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:
  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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