[Callers] "Flash Mob" dances

[Jack Mitchell via Callers]

LInda--

I love those ideas for getting folks out on the floor. So simple. Thanks!
On Mon, Jul 27, 2015 at 10:51 AM Linda Leslie via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> What a great idea, Alan! I hope you are able to continue this as a
> successful annual event!
> Whenever I find folks are reluctant to join in dances (weddings, parties,
> etc.,), I find a surefire solution is to begin with a no-partner circle. I
> hold hands with the “volunteer” dancers, and snake around the area, picking
> up folks as we go by them. You can encourage folks with happy smiles, “Join
> us!” and other exhortations….Once we have a good group, I close the circle,
> and do hash calls: circle left, circle right, single file left, right, all
> f&b, “everybody over 50 into the center and back”, etc., etc. I then from a
> circle left, become the lead again, and spiral the circle in, then back
> out. It is wonderful how this simple movement to music, and the surprise of
> reversing the spiral makes people happy, From here, I would have people
> pair up and do a very simple circle mixer, which gets them used to the P
> change idea. Then the simple contras.
>
> Looking forward to seeing the other suggestions that folks offer you!
> warmly, Linda
>
> On Jul 26, 2015, at 11:52 PM, Alan Winston via Callers <
> callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> > Over in San Jose we've just done a  second annual not-really-flash-mob
> dance.  Symphony Silicon Valley does a free public series of Pops concerts,
> get permission from them, pick one, get a bunch of volunteer dancers and a
> pickup band, print up some flyers and put up a sign with the sponsoring
> organization logo and URL, We put up a sign with the name of the
> organization, set up in the path of foot traffic to the concert spot, and
> do an hour and a half (or so) of easy contra dances, encouraging passersby
> to join in and hooking them up with more-experienced partners.
> >
> > This is successful in terms of getting some exposure, and today we got
> somewhere between a half-dozen and a dozen new people to actually try it,
> and probably moved 25 flyers.  Nobody got hurt, some of the dancers stayed
> for several dances, etc.  We flushed out some old square dancers (who of
> course wanted to swing once around and wait for the next call) and some
> previous non-dancers of various ages.
> >
> > (I was calling.  First round was missing many volunteer dancers and had
> multiple newbies, so I did a one-night-stand dance ("Up the Sides and Down
> the Middle") rather than a duple-minor contra; then Cranky Ingenuity,
> Inflation Reel, Kitchen Stomp, and Delphiniums and Daisies.)
> >
> > Posting to ask if people who've done this kind of thing have any tips or
> tricks to get things going.
> >
> > As caller I relied on my volunteer dancers to do the recruiting, and
> people had different comfort and skill levels doing that.  Is there
> something I can tell them that will increase their comfort in talking to
> strangers?
> >
> > Thanks!
> >
> > -- Alan
> >
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-- 
Jack Mitchell
Durham, NC
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