Re: [Callers] The Beginners' Lesson Tips?

Don: Could you share "Cabot School Mixer" with me. Would love to add that to my programs. Thanks. Barbara G Springfield, NJ -----Original Message----- From: Donald Primrose <limerickfarm(a)gmail.com> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net> Sent: Mon, Oct 3, 2011 8:35 am Subject: Re: [Callers] The Beginners' Lesson Tips? Not a fan of lessons prior to a dance (although the best pre-dance is one by Steve Zakon-Anderson). My first dance with a large crowd of eginners is a circle mixer. A great dance to use is "Cabot School ixer" by Ted Sannella. It quickly.. and forgivingly introduces the ew dancer to several calls as well as the importance of the music. I particularly like mixing everyone together at the start of the ight.. I also ask that at the end of the mixer.. you ask whomever you nded with to dance the next dance. Thus new dancers and experienced earn from each other. In a circle dance you can also have a lost and ound (displaced dancers) in the center to get back into the dance. In the summer the Nelson dance will have thirty or more new dancers very week.. The circle works well.. and having a great local dance ommunity willing to ask a new face to dance is a blessing. Don Primrose On 10/3/11, Richard Hart <richhart49(a)gmail.com> wrote: There are a lot of good suggestions for a beginner's workshop here, already, but I'll add my 2 cents, anyway. When I do a beginners workshop before a dance, I like to focus on key concepts and actions, rather than particular calls: 1. Line up and pay attention to the lines. If you are not in line with the others, you may be in someone's way. 2. Proper & improper formations. 3. Progression: After each repetition of a dance, you dance with the next couple.. 4. Lady on the right. 5. Courtesy turns: they're part of a number of different calls. 6. Giving weight with your arms and hands. 7. The swing. 8. Respect for other dancers (who may not move as quickly, or who may be injured, or disabled in some way, or who may be a beginner who needs a bit of direction) That's already a lot to cover. I'd leave out the swing, if there was not enough time, especially if there will be a lot of experienced dancers at the dance to do that. The calls can all be explained during the walk throughs, reinforcing and using what was presented earlier during the beginners workshop. One problem that all beginners experience is figuring our where they should be and what direction they should face. I try to help them figure that out both during the beginner workshop and also when doing the walk through, and even when calling the dance. On Sun, Oct 2, 2011 at 3:16 PM, D Bar <davey.bar(a)gmail.com> wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers ______________________________________________ allers mailing list allers(a)sharedweight.net ttp://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers