I've had a few dances recently where people with learning disabilities, mostly along the autism spectrum, have been present. I've had to do some intense work on the spot to make sure to integrate them into the group. As increasing numbers of kids who've been mainstreamed into regular education have become adults, they are increasingly present in the world at large, as they should be. The skills we need to work with these individuals are different from the ones we use with dancers who are more typical learners.
For example, one of the young women at my dance tonight had real difficulties managing her body- her feet sometimes appeared to not be connected to the rest of her- but she learned figures immediately, even challenging ones such as 1/2 figure eight and turning contra corners. I had to focus on her spacial awareness without getting concerned about the rest, which bothered her not at all. So, David, I suggest that while this may not be a topic of immediate need, it is a growing concern. Susan Elberger Arlington, Massachusetts --- On Tue, 12/15/09, David Millstone <david.millst...@valley.net> wrote: > From: David Millstone <david.millst...@valley.net> > Subject: [Callers] Callers' workshop > To: call...@sharedweight.net > Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2009, 6:48 PM > Dear fellow dance callers, > > I have an opportunity coming up next spring to lead a > day-long workshop for > dance callers. It'll be a small group, perhaps 10-12 > people, with a range of > experience. Some will have had only 2-4 years of active > calling while others may > have had 20 years or more. These will be folks who are > comfortable with contras > and with traditional squares. They will know each other > already. They're open to > a wide variety of topics and teaching methods. > > I've been invited to address just about any topics that are > near and dear to me, > so I'm relishing this prospect. > > At the same time, I'd like not to spend an entire day on a > soapbox. With that in > mind, I'm soliciting opinions from this group-- rather > than, say, the > trad.dance.callers listserv-- because this Shared Weight > group includes some > callers on the less experienced end of the spectrum. > > So, what are topics that _you_ would like to see in a > workshop? Assuming that > one already has the nuts and bolts of programming an > evening, teaching a dance, > and delivering the calls in good fashion, what skills would > be useful to > address? > > Thanks for sharing your thoughts. > > David Millstone > Lebanon, NH > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
