24 May
2010
24 May
'10
9:07 a.m.
I echo the sentiments of others who've noted how satisfying (and fun!) it can be to
work w high school students. I've found them to be high-energy, quick learners.
It's great to see what others use for tried & true dances in this sort of
situation. (Hooray for Shared Weight!)
Usually for a one-time session w total beginners, I don't even use lady/gent terms.
It's not worth it. As others point out, it's better to use the time to dance.
That said... When I visit schools to teach high-schoolers near our local series (which
has lots of dancers teens/20s) I purposely do dances that nominally have lady/gent roles
because (a) the students may well come to a public dance, and (b) the roles are a part of
this dance form's history & culture. I also give the teacher some free passes to
our dance, in case students want to check it out. (Of course, to date, none if those
passes have been redeemed...)
I point out that contra dancing is social dance, do a little "social graces" or
"charm school" lesson in how to invite (I exaggerate this to the absurd, but it
has the effect of increasing the smiles/cheerfulness/inclusivity of the invitation
process), note that anyone can invite anyone else to dance, and that there are roles
(lady, gent) which can be danced by either gender. I bring a bag of neckties (a big
attraction!) to identify 'gents' in same gender couples.
I usually start w a variant of La Bastringue as a partner keeper, teaching these things:
8 count phrases, walking steps, connected circle, allemandes, do-si-do, a walking swing in
ballroom position, leaving lady on right after swing, promenade, partner/neighbor. The
rest of the dances I call as having roles, but if the roles get confused, it doesn't
matter.
Here are some of the dances I choose from (obviously not all in one session!) If you
don't already know them, they should be easy to find, esp if you have access to the NE
Dance Masters resources. Note: Every one of these can be done w/o gender roles.
Longways sets:
Galopede
Sweets of May
Flat Tire (Amidon & students)
Le Brandy/123 Poussez
Sicilian Circle or Contra:
ZOM Out (Zoe, Olivia, Molly)
Haste to the Wedding
Family Contra (Sherri Nevins)
Mariposa (Fred Breunig)
Jefferson & Liberty
The Black Joke
Scattered foursomes:
Chaos Mixer
Duck for Oyster, Dive for Clam (variant)
Squares:
Cumberland Square 8
Other simple hash squares
Circles:
La Bastringue mixer (variant)
Heel & Toe Polka mixer (very popular!)
If I can see a group more than once, and it's a large group, I sometimes include the
Fan Dance (aka hat/flower/broom dance), which is also usually quite popular. And, if
it's lots of time or several sessions w the same students, I might do an unequal
contra, such as one with full ladies chain (eg Lady of the Lake - which has a long
tradition in Maine) or more complicated progression (eg Broken Sixpence)
Cheers!
Chrissy Fowler
Belfast, ME
Message: 2
Date: Fri, 21 May 2010 10:33:42 -0400
From: "Grunzweig, Noah C." GRUNZWEI(a)mail.etsu.edu
(...) call a contra dance for a highschool class of about 30-40 students. I would like to
reach out for advice on working with not only youth, but total groups of non-dancers.
(...) the dance will only be one hour and i was asked to do contra dances. (...)
Noah Grunzweig
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