Hi Jack,
Thanks for the e-mail! Its very nice to hear how someone else thinks
through their evening plan.
I have the dance title as "Happy as a Cold Pig in Warm Mud". Here are my
thoughts on teaching the transition.
Gents allemande left once and a half, partner allemande right once and
three-quarters until the gents are facing in and the ladies are facing
out. Turn away from your partner and introduce yourself to your shadow
along the side of the set. [If this is the first time interacting with a
shadow during the evening, explain that they will see this person at
this time, every time through the dance.] With your shadow and the two
people opposite you, turn a left hand star once around until you see
your partner again. Swing your partner.
For newer people, the anchors are going to be their partner and their
shadow. In that sense, I would say that it is important which way people
go for the star. I understand your thoughts about the flexibility of the
dance, but when you have more new people, they need the anchor points to
give them something to walk towards, rather than an arbitrary direction
in the hall.
If you're going to point out who is holding who's wrist, then the woman
is holding her shadow's wrist and the gent is holding his neighbor's. I
don't like to focus people's attention on that, however, because they
tend to stop while they figure out the wrist grip instead of turning the
star.
I would also say that this dance is a good place for the lesson "Better
never than late". Remind them that if they're late for the star, just
wait for their partner for the swing instead of trying to catch up.
Hope this helps!
Chris Weiler
Goffstown, NH
Jack Mitchell wrote:
Inpatient readers, please start here!!
I ended the first half with Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud. I've been
playing with how I want to teach this one, and I'm still not happy with
what I've got, though Eileen gave me some good ideas for things to try
next time (probably when I call at Glen Echo next week)
So, the dance is:
Happy as a Warm Pig in Cold Mud (or in the winter Happy as a Cold Pig
in Warm Mud -- I'm actually not sure which is the original title....)
Mike Boershig Improper
A1 N B&S
A2 Men Allemande L 1.5
P Allemande R 1.5
B1 Leave your partner, Left Hand Star 1x (theoretically with
neighbor, shadow and shadow's neighbor)
Back to your partner, Swing
B2 Circle Left 3/4
Balance the Ring
California Twirl
So, as you would guess, the B1 is the tricky bit. One of the fun
things about this dance is that it doesn't matter which way you go for
the star -- it helps if you and your partner go in different
directions, but even that doesn't really matter -- as long as you go
somewhere, turn a star and then swing your partner. Because of that,
it's a very resilient dance. That being said, what I discovered
tonight was that it can still be confusing for folks even when it
doesn't fall apart -- that's more or less what happened tonight. The
dance kept going, and I was able to stop calling, but new dancers ended
up confused (and keeping calling didn't change much). It was a matter
of getting oriented in the first place. We also had a lower proportion
of experienced dancers to beginners than usual.
What I did during the walk through was have them allemande R 1.5 with
partner, and then get the men back to back in the center. Reach out
with your left hand and star left with your neighbor and the two people
pointing back at you. I also pointed out that in the dance it didn't
matter how many times you allemande with your partner or which
direction you went to form the star -- as long as you go and keep
moving. People still had a lot of trouble figuring out where to go
once the dance got going, and in a lot of cases the new folks just got
the "deer in the headlights" syndrome and stopped completely.
A few options:
1) Point out that (theoretically) you will have a shadow in your star
-- if you're doing a wrist grip star, the gent's shadow will be the
lady whose wrist he grabs to form the star. Problem: If some folks go
the other way, this could be more confusing. Option: Just don't
mention that you can go either way -- have it be allemande 1.5, star
left with shadow, come back swing.
2) Men back to back in the middle (after the allemande). Look away
from your hands 4 for someone of the same gender and form a hands
across star. Turn the star 1 time. Swing your partner. Problem:
Again, could be confusing if someone ended up with he he he she stars
or she she she he stars.
3) Other ideas??
How's the best way to point out the position without having to tie it
either to a particular person or gender? I suspect that with the group
I had, I should probably have just "done it straight" without pointing
out the opportunity to mess around. In that case, which way above
would seem to be clearer? With a larger proportion of experienced
dancers, though, any thoughts on the best way to teach it?
