5 Aug
2025
5 Aug
'25
12:07 p.m.
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and will
be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant number (say
6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together. Besides the two
most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist they NOT do the
first couple of dances together, does anyone have an additional
creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the basics more
effective, or important issues for consideration that are commonly missed?
Greg
7 Aug
7 Aug
3:24 a.m.
Yeah, I remember a dance where about 20 foreign exchange students with limited English
from - Turkey, I think? showed up at the dance, just before the lesson thankfully. Whoa! I
did as you suggested, introduced them to the whole group and asked for their help.
Everyone really stepped up. One additional thing I did was NEVER during that night to vary
my calling. I usually switch it up, saying “Robins allemande right” for a bit, or “Robins
right” or just plain “Allemande” or “look for that robin and allemande” etc. to make it a
little less repetitive, but in this case I never varied what I called a move, ever.
(Though that was actually way before larks and robins - but same idea, no variance). Oh,
and yeah, my program went out the window and I called my old standby “Ellen’s Green Jig”
first and went from there. It all worked out surprisingly well, thanks to a lot of help
from the experienced dancers. They had a great time, which was very rewarding to watch.
Martha
On Aug 6, 2025, at 9:24 PM, Joe Harrington via Contra
Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
As Randy Pausch said, if there's an elephant in the room, introduce it. That
normalizes the situation and reduces social tension and confusion. It maximizes the help
you'll get from your experienced dancers. I'd also try to set the newbies'
expectations that this might not work out so easily, but that's ok and they're
wanted. This is long because it's a script...
"Hey, we've got some new folks who just joined us. Welcome! Try to spread
yourselves out among us so we can all help you out. You'll get this quickest if you
partner with experienced dancers for the first few dances, and dance with the one you
brought later, but it's up to you. If you came with someone special and you're
most comfortable dancing together, that's ok, too. Also, some folks really benefit
from the workshop we give before the dances, so if you find jumping in is a little too
much right now, please give us another try at 7pm before the next dance, and enjoy the
live music and company as long as you like today. We really want you here! Would a few
experienced dancers raise their hands and dance with these fine folks?"
In our group this leads to cheering, and sets the expectation on both sides that people
are going to be giving help. One or more experienced couples will split up and invite a
newbie into their group or dance as a couple with a newbie couple. YMMV on this. The
first 90 minutes of our dance is designated newbie dancing and we frequently split
ourselves up to get with newbies. Conversely, the last 90 minutes is "loose the
hounds". If your dancers expect to be challenged from the start, you may need a
different script.
Then...
"Folks, I'm going to walk this one through a little thoroughly, which should
help anyone who is new tonight. Experienced dancers, please stay with me and don't get
ahead or give extra advice, but do work with the new dancers to help them get it. And
please, let's not chatter. Your investment of patience will bear fruit shortly!"
[Again, setting expectations, being inviting to everyone, trying to get them to see the
benefit of creating the best learning environment.]
Then, ditch whatever dance you were planning, and call Midwest Folklore, Airpants, Easy
Peasy, etc., something with a low piece count, connected, simple figures, simple
progression, recovery moves. And yeah, teach the swing. Oof, that takes time. Or, have
them do a two-hands-across or elbow swing. The important thing there will be remembering
to exit on the same side as they entered. If necessary, progress twice at the start, as
was mentioned.
Something similar just happened to us last Friday. TWENTY new dancers came as a group,
an entire social club. We knew some of them and had been encouraging them to come for
some months, but we had no idea they were coming that day, and our dance is usually only
20-25 people. And, it was caller Sam Sharpless's second night of calling, ever. They
did come for the workshop, and Sam did great with them, there, but still, some of them
were...going to take a few evenings of dance before walking on the beat made sense to
them. Sam and the gang really stepped up! Sam blew up the first half of his program and
called super-easy dances. All the experienced dancers danced with newbies. We joked with
our 4th timers, asking them how it felt to be one of the most experienced in the room. Sam
gave some careful and very encouraging walkthroughs. It worked, even with often 3 newbies
per minor set. The best news is, this group said a few days later that they're coming
back next week!
--jh--
On Wed, Aug 6, 2025 at 10:43 AM Perry Shafran via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
<mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
Hi, everyone,
This happens more often than you'd think. My solutions are thus:
First, I do not like demanding new couples split up right away. I know that technically
that would be effective to help people out. But ostensibly, these people came to the
dance to dance with the people they came with. Thus instead of making it a demand, I say
I "highly suggest" that people dance with experienced dancers. But I really
want them to have them have the ability to choose their own partners. Thus, I allow them
to dance with each other if they would prefer. You *may* want to split up hands four,
though, since a couple will not be able to dance with the other couple that's their
friends right away. And arrange them so they are not spit out right away after 1 or 2
turns.
A more in-depth walk through for the first dance is warranted. Have a dance with a
neighbor swing before a partner swing, so they can get an experienced dancer guiding them.
If you do have a chain, have people chain to their neighbor for that guidance as well.
And quite honestly, allow them to sink or swim after that. It'll never be perfect no
matter how hard you try, and they aren't going to "get it" right away.
Allow them to move, bop, have swings that are not smooth. In fact, please advise the
experienced dancers to show them how it's done, but ask them not to spend oodles of
time trying to perfect the swing in the middle of a walk through. That takes forever and
makes the swing look way more difficult as move than it ought to be, and it delays the
whole dance unnecessarily.
Above all, instill confidence in the new dancers that this is fun, you can do it, and as
long as you're having fun you're OK. Anything to make the dancers feel that they
need extra help has the potential for them to think that they don't belong there or
aren't good enough to dance with the experienced crowd.
Truthfully, I recall the days where many callers have suggested that "lessons make
people believe the dance is hard" and believed that dancing should be so easy that
anyone can walk in and dance and no lesson is needed. We as a dance community have made
dancing a little more difficult than that (and truthfully, it's not all *that* easy
for a lot of people who have never done this before to figure out), so allow some grace
and allow for mistakes. Like, I think it took me a good 6 months of contra dancing before
I really "got it" when I was starting.
Perry Shafran
On Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 12:08:11 PM EDT, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
<mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and will be
starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant number (say 6+) of newbies,
all friends who want to dance together. Besides the two most common solutions, lower the
difficulty and insist they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the basics more
effective, or important issues for consideration that are commonly missed?
Greg
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12:24 a.m.
As Randy Pausch said, if there's an elephant in the room, introduce it.
That normalizes the situation and reduces social tension and confusion. It
maximizes the help you'll get from your experienced dancers. I'd also try
to set the newbies' expectations that this might not work out so
easily, but that's ok and they're wanted. This is long because it's a
script...
"Hey, we've got some new folks who just joined us. Welcome! Try to spread
yourselves out among us so we can all help you out. You'll get this
quickest if you partner with experienced dancers for the first few dances,
and dance with the one you brought later, but it's up to you. If you came
with someone special and you're most comfortable dancing together, that's
ok, too. Also, some folks really benefit from the workshop we give before
the dances, so if you find jumping in is a little too much right now,
please give us another try at 7pm before the next dance, and enjoy the
live music and company as long as you like today. We really want you
here! Would a few experienced dancers raise their hands and dance
with these fine folks?"
In our group this leads to cheering, and sets the expectation on both sides
that people are going to be giving help. One or more experienced couples
will split up and invite a newbie into their group or dance as a couple
with a newbie couple. YMMV on this. The first 90 minutes of our dance is
designated newbie dancing and we frequently split ourselves up to get with
newbies. Conversely, the last 90 minutes is "loose the hounds". If your
dancers expect to be challenged from the start, you may need a different
script.
Then...
"Folks, I'm going to walk this one through a little thoroughly, which
should help anyone who is new tonight. Experienced dancers, please stay
with me and don't get ahead or give extra advice, but do work with the new
dancers to help them get it. And please, let's not chatter. Your
investment of patience will bear fruit shortly!" [Again, setting
expectations, being inviting to everyone, trying to get them to see the
benefit of creating the best learning environment.]
Then, ditch whatever dance you were planning, and call Midwest Folklore,
Airpants, Easy Peasy, etc., something with a low piece count, connected,
simple figures, simple progression, recovery moves. And yeah, teach the
swing. Oof, that takes time. Or, have them do a two-hands-across or elbow
swing. The important thing there will be remembering to exit on the same
side as they entered. If necessary, progress twice at the start, as was
mentioned.
Something similar just happened to us last Friday. TWENTY new dancers came
as a group, an entire social club. We knew some of them and had been
encouraging them to come for some months, but we had no idea they were
coming that day, and our dance is usually only 20-25 people. And, it was
caller Sam Sharpless's second night of calling, ever. They did come for
the workshop, and Sam did great with them, there, but still, some of them
were...going to take a few evenings of dance before walking on the beat
made sense to them. Sam and the gang really stepped up! Sam blew up the
first half of his program and called super-easy dances. All the
experienced dancers danced with newbies. We joked with our 4th
timers, asking them how it felt to be one of the most experienced in the
room. Sam gave some careful and very encouraging walkthroughs. It worked,
even with often 3 newbies per minor set. The best news is, this group said
a few days later that they're coming back next week!
--jh--
On Wed, Aug 6, 2025 at 10:43 AM Perry Shafran via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Hi, everyone,
This happens more often than you'd think. My solutions are thus:
First, I do not like demanding new couples split up right away. I know
that technically that would be effective to help people out. But
ostensibly, these people came to the dance to dance with the people they
came with. Thus instead of making it a demand, I say I "highly suggest"
that people dance with experienced dancers. But I really want them to have
them have the ability to choose their own partners. Thus, I allow them to
dance with each other if they would prefer. You *may* want to split up
hands four, though, since a couple will not be able to dance with the other
couple that's their friends right away. And arrange them so they are not
spit out right away after 1 or 2 turns.
A more in-depth walk through for the first dance is warranted. Have a
dance with a neighbor swing before a partner swing, so they can get an
experienced dancer guiding them. If you do have a chain, have people chain
to their neighbor for that guidance as well.
And quite honestly, allow them to sink or swim after that. It'll never be
perfect no matter how hard you try, and they aren't going to "get it"
right
away. Allow them to move, bop, have swings that are not smooth. In fact,
please advise the experienced dancers to show them how it's done, but ask
them not to spend oodles of time trying to perfect the swing in the middle
of a walk through. That takes forever and makes the swing look way more
difficult as move than it ought to be, and it delays the whole dance
unnecessarily.
Above all, instill confidence in the new dancers that this is fun, you can
do it, and as long as you're having fun you're OK. Anything to make the
dancers feel that they need extra help has the potential for them to think
that they don't belong there or aren't good enough to dance with the
experienced crowd.
Truthfully, I recall the days where many callers have suggested that
"lessons make people believe the dance is hard" and believed that dancing
should be so easy that anyone can walk in and dance and no lesson is
needed. We as a dance community have made dancing a little more difficult
than that (and truthfully, it's not all *that* easy for a lot of people who
have never done this before to figure out), so allow some grace and allow
for mistakes. Like, I think it took me a good 6 months of contra dancing
before I really "got it" when I was starting.
Perry Shafran
On Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 12:08:11 PM EDT, Gregory Frock via Contra
Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and will
be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant number (say
6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together. Besides the two
most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist they NOT do the
first couple of dances together, does anyone have an additional
creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the basics more
effective, or important issues for consideration that are commonly missed?
Greg
_______________________________________________
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6 Aug
6 Aug
10:43 a.m.
Hi, everyone,
This happens more often than you'd think. My solutions are thus:
First, I do not like demanding new couples split up right away. I know that technically
that would be effective to help people out. But ostensibly, these people came to the
dance to dance with the people they came with. Thus instead of making it a demand, I say
I "highly suggest" that people dance with experienced dancers. But I really
want them to have them have the ability to choose their own partners. Thus, I allow them
to dance with each other if they would prefer. You *may* want to split up hands four,
though, since a couple will not be able to dance with the other couple that's their
friends right away. And arrange them so they are not spit out right away after 1 or 2
turns.
A more in-depth walk through for the first dance is warranted. Have a dance with a
neighbor swing before a partner swing, so they can get an experienced dancer guiding
them. If you do have a chain, have people chain to their neighbor for that guidance as
well.
And quite honestly, allow them to sink or swim after that. It'll never be perfect no
matter how hard you try, and they aren't going to "get it" right away.
Allow them to move, bop, have swings that are not smooth. In fact, please advise the
experienced dancers to show them how it's done, but ask them not to spend oodles of
time trying to perfect the swing in the middle of a walk through. That takes forever and
makes the swing look way more difficult as move than it ought to be, and it delays the
whole dance unnecessarily.
