Hi everyone,
I've been asked to do a workshop in an afternoon before a regular evening
dance that will offer tips on how more experienced dancers can help the
newbies on the dance floor, and how dancers can be better partners. I'm
anticipating that the audience will be regular dancers, but some may be new
dancers.
I've chatted about this with one of my fellow local callers and came up with
some good ideas. I'm specifically looking for exercises or things I can
focus a dance on. A couple of ideas already hatched are encouraging the
dancers to communicate only using eye contact or hand gestures, and
discouraging pulling/pushing behavior. A specific exercise would be setting
up hands 4, having the ones cross over and then asking all the number 2
couples to leave the room while the dance is taught. I would then call the
dance as a no walk through and encourage the number 1 couples to help the
other couple through the dance.
Tips for being better partners would definitely involve helping the newbies
but would also include giving weight, handing off your partner at the end of
the figure, good contact (i.e. wrist position for allemandes, swing holds,
to twirl or not to twirl...).
Does anyone have any specific exercises that emphasize these ideas ? I'm
anticipating that I'll discuss these points with the group but would like to
keep my yakking to a minimum and focus on demonstrating these things with
the dances I use. I suspect that many of you have done workshops of this
nature, but this is a new thing for me. I'd appreciate all feedback as I
know there is a wealth of knowledge in this group.
Thanks very much in advance.
Bev
*****************************************
The Witful Turnip wturnip(a)sympatico.ca
"I'm 40-fucking-5, and I've got nothing to hide !"
- Samantha Jones (Sex in the City)
*****************************************