
>have usually been able to teach them a few basic
>steps, dance the first couple of dances with them,
>then let them (and myself!) loose to dance with
>whomever. But last night I first went to the restroom,
>and came out to find someone teaching my friend the
>basics. I had no problem with this as such, but, as
>far as I could gather from everyone elses reaction, he
>wasnt a particularly good dancer, and I noticed from
>then on that my guest seemed to be quite a magnet for
>so-so dancers. So this leads to a question of - what
>should I have done? Made lots of booking for her with
>guys I know are good dancers? I also wasn't quite sure
>what to do about the person who was showing her the
>steps - I think it is a good part of the scene that
>people notice new faces and try to get them into the
>dance, but what can you do if you realise those same
>people aren't the best introduction, especially if you
>dont want to be rude by telling them they aren't a
>good enough dancer, etc. He was quite persistent about
>trying to dance with her later, which she was trying
>to avoid.
>
>There is also the inherent problem of - I know who the
>good female dancers are, but who the good male dancers
>are is more from an impression or reputation.
>
>Any thoughts appreciated! Actually I had hoped to
>bring another couple of people last night, one of whom
>is truely statuesque, and would I am sure have
>produced a feeding frenzy amongst the male (and
>perhaps some of the female!) dancers...
>
>
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