My local group stays consistently "advanced beginner", so this question is relevant to me.
The most important rule I've learned is- the more figures, the more confusing to newbies. Dances like "Woods Hole Jig" by Tony Parkes, or "The Baby Rose", by David Kaynor, have the simplest of moves, and not too many of them. Before the break, I might add a figure or two, as in "Airpants" by Lisa Greenleaf. After the break, one or two with a few more, with perhaps some unfamiliar/less traditional figures- as in "Stoolies Jig" by Cammie Kaynor. Towards the end of the evening, as dancers are getting tired, I'll throw in a square dance or two, and almost always end with the wonderful Running Set concept, ending with a Spiral Dance (I didn't participate in that recent discussion because everything I wanted to say got said, and better, by others). The-other-Allison On Tue, Mar 14, 2023 at 9:16 AM Julian Blechner via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > Recovery time. > > Al's Safeway has none. > > Look for dances with swings over 8 beats, long lines, "0 moves" where > dancers wind up in the same spot. > > On Tue, Mar 14, 2023, 12:43 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I've been calling less than a year, so I'm still learning. One problem I >> have is that, when looking at a written-out dance, I'm consistently >> underestimating the difficulty for newbies. My group is about 50% newbies >> every week, and it isn't large, usually about 20 dancers at peak. Last >> week, I thought Al's Safeway Produce would be accessible, as it has just >> allemande, swing, circle, long lines, and star. But, the star-to-star >> progression was more than they could do, because the stars were poorly >> synchronized and we're gender-neutral, so people didn't realize whether the >> people coming at them were the right ones to dance with or not, and stars >> quickly started having the wrong members and the wrong number of members. >> (I should have given up after six walkthroughs, I didn't, and that's >> another lesson learned.) >> >> So, I'm looking for a better set of rules to identify an easy dance than >> the set I'm currently using, which is basically: glossary moves only, >> mostly connected moves, and enough recovery moves (long swings, etc.). A >> recent thread generated a list of such dances, which has been useful. But, >> I'm going through lists of dances people like (like the ones posted on this >> list, the CDNY list that Bob Isaacs compiled, and others posted online) and >> looking for ones I can call to my group, especially early in the night. >> What would you add to this list of rules that, if satisfied, indicate a >> dance is likely easy-peasy? >> >> Easy-Peasy Dances Suitable for New Dancers Right Out of the Lesson... >> >> Have only very basic moves found in most dances, or at most one more that >> is simple to teach. >> Have mostly connected moves. >> Have at least two moves where dancers can recover from recent mistakes >> (e.g., balance and swing). >> Don't spin too much (at most one 16-count swing, better none). >> Are improper or possibly Beckett (if the dance is quite simple). >> Keep the dancers within their minor set until the progression. >> Have a simple progression. >> Have a progression where the neighbors are likely to be there. >> Have a progression that recovers easily if messed up (e.g., followed by >> recovery move). >> Progress at the end of the dance. >> >> What else to add? >> >> Thanks, >> >> --jh-- >> Joe Harrington >> Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance >> Faculty Advisor, Contra Knights, the UCF contra dancing club >> contraknights.org >> FB, Ig: Contra Knights >> [email protected] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] >> To unsubscribe send an email to >> [email protected] >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] > -- www.huntandallison.net [email protected] www.centralhallcommons.org
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