One of the California square dance organizations decided to structure
their lessons based on the frequency of which calls were used at one
of their festivals. If a call had a high frequency, it was taught
earlier in the year, giving dancers plenty of time to practice it.
It makes sense to me to approach the beginning lesson for a contra
dance in a similar fashion. Since a swing is used frequently at a
contra dance, that means spending some significant time teaching the
swing, either buzz or walking. In my opinion there are some dance
techniques/style points that must be taught for safety's sake and
swinging is one of them.
I usually teach the buzz step swing because it's just what you do if
you are physically able. Why not go for the gold? The experienced
dancers who buzz will appreciate dancing with new dancers who dances/
swing well and can buzz too.
As others have mentioned, the swing is not taught or not taught
well. That's been my experience here in Charlottesville. Having
watched many a beginning workshop here, I'm convinced that new
callers simply don't know how to teach swinging. With that said, I
encourage callers to watch other beginning workshops. There's always
something to learn. I'm always learning.
Lastly, and I hate to say this, it seems younger newbies can learn
the buzz step swing well and quickly (ok they learn EVERYTHING
QUICKER than I do). The older newbies have a much more difficult
time- like will never get it. If I have a group of older people
I'll teach the walking step swing. If they're all younger, the buzz
step swing is taught.
T
