Jumping in on dance selection and tempo.
You CAN call duple-minor contras to an all-beginner crowd if you choose the right workshop and dances. See the video at
orlandocontra.org, which was 45 brand-new beginners. The key is to have very simple dances. Simple dances done fast are fun, period, even for experts! Some people assume that slowing things down makes it easier. But, except for dancers with mobility issues, slow dances (e.g., 100 bpm) can be harder than the standard 120 bpm of New England contras, if the dance itself is simple enough.
What's simple?
1. Low piece count - more/all 16-beat figures
2. Rescue moves - long swings, long lines forward and back, that are done in one place, so people can catch up and regroup
3. Highly connected - less chance to wander off in the wrong direction
4. Near-repeat dances - A and B parts are almost the same, one with partner and one with neighbor
5. Use only the moves done in your workshop for the first several dances, then max one new move (simple ones) per dance
6. Simple progression at end of B2
7. No leaving the set, pull-bys along the set, shadows
8. Simple figures only - no heys, chains, waves, roll-aways, contra corners, orbits, spank the alligator, ...
Also:
If you try a dance that doesn't work, give them a win with a very simple
dance done quickly for the next dance. Have several of these ready.
Don't waste them early!
Design your workshop deliberately to teach just the half-dozen moves you'll need in your first dances. Teach it through dance, not lecture. Repeat a LOT (let your dances run a bit). Use simple circle dances, not contras, at least initially. Visit other callers' lessons and take notes.
Simplicity
Clarity
Repetition
...
Simplicity
Clarity
Repetition
Write out your teaching scripts for several dances and edit them down. Write out your calls and timing.
Video-record yourself and watch later (prepare to be embarrassed! forgive yourself! eat some chocolate or ice cream...)
Know your group. Different beginners are
different. There are generational and stage-of-life differences in learning pace and style, as well as individual differences in personality, aptitude, and prior dance/music experience. Two groups of ten random people of the same age and social background can be quite different! Adapt.
Label your dances by level. Select from the group that your dancers are ready for.
Some of my collection (what's in each level depends on what your beginner workshop teaches, so YMMV; I don't workshop a star, for example):
Level 1
Airpants
The Big Easy
Family Contra
Midwest Folklore
Level 2
Claire's Request
Easy Peasy
Hypnosis
Kinematic Vorticity
The Nice Combination
Pearls of Wisdom
Push the Button
Thursday Night Special #1
Level 3
Al's Safeway Produce
Another Easy One
Appetizer
The Baby Rose
The Balter Dance
Bristol Court
Broken Sixpence
The Cure for the Claps
Forgotten Treasure
Hocus Pocus
M.A.D. about Dancing
Missing You
Tica Tica Timing
Good luck!
--jh--