Above all, instill confidence in the new dancers that this is fun, you can do it, and as
long as you're having fun you're OK. Anything to make the dancers feel that they
need extra help has the potential for them to think that they don't belong there or
aren't good enough to dance with the experienced crowd.
Truthfully, I recall the days where many callers have suggested that "lessons make
people believe the dance is hard" and believed that dancing should be so easy that
anyone can walk in and dance and no lesson is needed. We as a dance community have made
dancing a little more difficult than that (and truthfully, it's not all *that* easy
for a lot of people who have never done this before to figure out), so allow some grace
and allow for mistakes. Like, I think it took me a good 6 months of contra dancing before
I really "got it" when I was starting.
Perry Shafran
On Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 12:08:11 PM EDT, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and will be
starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant number (say 6+) of newbies,
all friends who want to dance together. Besides the two most common solutions, lower the
difficulty and insist they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the basics more
effective, or important issues for consideration that are commonly missed?
Greg_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
5 Aug
5 Aug
4:52 p.m.
Ooh, respectfully, _hard disagree_ with "calling next to them". That's a
fast way to make many people feel singled out. While some may take it in
the spirit of helping, many others will feel pressure to "do it right".
Honestly, I cringe a little when I see callers jump off the stage and try
and do this.
Sincerely,
Julian Blechner
He/Him
Western Massachusetts
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025, 2:31 PM Gregory via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I had this happen to me just recently at our monthly
contra dance, except
it was, perhaps, worse in that the music had already started, and the other
dancers were so enthusiastic that they just invited the walk-ups to join in
before I even knew what was going on. We were in a public outdoor space.
Suffice it to say, it did not work and they dropped out minutes later. And
that actually is the worst part - if they had a better introduction, they
might not have been turned off.
It's a bit mind boggling to think of people who have never done this dance
before assuming they can jump in with no instruction.
I have considered some signage, facing out toward would-be new dancers,
with wording such as
- You can join in *on the next walkthrough*/*teaching segment*
- Our dance mentors will be happy to partner with you!
- It's easy, but you still need to learn the basics!
- etc.
Also consider whether your regular dancing group is there to dance and
would be chagrinned if dances broke down regularly as a result of
incorporating too high a percentage of new dancers, or if they're more
interested in sharing the dance with others than getting in 6-7 contras for
exercise. Sometimes letting it happen, even if it breaks down, can be the
best thing for the group.
Some other ideas:
1. State a rule that if they're going to join, we'll have to do the
walkthrough again, then ask the dancers that already did the walkthrough if
they're comfortable doing it again - you don't have to bear the
responsibility for the whole group's experience.
2. Institute mentor dancers, as has worked well for the local English
group, which are identified by some pin, hat, or sash, and insist that
people who have never danced before partner with them.
3. Get a headset mic and call directly beside them so you can also use
arm movements to show them where to go.
Best,
Greg from Winnipeg
P.S. Newbie bombs is such a good word for this phenomenon.
Sent with Proton Mail <https://proton.me/mail/home> secure email.
On Tuesday, August 5th, 2025 at 11:07 AM, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and will
be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant number (say
6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together. Besides the two
most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist they NOT do the
first couple of dances together, does anyone have an additional
creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the basics more
effective, or important issues for consideration that are commonly missed?
Greg
_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
2:30 p.m.
I had this happen to me just recently at our monthly contra dance, except it was, perhaps,
worse in that the music had already started, and the other dancers were so enthusiastic
that they just invited the walk-ups to join in before I even knew what was going on. We
were in a public outdoor space. Suffice it to say, it did not work and they dropped out
minutes later. And that actually is the worst part - if they had a better introduction,
they might not have been turned off.
It's a bit mind boggling to think of people who have never done this dance before
assuming they can jump in with no instruction.
I have considered some signage, facing out toward would-be new dancers, with wording such
as
- You can join in on the next walkthrough/teaching segment
- Our dance mentors will be happy to partner with you!
- It's easy, but you still need to learn the basics!
- etc.
