On 9/4/2012 8:45 AM, Maia McCormick wrote:
Hey folks,
My name is Maia, and I'm new to this listserv, though I've been lurking
around for a few weeks. I call college dances at my school in Western Mass,
and every now and then I do an area dance. I've got two questions for your
collective wisdom.
The first: I'm curious how you all put together programs when calling for a
group of complete beginners. What's generally the progression of moves that
you teach? Do you think dances with the most basic of moves (say, a dance
that's all circles, stars, and long lines, not even a partner swing) are
helpful in getting people oriented to dancing, or are trivial and boring
and will make people think contra is dumb?
Even a super simple dance with the most basic of moves can be huge fun
to dance with good music and good company, and a simple dance can give
your group that feeling of "I got it!" that will keep them coming back.
Progression can be a tough one for large crowds that are all
beginners, so you might consider some of the older proper contras first
to avoid the "crossing over at the ends" complication. It's a tough
balance, as you've found, to make it simple enough to be approachable
but not so simple as to be unappealing.
There are lots of community dances with swings that are a lot of fun,
and one that pops to mind for your group is Le Brandy. It's a set dance
for up to 12 couples, with very easy figures and a rowdy swing. Best
with French-Canadian tunes.
A1 Right elbow turn, left elbow turn
A2 Dosido right shoulder, Dosido left shoulder (ending very close,
back-to-back or "cheek to cheek")
B1 Everyone yells "Un, deux, trois, poussez!" and on "poussez" you
bootie-bump your partner and then turn around and swing.
B2 1s boogie down the center of the set to the bottom and everyone else
moves up.
The yelling, bumping and swinging are all silly enough to get the energy
up, and it's a good way to practice the swings without any other complex
stuff around them. I use this one for all sorts of crowds and it's
loads of fun.
The second, which ties into the first: how do you teach good contra
etiquette--*especially* how to swing properly--when you don't have
experienced people in the crowd to show the way?
Can you find one person to act as your partner in crime? Someone who
you can coach privately until you're both swinging like pros, and then
use that person to help you demonstrate? Just _seeing_ a smooth,
gorgeous swing can get the idea across for some folks. Others need more
help, but a good demonstration partner might make a big difference.
Demos are an incredibly effective teaching tool.
Kalia
