Hi Claire, Donna, Andy, and Linda,

Thanks for the feedback!  

Donna - your link is great... much much thanks for that lead. :)

And Claire - I totally agree with you regarding about the role of the dance community.  I've heard that from others, and our committee would agree, that the welcoming/encouraging behaviour of regular dancers can make/break a beginner's experience!

The idea of the handout is that it's just one more wee tool as we try to help retain a few more of our beginners.  Some folks don't like reading material but others are keen to dive in a bit deeper in print format and right now all they can take home is our schedule.

Anyway - I've had some other feedback from the organizers list so will work away on the project for the next few months.  

Much thanks and if anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear.

Emily in Ottawa

On Wed, Apr 20, 2016 at 3:04 PM, Donna Hunt <dhuntdancer@aol.com> wrote:
http://www.thursdaycontra.com/welcome.html

The Mt. Airy (in Philadelphia) Thursday Night Dance has this on our website.  We are in the process of revamping it, but feel free to pick and choose whatever might work for your group.


Donna
Web Site:  donnahuntcaller.com
Email: dhuntdancer@aol.com
Cell:  215-565-6050




-----Original Message-----
From: Emily Addison via Callers <callers@lists.sharedweight.net>
To: Caller's discussion list <callers@sharedweight.net>
Sent: Wed, Apr 20, 2016 3:31 pm
Subject: [Callers] caller suggestions for beginner handout

Hello shared weight callers :)

Knowing that callers do so much to support brand new contra dancers, as a dance organizer, I have a question for you!

Ottawa Contra is working on a 1-pg handout to give to first time dancers.  The goal of the handout is to provide tidbits that will help convince first timers  to come back, that contra's accessible/they can be successful/climb that learning curve, and that contra's a great fit for them.  Who knows if the handout will actually work but we want to try as part of our focus on increasing the retention of all the beginners we get.

I have a few examples of other handouts but they often focus on explaining the specific moves. 

We're thinking more along things that speak to the spirit of contra/are inspiring PLLLUS great technical tips (nuggets!) that can make a huge different to their experience as beginners.

If you have any ideas, please pass them along. They may be little messages you feel every beginner should know, or even tips you provide in the beginner/intro lesson before the actual dance.

With much thanks!
Emily Addison in Ottawa ON
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