1 Aug
2024
1 Aug
'24
12:06 p.m.
A light-hearted thumb-saver I like — “The thumb is not a souvenir”
Box the Gnat — Larks: when raising your joined hand, use the same force as
turning on a light switch
Give & Take can have more connection than most dancers put in. In the
walkthrough I say for example (from Joseph Pimentel) (and, I think, as its
creator Larry Jennings envisioned it) — "Walk forward, take your partner's
free hand. Take a step back to make some tension in those arms; robins,
release that tension by zipping across the set into a partner swing."
Rick (Philadelphia)
On Tue, Jul 30, 2024 at 4:15 AM JJ via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
One way I like to teach no/loose thumbs is with the
line "you are a
delicate rose, not a Venus flytrap," after explaining why it can be
dangerous and uncomfortable to have grippy-thumbs. It always gets a
chuckle, and I think makes the point more memorable.
My friend Tess Dawkins came up with that line, btw. It's one of my
favorites to pull out 😊
On Wed, Jul 17, 2024, 17:25 Julian Blechner via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Good hand placement on swings
No/loose thumbs
Flourishes are optional
How to accept or decline a basic Twirl
Looking at the other dancer even if no eye contact
Opportunities for eye contact - especially in dances where you can
connect and one role follows the other without contact
Looping wide where appropriate (hey for four, other various examples
where one role has momentum and can flow into another move)
Good shared weight, especially for beginner crowds
End effects, as relevant and not intuitive from the choreo
How to properly do a pushback in a ricochet hey
Spinning the correct way in a petro spin
How a courtesy turn is two people moving as a unit, not one person
scooping the other around
1 step per beat of music, forwards usually - (newbs love to side shuffle
on swings, ya know?)
When a move has extra time to fill, or arrive early, etc
Asking people who sat out to dance
A swing should be smooth, not skipping
Optional swings (like the Shadow thread, or a same role alle R in the
middle, sometimes)
After walking through a few connected moves, conveying how to flow them
together
Prolly more, but, I'll stop here. :)
In dance,
Julian Blechner
He/him
Western Mass
On Wed, Jul 17, 2024, 4:24 PM Harris Lapiroff via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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I’m trying to add more style points to my
teaching. What are some of
your favorite brief style or safety tips to deliver from the mic? Ones that
are relevant to specific sequences, general tips, for beginners, or for
experienced dancers, I’m interested in any and all of them!
Harris Lapiroff
Dance Caller and Organizer
Boston Intergenerational Dance Advocates Board (Cambridge MA)
Pinewoods Camp, Inc Board (Plymouth MA)
https://chromamine.com/contra/
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