> What recommendations do you have to prepare dancers for end effects when they > are not used to anything more than "cross over and wait?"
Make sure they hear and respond positively to special instructions. As an example, the improper duple minor dance "Round the Horn" by Walter Lenk requires dancers waiting out at the ends to refrain from trading places until they have interacted with a shadow dancer, at which point they must trade places before the cycle of the dance begins again. After I have taught the dance I will say something like this: "In all the dances we have done tonight, you have been so good at quickly trading places with your partner at the ends. But 'Round the Horn' is not a dance that rewards efficiency in trading places..." and then I tell them what to do while waiting out. Having just received a compliment for the style in which they have danced the previous dances, the crowd is listening closely when I tell them that "Round the Horn" is a special case - and so there will be no mix-ups at the ends of the sets.
