Re: [Callers] Heys for new dancers

I like Delphiniums and Daises to teach the Hey for beginners. I try to introduce the Hey in the third or fourth dance which means that I've already introduced all the other figures in this dance to the dancers so that they only have one new figure to learn. (And the other figures in this dance are easy). I like the ease of having all the dancers facing across the set to begin the hey and that the dancers are anchored by being with their partner at the start and finish of the move. I verbally say "Go across the set, turn around and come back without bumping into anyone." (humorous moment breaks any tension about learning a new figure) And then we walk it through "Ladies cross the set passing each other by the right and pass your neighbor (Gent) by the left, Gents cross the set passing each other by the right and pass your Partner (the Ladies) by the left" and so on. Sometimes I just tell the Gents to follow their partner If they are still having trouble with that then I don't hesitate to do a demo (reminding dancers to only watch one person so they can see the individual's path). I personally don't like to compare the Hey to the Ladies Chain because I've seen men try to Courtesy turn the lady approaching them when hearing it's like the Ladies Chain. Delphiniums and Daises Tanya Rotenberg Improper A1. 8 Neighbor allemande L 1½ 8 Ladies chain to partner A2. 16 Hey (LR, NL, GR, PL) B2. 4,12 Partner balance, & swing B1. 8 Circle L ¾ 8 Neighbor allem R 1½ Donna Hunt In a message dated 2/19/2012 4:03:10 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, holt.e(a)comcast.net writes: Hey all, Can you think of other dances that meet all or most of the criteria that have been listed in this thread, including Dan's, and that are generally good dances for beginners? Thanks for your suggestions, Rickey Holt, Fremont, NH -----Original Message----- From: callers-bounces(a)sharedweight.net [mailto:callers-bounces@sharedweight.net] On Behalf Of Dan Pearl Sent: Sunday, February 19, 2012 3:21 PM To: callers(a)sharedweight.net Subject: Re: [Callers] Heys for new dancers Yes, Flirtation Reel is a lovely dance, but there are a few things about it which make it a bit less than ideal for dancers' first exposure to heys. First, the transition from the up-the-center to the hey provides no momentum/flow guidance about which shoulder to pass to start the hey. For the first hey dance, I'd prefer one with stronger flow at the moment of initiation. Second, the series of passes (NR, 2's L, Same sex R, 1's L, etc.) is not only different from most heys (which have same-sex in the center [because they are equal dances]), but the series of passes seems to be a bit harder to grasp in the same way that the differing roles of unequal dances bumps up the complexity of the sequence a bit. For my money, a hey dance that satisfies my requirements is a modified "Roll in the Hey". The original is: A1 circle left; swing neighbour A2 circle left three quarters; swing partner B1 long lines go forward and back; half ladies chain across B2 hey for four, ladies pass right to start Lately, I have been calling it A1 Dosido neighbor; swing neighbor. This is much more forgiving than the Hey/Circle (full) left combination. This dance features a Ladies Chain immediately before the hey, and the women's track is essentially the same as the hey. I use this similarity when I walk through the dance. Dan _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)sharedweight.net http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers