Re: [Callers] Family Dances

I use Traffic Jam as a warm-up dance at most all-ages dances I call now, including the one I run, and it works great, especially to get people on the floor while the band is soundchecking or something. When you say "lots of young kids," you didn't mention how young, which makes a difference. If they're mostly preschool-aged or younger, they may not be able to make a circle or follow a direction like "stand across from your partner." If it's a mixed age group with some older kids you have some more things that will work well. The non-participating adults is a separate issue we could talk about also, but with the situation you described, here are some things I might try. Get them into groups of four or five or six or whatever and do some square dance figures - circle left, circle right, make a star, make a star with your other hand in, grab your partner's hand and make a circle with some other people. I don't obsess too much over left or right hand star if kids don't actually *know* their lefts from their rights (anyone younger than kindergarten/ first grade, imo). Only adults get bent out of shape when someone is walking backwards in a star. :) Make a big line and be a snake. Do that ball of yarn thing. Maybe do the heel and toe polka, but don't put the progression in at the end; just keep your partner. If the band is willing to play along, you can do something fun to "Down By The Station." - Have folks make "trains" of four or five people. They can put their hands on the waists of the person in front of them, or just hold hands. Sing the song, "Down By the Station." In lines, facing the front of the hall, walk forward four steps to the song (step, step, step, stop) and then backwards (step, step, step, stop.) At the end of the song, have the band play a short tune - two As, or an A and B, and the trains can drive anywhere they want in the room - they just have to be back to the station by the end of the tune to start the song again. Tell the first person (the engine) to go to the back and be the caboose so everyone has a turn to drive their train. Throw a couple silly songs in if everyone is getting tired. You can do Looby Loo pretty easily. Don't call it a "break." Keep everyone on the floor, or else they think it's a good time to stop dancing. If you have a band, have everyone sit down and listen to the band play a tune or two. Ask the musicians to take turns playing their instruments so the kids can hear each one. Good luck! Meg On Thu, Sep 5, 2019 at 10:42 PM Jerome Grisanti via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: