On 2/10/2014 10:18 AM, Bill Olson wrote:
When the "swing" comes up, I'll often say "hook right elbows, or take 2 hands, or any other swing you
like to do and just be careful not to *hurt* anybody else". That usually takes care of it. Sometimes I'm brave and
just say "swing!" and most will automatically hook elbows, the rest either do the swing they like to do (like
a regular contradance buzz-step swing), or look around and do what looks like it makes sense.. As the evening
progresses, there will be a bit of a learning curve. It's hardly ever a problem.. DEFINITELY don't spend a lot of time
TEACHING "how to do it right" here or any other time unless in a REALLY rare situation the dancers get into
it and want that..
bill
Yep. I usually demonstrate a whole bunch of different ways to swing (it
takes about 10 seconds) and then encourage them to try lots of different
things to see what they like. Demonstrations can cut way down on
talking time.
Kalia