Also consider whether your regular dancing group is there to dance and would be chagrinned
if dances broke down regularly as a result of incorporating too high a percentage of new
dancers, or if they're more interested in sharing the dance with others than getting
in 6-7 contras for exercise. Sometimes letting it happen, even if it breaks down, can be
the best thing for the group.
Some other ideas:
- State a rule that if they're going to join, we'll have to do the walkthrough
again, then ask the dancers that already did the walkthrough if they're comfortable
doing it again - you don't have to bear the responsibility for the whole group's
experience.
- Institute mentor dancers, as has worked well for the local English group, which are
identified by some pin, hat, or sash, and insist that people who have never danced before
partner with them.
- Get a headset mic and call directly beside them so you can also use arm movements to
show them where to go.
Best,
Greg from Winnipeg
P.S. Newbie bombs is such a good word for this phenomenon.
Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email.
On Tuesday, August 5th, 2025 at 11:07 AM, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and will be
starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant number (say 6+) of newbies,
all friends who want to dance together. Besides the two most common solutions, lower the
difficulty and insist they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the basics more
effective, or important issues for consideration that are commonly missed?
Greg
1:49 p.m.
I have moved away from circle mixers as a first dance for new dancers.
In approx order of importance, here's the skills I think new dancers need
to learn in order:
1. It's okay to make mistakes / keep dancing / etc (quick mention on mic)
2. Getting moving to the beat of the music (just getting them dancing does
this)
3. Shared weight as a concept, which, in turn, shared weight allows much
easier and clearer nonverbal guidance by other dancers to pick up moves.
4. The swing, which requires which-role-is-on-which-side**, which in turn
is done much more clearly in a line rather than a circle, which means that
Progresssion as a topic is part of this. And this also includes teaching
dancers that different people have different swings based on body size,
shape, and ability (which absolutely is behind the desire to want a new
dancer to dance with someone experienced).
While I like that mixers make sure dancers learn swings from different
people, mixers don't teach progression, nor who winds up on which side. I
see new people in mixers frequently inadvertently swap roles mid dance
(sometimes multiple times), and it causes confusion.
Mixers also means you have no anchor person (a partner) to know to return
to, and a dancer is having to adjust to a new partner every time through
the dance. In this regard, it both adds another level of mental processing
and also undermines the goal of "meeting other people on the floor". While
I agree with Maia on so many things, this last bit just doesn't happen in
mixers. One gets a better opportunity to meet people just by taking hands
four - at least that's 3 other people in your starting hands 4.
As a second or third dance? Absolutely. But I won't do mixers as intro
dances (unless it's a room entirely filled with new dancers, where I'm
building skills up more slowly, but, in that case, it doesn't apply to the
conditions the OP asked about).
So, short version: 2 walkthroughs, as mentioned previously, and I will take
time to add a couple pointers (shared weight, hand placement on
shoulderblades on swing), and, usually, picking an easy dance like
Greetings (always a neighbor swing dance 1 of an evening).
** and, side-note: this continues to be my strongest reservation about
Positional Calling in Contra.
Best regards,
Julian Blechner
He/Him
Western Mass
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025, 1:15 PM Richard Hart via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
A simple circle mixer is often a good choice whenever
some new beginners
arrive.
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 5, 2025, at 1:07 PM, Maia McCormick via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
You might consider a mixer to help get the newbies out of their cluster
and meeting other people on the floor--hopefully some of those other folks
will then ask the newbies to dance, and it'll be a less scary experience.
I feel like most dance communities with good beginner-welcoming practices
will do this already, but if you've got some friends on the floor, you
might ask them directly "hey, could you and some of your friends ask the
new folks to dance for the next dance or two?"
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM Casey Carr via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Agree with the things you listed and just had
this thought. If you do
two walk-throughs as you start the dance, some of them will naturally be
moved down the line to dance with more experienced dancers. Since the
swing is so important in getting people on the correct side of their
partner, I would re-teach the swing as I teach the dance.
Casey Carr
On 8/5/2025 12:07 PM, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers wrote:
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Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and
will be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant
number (say 6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together.
Besides the two most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist
they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the
basics more effective, or important issues for consideration that are
commonly missed?
Greg
_______________________________________________
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1:32 p.m.
Greg,
Is the scenario that new dancers have joined at the bottom in great clump and are all the
same hands four?
