If it were me I'd be inclined to do it somewhat differently. (The
suggestions that have been made so far
are just fine, though.)
First night:
Circassian Circle Mixer
(Or some other super-easy mixer with a swing in it. Teaches listening
to the caller, doing things to the phrase, ending swings with the lady
on the left, gets them used to changing partners rather than dancing
only with the one they came in with. Since it's not a one-night stand
dance - that is, they're supposed to learn something - you want them
doing a contra-dance swing; this gets the experienced contra dancers
into the arms of as many people as possible right away. Swings are
easier to do right once you've felt them being done right.) This is a
dance that doesn't fail, so they'll feel successful right away. Pretty
much immune to tune choice so long as the band is clear about phrasing.
Big Circle
A1: Forward and back twice
A2: Women to center and back to place
Men to center and back to woman originally on his left (not partner).
B1: They swing
B2: Promenade around, open to to big circle.
[You might want to just have them swing their first partner and open up
facing in, and then tell them that they're done with that person and the
next partner is in their other hand]
Some kind of Sicilian Circle ideally with a partner swing and a neighbor
swing. Gets them used to improper formation but without having to deal
with action at the ends of the set. (Although it's not totally ideal, I
often use "Soldier's Joy", mostly because it's a Civil War era version
and I use it when I'm calling Civil War dances and then I don't have to
remember something else when I'm calling contras.) Ladies chain along
rather than across the set is unusual but not terribly difficult. I'm
certainly open to suggestions for better sicilian circle dances for this
purpose. This give some opportunity to discuss giving weight.
SOLDIER'S JOY.
Sicilian Circle ("As for Spanish Dance") - that means facing the other
couple, gent on the left, lady on the right.
32-bar reel. The name tune is the best.
A1: 1-4: Forward and back
5-8: Opposites turn two hands (no progression), open facing partner
A2: 1-8: Partners balance &swing, face other couple
B1: 1-8: Ladies chain over and back (along the line).
B2: 1-8: Forward and back, forward and pass through.
Then Simplicity Swing (because they already know most of the bits and
the bits they don't know are circle, star, and do-si-do, which are
things many people think they know how to do even before their first
contra dance.)
SIMPLICITY SWING
(by Becky Hill)
Improper contra
Figs: NB&S:CL3/4:PS:LLF&B:LC:LHS:NNDSD:
A1: Neighbor Balance and Swing
A2: Circle left 3/4;
partner swing
B1: Long lines forward and back;
ladies chain
B2: left hand star;
next neighbor do si do
And then you can do the rest of the evening with easy to intermediate
longways dances.
Repeat this pattern (with different mixer and different Sicilian Circle)
the next time to get the brand new dancers swung and sweaty before they
have to learn much.
-- Alan
On 2/24/2014 8:50 AM, Ben Hornstein wrote:
Greetings fellow callers,
My graduate school's social dance club is going to be having a Contra
night, which I will be calling. I was hoping to get some advice on how to
structure the evening. Here's what I'm expecting:
Two 2 hour events, on March 3 and 10
20-30 people, with maybe 5-8 who have danced contra before at all, 1-3 who
I would consider experts
The second week will most likely have people who did not come the first week
Minimal live band (who I have worked with before)
Here's what I'm thinking so far:
1st dance: something simple without any swing to teach a few of the most
basic moves
2nd dance: teach the swing, do an easy dance
remaining dances: teach one new move before each dance, then do a dance
that incorporates that move
2nd week: plan a generally easy program, but review moves as they come up
(for those who missed the first week)
I'm hoping for suggestions of specific dances that I should use, and ways
to teach and handle a group with very few experienced dancers. How do I
prevent the whole thing from falling apart? In general, I think they'll be
more tolerant towards additional teaching time because it's billed more as
a lesson than a dance. (Last month they had a salsa lesson which went on
for 2 hours before they turned on the music.) I'm hoping that the fact that
these are mostly graduate/medical students who have done other forms of
social dance before will help greatly, but any and all advice is welcome.
Sincerely,
Ben Hornstein
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