Tavi wrote: > This might be a little stretch, but due to a conversation with a colleague > about "what makes a good program", i've given a bit of thought lately to > the question of integrating newcomers vis-a-vis the (common?) programming > model that suggests a caller should focus more on neighbor interaction > early on, with partner-heavy dances later in the evening. In the > theoretical stages right now, but here goes... >
Yes. It is a "little stretch," but one that we need very much. Your post is quite brilliant! This represents exactly the kind of deep and strategic thinking we need from callers to keep contra dances a living tradition for our children. Good work! More neighbor interaction early is an excellent tactic. By the same token less partner interaction would have a similar effect. Both tend to lower what I call "partnering pressure" which is that feeling that you need to focus on finding the "right" partner, or any partner quickly, so as to insure you and your partner will have fun in the next dance. There may be a good reason that more neighbor interaction early is a "common" programming model that has emerged. Lowering partnering pressure fosters a more generous and welcoming spirit by keeping the focus on the entire community. I would caution, however, that there is no need to "confound" the efforts of any dancer. When first-timers are well-integrated into the hall the walk-throughs are shorter or non-existent, there is more time both to socialize and to dance, and everyone has more fun. As soon as they get a sense of what you are doing--and see that you can, in fact, do it well during the first dance--all of the dancers will be with you. You can assume their full support and there is no need to set up an adversarial relationship by "springing" anything on them. This is why I never use "tricks", "ploys," or "gimmicks" to manipulate the dancers. I want to maintain a mutually-respectful and supportive relationship with the dancers. Making the evening "work" at a contra dance is a collaborative effort of the caller working with the regular dancers. I see "cliquishness" as the actions of good people who are working to have fun for themselves as well as for their partner when the situation on the floor is not being handled well by a responsible caller. (It's always the caller's fault.) By changing the environment in subtle ways the caller can have a significant influence over how the dancers behave. I would love to hear any other ideas you have about encouraging the integration of newcomers at open, public dances. - Greg McKenzie ******************** > Some dance organizations/communities (applause!!) have been quite > successful in creating a culture where experienced dancers identify > themselves in some way and/or actively seek out newbies with whom to > partner, at least early in the evening. In such a situation, it strikes me > that choosing choreography which emphasizes neighbor interaction may > undercut these dancers' efforts; when experienced dancers have successfully > partnered with newbies, using the choreography to help them teach by > emphasizing partner interaction - in swings, california twirl, promenade > across, R&L through, hey, et cetera - might be a way for the caller to > amplify the efforts of a proactively integrative dance culture. (Perhaps > arcing from partner emphasis at the start, to neighbor emphasis as newbies > become more integrated, and back to partner towards the end?) As was said, > announcing a mixer well in advance would also ensure that proactive dancers > aren't being undercut by caller choices. > > On the flip side, dance communities/cultures that tend to be cliquey are > often also less open to mixers. In this situation i would think emphasizing > neighbor interaction to be very important, and if a mixer was viable (eg > not too much a threat to the caller's social capital), i would tend to > "spring" it on the dancers so as to confound cliquey dancers' partnering > practices. > > The bottom line emerging for me is that programming choices should work in > concert with what's happening on the floor - amplifying the efforts of > proactive dancers, confounding cliquishness when possible - and to some > extent rely on substantial knowledge or observation of the dancers' > partnering behaviors - but these are just half-formed thoughts... > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