Progress them twice or 4 times at the beginning before the walkthrough.
“You’re in contra dance lines, across from your partner. We’ll practice the progression a
few times first! Balance the ring, past your neighbor by the right to meet new neighbors.
Take hands here (at the ends when you get spit out, trade places with your partner.)"
repeat once or three more times depending on how big the clump is.
Then start the walkthrough of a dance that presumably has a balance the ring and pass
through to progress.
If it’s a becket dance you can just have the whole oval circle left 2 couples and take a
new hands 4.
If the problem is throughout the night, I do what Maia said- asking friends to ask them to
dance. If they’re young new dancers, ideally a few folks in their general age would be
good.
Alexandra Deis-lauby
VILLAGEWESTDESIGN
646 283 3108
villagewestdesign.com <http://villagewestdesign.com/>
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On Aug 5, 2025, at 1:15 PM, Richard Hart via Contra
Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
A simple circle mixer is often a good choice whenever some new beginners arrive.
Sent from my iPhone
On Aug 5, 2025, at 1:07 PM, Maia McCormick via
Contra Callers <contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
You might consider a mixer to help get the newbies out of their cluster and meeting other
people on the floor--hopefully some of those other folks will then ask the newbies to
dance, and it'll be a less scary experience.
I feel like most dance communities with good beginner-welcoming practices will do this
already, but if you've got some friends on the floor, you might ask them directly
"hey, could you and some of your friends ask the new folks to dance for the next
dance or two?"
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM Casey Carr via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
<mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
Agree with the things you listed and just had this thought. If you do
two walk-throughs as you start the dance, some of them will naturally be
moved down the line to dance with more experienced dancers. Since the
swing is so important in getting people on the correct side of their
partner, I would re-teach the swing as I teach the dance.
Casey Carr
On 8/5/2025 12:07 PM, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers wrote:
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and
will be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant
number (say 6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together.
Besides the two most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist
they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the
basics more effective, or important issues for consideration that are
commonly missed?
Greg
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<mailto:contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net>
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
<mailto:contracallers-leave@lists.sharedweight.net>
_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
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_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net 
1:06 p.m.
You might consider a mixer to help get the newbies out of their cluster and
meeting other people on the floor--hopefully some of those other folks will
then ask the newbies to dance, and it'll be a less scary experience.
I feel like most dance communities with good beginner-welcoming practices
will do this already, but if you've got some friends on the floor, you
might ask them directly "hey, could you and some of your friends ask the
new folks to dance for the next dance or two?"
--
Maia McCormick (she/her)
917.279.8194
On Tue, Aug 5, 2025 at 12:15 PM Casey Carr via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Agree with the things you listed and just had this
thought. If you do
two walk-throughs as you start the dance, some of them will naturally be
moved down the line to dance with more experienced dancers. Since the
swing is so important in getting people on the correct side of their
partner, I would re-teach the swing as I teach the dance.
Casey Carr
On 8/5/2025 12:07 PM, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and
will be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant
number (say 6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together.
Besides the two most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist
they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the
basics more effective, or important issues for consideration that are
commonly missed?
Greg
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to
contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
12:15 p.m.
Agree with the things you listed and just had this thought. If you do
two walk-throughs as you start the dance, some of them will naturally be
moved down the line to dance with more experienced dancers. Since the
swing is so important in getting people on the correct side of their
partner, I would re-teach the swing as I teach the dance.
Casey Carr
On 8/5/2025 12:07 PM, Gregory Frock via Contra Callers wrote:
Dear Colleagues,
Here's the scenario: You are finishing up a new dancers' lesson, and
will be starting the dance in a few minutes. In walks a significant
number (say 6+) of newbies, all friends who want to dance together.
Besides the two most common solutions, lower the difficulty and insist
they NOT do the first couple of dances together, does anyone have an
additional creative/elegant solution, enhancement actions to make the
basics more effective, or important issues for consideration that are
commonly missed?
Greg
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
16
days inactive
18
days old
contracallers@lists.sharedweight.net
10 comments
10 participants
participants (10)
-
Alexandra Deis-Lauby -
Casey Carr -
Gregory -
Gregory Frock -
Joe Harrington -
Julian Blechner -
Maia McCormick -
Martha Wild -
Perry Shafran -
Richard Hart