Re: [Callers] Inclusivemess & Older Dancers

[Michael Fuerst]

I recently attended a dance event which attracted participants from multiple 
states and provinces and which lasted several days, attended by 200+  almost 
exclusively experienced dancers.   

Several dancers had challenges.

One dancer  was blind. However this individual  had excellent mobility and 
dance memory, and knew exactly where and how place her/his hands so other 
dancers could take hold and orient her/him  as needed.  S/he quickly and 
fluidly responded to any physical direction, whether by taking this dancer's 
hand or by someone placing hands on this dancer's shoulders in order to provide 
proper orientation.  

Another woman had much difficulty with any lateral movement.  Despite knowing 
exactly when to face where and where one should be, his/her getting there was 
almost always a challenge, and nearly all figures had to be abbreviated  

Two other dancers, although physically mobile, had noticeable difficulty in 
orientation.    Seemed like they were having initial signs of mental 
deterioration (more likely I think, especially for the one who usually danced 
with the same person) and/or in need of a hearing aid.

The callers did not make any adjustments for these four individuals, but all 
the other dancers diligently, graciously and enthusiastically ensured the 
challenged dancers enjoyed the dances within their abilities.
 
Michael Fuerst      802 N Broadway      Urbana IL 61801   217-239-5844


 From: Jonathan Sivier <jsiv...@illinois.edu>
To: Caller's discussion list <call...@sharedweight.net> 
Sent: Sunday, January 6, 2013 1:39 PM
Subject: Re: [Callers] Inclusivemess & Older Dancers
 
On 1/5/2013 5:48 AM, Donald Perley wrote:
> Different dancers will have different issues.  One elderly dancer I
> encounter regularly seems to be able to handle all the normal
> maneuvers except she consistently takes 9 or 10 beats to get once
> around in a swing.
> 
> Some adaptation can come from education (that all dancers should get).
>   Allemande 1 1/2 can turn in to 1/2. Petronella twirl can be just a
> shift. If you fall behind, you WON'T be able to catch up, so just get
> to where you need to be for the next thing.

   These are good ideas and I have used them in my dance class for seniors.  
Swings can be tricky since there is both the need for a certain amount of speed 
to get around at least once in the allotted time and the problem with dizziness 
that even a little turning can cause. Sometimes the dancers may need to skip 
the swing, if they have trouble getting around even once and just prepare for 
the next figure.  However, most of my participants can get around at least 
once, so a slow walking swing works OK.  Since many swings, especially with 
neighbors, end up with the dancers trading places turning half-way and then 
opening up to face the appropriate direction could work in some circumstances.

   One thing I have run into with a few dancers is problems with orientation.  
There was one dancer in one of my classes who always seemed to end up facing 
the wrong direction, no matter what figure came before.  I learned to say 
things like, "If your new neighbor (or whomever) isn't right in front of you, 
they are probably right behind you."   This seemed to be helpful at least some 
of the time.  Luckily this wasn't an issue with most of the dancers and they 
were able to help the ones who had some troubles.

Jonathan
-
Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, English and Early American Dances
jsivier AT illinois DOT edu
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
-
Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
A: It depends on what dance you call!

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Re: [Callers] Inclusivemess & Older Dancers

[Jonathan Sivier]

On 1/5/2013 5:48 AM, Donald Perley wrote:

Different dancers will have different issues.  One elderly dancer I
encounter regularly seems to be able to handle all the normal
maneuvers except she consistently takes 9 or 10 beats to get once
around in a swing.

Some adaptation can come from education (that all dancers should get).
  Allemande 1 1/2 can turn in to 1/2. Petronella twirl can be just a
shift. If you fall behind, you WON'T be able to catch up, so just get
to where you need to be for the next thing.


