Barb - love it! I also like the Becky Hill Method. I take the other person (lady or gent) in a two-hand turn position and get us to walk around each other the way we did when we were kids trying to get dizzy (feeling the centrifugal force). If I don't overdo it, I always get a smile. Once I get the smile, I pull into a ballroom hold and suggest that they get "the same feeling" while joined this way. Takes twenty seconds, sometimes more if I need to help them get a bit of bend and tension in their arms or readjust the ballroom hold a bit.
For me, the centrifugal force, balanced by the springiness of our common muscle tension, is what it's all about, though I wish I had a more poetic way to put that. :-) M E On Thu, Sep 1, 2011 at 1:42 PM, barb kirchner <[email protected]>wrote: > > maybe you haven't seen how i teach a swing. > > i start with allemande left and right, making good physical and eye contact > with your partner, etc. then i have them get into allemande right position, > next to each other and feet pointed opposite directions. i tell them that > their feet do the same thing in a swing as an allemande right, it's just the > top part of the body that's in a different position. > > from here, i teach ballroom position. while the gents "hold their place", > the ladies put their left hand over the gents' shoulder and lean back very > gently. if they can't hold themselves up, their hand is in the wrong place. > then i place the gents' hands and point out to the ladies that if it's > uncomfortable they should tell the gent, as he probably won't know if you > don't tell him. communicate!! > > the other hands are the "pointy hands". push gently against those pointy > hands and make a connection with your partner. look at your partner and > walk FORWARD, NEVER BACKWARDS. > > i think teaching the swing will DOES teach those points. > > > > > Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 13:59:17 -0400 > > From: [email protected] > > To: [email protected] > > Subject: Re: [Callers] Implied Messages in First-Timer's Orientation > (Was: Head Mikes and Mike Heads) > > > > I agree the swing should be taught well, but I am curious, Barb, why you > > would not provide the dancer(s) with the main tool that will help them > > through all those figures we didn't teach, connection through shared > > weight and eye contact? > > Andrea > > > > On 9/1/2011 12:41 PM, barb kirchner wrote: > > > if i had just five minutes: > > > > > > 1. teach the swing, teach it well. point out that the person always > ends up on the right or left (dep on gender) and drill that in. tell them > that if whoever they're dancing with doesn't put them on the appropriate > side, just go there. then i emphasize that in teaching the first few dances > (end that swing/right and left through/promenade/etc. wtih the gents on the > left, etc). i also point out to them that the place where they swing their > partner can be considered their "recovery point" if they get lost - just go > to that place and wait and everything will be ok. now they have two ways to > self-correct on the dance floor, which is empowering and tends to diminish > that "frozen" feeling. i mention the recovery point during the walk-throughs > of the first couple dances as a reminder. > > > > > > 2. the caller's in charge of crowd control, anything that goes wrong is > the CALLER's (MY) fault. take the pressure off. > > > > > > 3. it's a party - let's go have some fun! > > > > > > at the end of every class i teach, i have a huddle, a round of > applause, ask them if they're ready to dance (make them yell "yes") - more > like a pep rally than a class. in fact, i think of myself as the party > hostess. i can't MAKE anyone have a good time, but if i'm a good hostess > i'll set up the right situation so that everyone CAN have a good time. the > biggest part of that is getting people to relax, and that means YOU have to > be relaxed. > > > > > > *********************** > > > > > > most useful thing i EVER did to increase my calling skills was to start > calling for non-dancers, ie wedding and birthday parties. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >> Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 12:16:10 -0400 > > >> From: [email protected] > > >> To: [email protected] > > >> Subject: Re: [Callers] Implied Messages in First-Timer's Orientation > (Was: Head Mikes and Mike Heads) > > >> > > >> If I just had 5 minutes with a new dancer, I would teach three things: > > >> 1) We are all here to enjoy each other and the dance. Have Fun! 2) > Your > > >> greatest survival tool is a firm connection through your hands to your > > >> body. Keep some tension in your arm so people can help guide you > > >> through the dance. Floppies=no connection=no help. Eye contact > > >> functions the same way. (OK, that might be slipping a spare in). 3) > > >> Swing. We do lots and lots of it, so it would be good to understand > how > > >> it works. You and everyone else will enjoy the dance more if this part > > >> works well. Obviously, if I get to do a real lesson, many of the > points > > >> Michael, Greg and David make are ones i would touch on. Many of the > > >> basic figure will be accessible to new dancers simply by observing the > > >> rest of the dancers. Little teaching is needed for them. CT is a bit > > >> counter-intuitive for some, but figures will come if you give the > dancer > > >> and open mind and a little survival technique. > > >> Andrea > > >> _______________________________________________ > > >> Callers mailing list > > >> [email protected] > > >> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > > Callers mailing list > > > [email protected] > > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > [email protected] > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > -- As you set out for Ithaka, pray that your journey be long, full of adventure, full of discovery... May there be many summer mornings when, with what pleasure, with what joy, you enter harbors you're seeing for the first time. ~Constantine Cavafy, "Ithaka" 1911
