All the word suggestions here are good. Demos are positive as well. I have occasionally found it helpful to emphasize that EVERYBODY has to move. Sometimes people (typically in the lark role) want to remain stationary.
— Jerome Jerome Grisanti 660-528-0858 http://www.jeromegrisanti.com "Whatever you do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius and power and magic in it." --Johann Wolfgang von Goethe On Fri, Oct 17, 2025, 3:44 PM Maia McCormick via Contra Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > I usually teach it from the mic as: "at the end of this move, you will > have swapped places with your [neighbor, partner etc.]; point to where > you're going to end up. Cool. Now, shake right hands with your [neighbor, > partner etc.]. Lift your joined arms; robins go under the arch, larks walk > forward to their left, and you end up in each other's place!" > > Pointing out the no-gripping rule is excellent, and I find it often helps > cement things to do/teach the move twice; once for positions and who ends > up where, and once for the finer points of stuff like that. So if I were to > do this without a demo, I might say: > > "Okay, now reset yourselves, because I want to show you one more thing > about this move. Can everyone curl their fingers, with your thumb attached > at the side (show on stage), sort of like a lego figurine's hand? This is > the hand position we want during a move like this, so no one's hand gets > pinched and everyone has free movement. Try that box the gnat to swap > again, and think about having Lego hands; you can hook hands with your > [neighbor, partner etc.] to make that arch and send the robin under it > without gripping or restricting movement." > > I don't tend to specify grip stuff when teaching from the mic with a > sufficient volume of experienced dancers in the room, but that's how I > might do it--and of course, zero shame in a demo, that might get your point > across better! > > Cheers, > Maia > > > > -- > Maia McCormick (she/her) > 917.279.8194 > > > On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 3:31 PM Tepfer, Seth via Contra Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Here are the words from the fabulous Becky Hill from the late 1990s. >> Box the Gnat (4) >> A couple takes right hands, making an arch. The woman walks underneath >> the arch, while the man walks around the woman, exchanging places to face >> the opposite direction from where they started. >> >> >> Seth Tepfer (he, him, his) >> Software Engineering, Emory Primate Center >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Emily Addison via Contra Callers < >> [email protected]> >> *Sent:* Friday, October 17, 2025 3:11 PM >> *To:* Sivier, Jonathan E <[email protected]> >> *Cc:* Shared Weight Contra Callers <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* [External] [Callers] Re: Teaching Box the Gnat / Swat the Flea >> >> Totally agreed. I love demos and I think that BtheG is a perfect place >> for it. >> I'm just wondering if I could get away without doing a demo in a large >> room of all beginners with the right verbal instructions. Orrrrr.... is >> BtheG just too weird??? ;) >> >> I'm also generally wondering if folks feel they have better language to >> help dancers move their bodies through BtheG :) >> >> Emily >> >> On Fri, Oct 17, 2025 at 2:51 PM Sivier, Jonathan E via Contra Callers < >> [email protected]> wrote: >> >> I don't have a good set of words for teaching this sort of move, but I'd >> like to encourage you to include a demo. You don't necessarily have to be >> the one doing it. Get a couple of dancers who can do the move, or teach it >> to them in advance, and have them do the demo. They say a picture is worth >> a thousand words and I think the same is true of a demo. Given that >> different people learn in different ways some will respond to your verbal >> instructions just fine, others won't and will be better served by seeing >> the move in action. >> >> Jonathan >> >> ------------------------------ >> *From:* Emily Addison via Contra Callers < >> [email protected]> >> *Sent:* Friday, October 17, 2025 1:44 PM >> *To:* Shared Weight Contra Callers <[email protected]> >> *Subject:* [Callers] Teaching Box the Gnat / Swat the Flea >> >> Hi Folks! >> >> I'm wondering if you have tricks to teach Box the Gnat and Swat the Flea >> to a whole room of dancers who have not done it before. (In this case, >> it's happening in an otherwise very simple scatter mixer but I can imagine >> almost no one will know the figure.) >> >> The wording I've figured out is below. >> I feel like it's wordy but it's also a hard move to pick up because it's >> kind of weird what's actually happening. :) >> >> Ideally, I'd love to be able to teach this without a demo but I feel like >> I'm stuck with the demo. (If you have talk BtheG to a big room of >> non-dancers without a demo, I'd love to hear your strategies). >> >> Anyway - open to any and all feedback. >> >> Thanks! >> Emily in Ottawa >> >> DEMO BoxTGnat from a hands 4 >> >> With your P - join R hands in loose handshake hold – no thumbs! >> >> Goal is to trad places with your P so you end up in the spot there are >> right now. >> >> BUT Lark/Robin will be doing different things to get there! >> >> But little tug to start & raise joined hands. >> >> Larks: you walk past your P into your P place. (could feel like >> behind/outside of the circle) >> >> Robins: you WALK under your joined hands, turning in to face ctr of >> circle & keep turning until face P . You have stepped into THEIR >> place. Have them drill StF and BtG over and over before starting the >> rest of the dance. >> _______________________________________________ >> 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] >> > _______________________________________________ > Contra Callers mailing list -- [email protected] > To unsubscribe send an email to [email protected] >
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