   These are good ideas and I have used them in my dance class for 
seniors.  Swings can be tricky since there is both the need for a 
certain amount of speed to get around at least once in the allotted time 
and the problem with dizziness that even a little turning can cause. 
Sometimes the dancers may need to skip the swing, if they have trouble 
getting around even once and just prepare for the next figure.  However, 
most of my participants can get around at least once, so a slow walking 
swing works OK.  Since many swings, especially with neighbors, end up 
with the dancers trading places turning half-way and then opening up to 
face the appropriate direction could work in some circumstances.


   One thing I have run into with a few dancers is problems with 
orientation.  There was one dancer in one of my classes who always 
seemed to end up facing the wrong direction, no matter what figure came 
before.  I learned to say things like, "If your new neighbor (or 
whomever) isn't right in front of you, they are probably right behind 
you."   This seemed to be helpful at least some of the time.  Luckily 
this wasn't an issue with most of the dancers and they were able to help 
the ones who had some troubles.


Jonathan
-
Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, English and Early American Dances
jsivier AT illinois DOT edu
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
-
Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
A: It depends on what dance you call!

Re: [Callers] Inclusivemess & Older Dancers

[Donald Perley]

On Sat, Jan 5, 2013 at 3:16 AM, Kalia Kliban  wrote:


> "Thank you for your support in advance of the first (of many!) Gentle
> English dances in Baltimore.  The intent was to provide tempo and
> choreographic accommodations to allow long-time dancers and new dancers
> alike to be challenged by a variety of dance puzzles, enjoy stunning music,
> and enjoy community, even if our bodies have been cranky about the idea."

Different dancers will have different issues.  One elderly dancer I
encounter regularly seems to be able to handle all the normal
maneuvers except she consistently takes 9 or 10 beats to get once
around in a swing.

Some adaptation can come from education (that all dancers should get).
 Allemande 1 1/2 can turn in to 1/2. Petronella twirl can be just a
shift. If you fall behind, you WON'T be able to catch up, so just get
to where you need to be for the next thing.

Re: [Callers] Inclusivemess & Older Dancers

[Kalia Kliban]

On 1/4/2013 10:34 PM, Paul Wilde wrote:

Hey all,

Seeing the topic of inclusiveness has just popped up, I would like to start
a new thread.  I would like to see us share some dance choices that are
best suited for older dancers, ones that are fun and interesting to dance,
but not quite so physically demanding as some of the high energy and
sometimes high count dances.  Wouldn't it be great to have a section of our
dance decks especially set aside for this?


There was a thread about this on the ECD list back at the beginning of 
September.  Someone was starting a series of "gentle English" for 
experienced dancers who just aren't up to the slipping and setting and 
speed (oh my!) but still really want to dance.


Here's a snip from the initial post, from Susan Taylor:
"Baltimore is initiating a new Gentle English series.
We are aiming to encourage all dancers, and particularly dancers for 
whom some tempi and joint-jarring choreography have become bodily 
unpleasant, to dance in community (with wonderful music and lively good 
times)."


As Paul has, she was asking about suggestions of dances that would be 
enjoyable and mentally challenging without leaving anyone limping or 
broken.  After some suggestions came in, she posted this:


"Thank you for your support in advance of the first (of many!) Gentle 
English dances in Baltimore.  The intent was to provide tempo and 
choreographic accommodations to allow long-time dancers and new dancers 
alike to be challenged by a variety of dance puzzles, enjoy stunning 
music, and enjoy community, even if our bodies have been cranky about 
the idea."


Paul, is this similar to what you were thinking?  I don't have any good 
suggestions for dances but will be very curious to see what comes up.


Kalia

[Callers] Inclusivemess & Older Dancers

[Paul Wilde]

Hey all,

Seeing the topic of inclusiveness has just popped up, I would like to start
a new thread.  I would like to see us share some dance choices that are
best suited for older dancers, ones that are fun and interesting to dance,
but not quite so physically demanding as some of the high energy and
sometimes high count dances.  Wouldn't it be great to have a section of our
dance decks especially set aside for this?

It's late, so I'll offer up a few of my own choices on the subject soon.

Paul