One way I like to teach no/loose thumbs is with the line "you are a delicate rose, not a Venus flytrap," after explaining why it can be dangerous and uncomfortable to have grippy-thumbs. It always gets a chuckle, and I think makes the point more memorable.
My friend Tess Dawkins came up with that line, btw. It's one of my favorites to pull out 😊 On Wed, Jul 17, 2024, 17:25 Julian Blechner via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > Good hand placement on swings > > No/loose thumbs > > Flourishes are optional > > How to accept or decline a basic Twirl > > Looking at the other dancer even if no eye contact > > Opportunities for eye contact - especially in dances where you can connect > and one role follows the other without contact > > Looping wide where appropriate (hey for four, other various examples where > one role has momentum and can flow into another move) > > Good shared weight, especially for beginner crowds > > End effects, as relevant and not intuitive from the choreo > > How to properly do a pushback in a ricochet hey > > Spinning the correct way in a petro spin > > How a courtesy turn is two people moving as a unit, not one person > scooping the other around > > 1 step per beat of music, forwards usually - (newbs love to side shuffle > on swings, ya know?) > > When a move has extra time to fill, or arrive early, etc > > Asking people who sat out to dance > > A swing should be smooth, not skipping > > Optional swings (like the Shadow thread, or a same role alle R in the > middle, sometimes) > > After walking through a few connected moves, conveying how to flow them > together > > Prolly more, but, I'll stop here. :) > > In dance, > Julian Blechner > He/him > Western Mass > > On Wed, Jul 17, 2024, 4:24 PM Harris Lapiroff via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> I’m trying to add more style points to my teaching. What are some of your >> favorite brief style or safety tips to deliver from the mic? Ones that are >> relevant to specific sequences, general tips, for beginners, or for >> experienced dancers, I’m interested in any and all of them! >> >> Harris Lapiroff >> >> Dance Caller and Organizer >> Boston Intergenerational Dance Advocates Board (Cambridge MA) >> Pinewoods Camp, Inc Board (Plymouth MA) >> https://chromamine.com/contra/ >> >> _______________________________________________ >> 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] >
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