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@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@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@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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)

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