I recently had the opportunity to call a contra to a group of rank beginners in a difficult situation: outdoors, on sloping concrete, without amplification for either myself or the band, to people not expecting a dance, with a band mostly unfamiliar with either contra or fiddle tunes, who had no opportunity to practice or choose tunes. It was a staff party with a barnyard theme. Granted, this particular good of people is accustomed to being spontaneous and silly at times, most are in their 20's, and it's a liberal, accepting group.

The organizers wanted to use the terms "cows" and "chickens" instead of any other usual terms for dancers. When they arrived at the party each person chose a name tag with either a cow or a chicken on it. They didn't know it, but this determined which role they'd play in the dance. I arbitrarily chose to "put the chicken on the right, because the chicken is always right." (I keep chickens, and they ARE always right)

There was not time for much of a lesson, either. It'd have been much easier if everyone had joined the dance at the beginning. All said, just about everyone had a really great time, myself included. The band was hyped up to try another dance evening later in the week, though that never materialized. 

I never mentioned gender in any way. That part just seemed to not matter. They were dancing with their friends. It didn't matter that they weren't experts or even very good. 

I was heartened and encouraged to try something like this again, perhaps with more widely used dancer terms.

-Amy