I agree the swing should be taught well, but I am curious, Barb, why you
would not provide the dancer(s) with the main tool that will help them
through all those figures we didn't teach, connection through shared
weight and eye contact?
Andrea
On 9/1/2011 12:41 PM, barb kirchner wrote:
if i had just five minutes:
1. teach the swing, teach it well. point out that the person always ends up on the right or left
(dep on gender) and drill that in. tell them that if whoever they're dancing with doesn't put them
on the appropriate side, just go there. then i emphasize that in teaching the first few dances
(end that swing/right and left through/promenade/etc. wtih the gents on the left, etc). i also
point out to them that the place where they swing their partner can be considered their
"recovery point" if they get lost - just go to that place and wait and everything will be
ok. now they have two ways to self-correct on the dance floor, which is empowering and tends to
diminish that "frozen" feeling. i mention the recovery point during the walk-throughs of
the first couple dances as a reminder.
2. the caller's in charge of crowd control, anything that goes wrong is the
CALLER's (MY) fault. take the pressure off.
3. it's a party - let's go have some fun!
at the end of every class i teach, i have a huddle, a round of applause, ask them if
they're ready to dance (make them yell "yes") - more like a pep rally than a
class. in fact, i think of myself as the party hostess. i can't MAKE anyone have a good
time, but if i'm a good hostess i'll set up the right situation so that everyone CAN have
a good time. the biggest part of that is getting people to relax, and that means YOU
have to be relaxed.
***********************
most useful thing i EVER did to increase my calling skills was to start calling
for non-dancers, ie wedding and birthday parties.
Date: Thu, 1 Sep 2011 12:16:10 -0400
From: twirly-g...@bellsouth.net
To: call...@sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] Implied Messages in First-Timer's Orientation (Was: Head
Mikes and Mike Heads)
If I just had 5 minutes with a new dancer, I would teach three things:
1) We are all here to enjoy each other and the dance. Have Fun! 2) Your
greatest survival tool is a firm connection through your hands to your
body. Keep some tension in your arm so people can help guide you
through the dance. Floppies=no connection=no help. Eye contact
functions the same way. (OK, that might be slipping a spare in). 3)
Swing. We do lots and lots of it, so it would be good to understand how
it works. You and everyone else will enjoy the dance more if this part
works well. Obviously, if I get to do a real lesson, many of the points
Michael, Greg and David make are ones i would touch on. Many of the
basic figure will be accessible to new dancers simply by observing the
rest of the dancers. Little teaching is needed for them. CT is a bit
counter-intuitive for some, but figures will come if you give the dancer
and open mind and a little survival technique.
Andrea
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