Dancing with Newbies

I am grateful to have a good group of "dance angels" in our community in Gainesville FL.  These are folks who are committed to being at the dance in time for the introductory workshop and asking beginners to dance - not just one or two dances, but all night long, I've watched as our dance angels approach the newcomers and ask them to dance even the last dance of the evening.

They're not just any experienced dancers though.  We didn't simply ask "Who wants to be a dance angel?"  They were invited specifically because of how they are with beginners, and they having been willing to "get trained" in how to dance with beginners.

We started our training by talking about our own experiences when we were first dancing and what kept us coming back.  I was surprised at the large percentage of our dance angels who kept coming back "despite" the other dancers rather than "because of " the other dancers!  We put a lot of thought into what it means to be a welcoming partner to a beginner.

Early on, we read Bruce Hamilton's document "When You're Not the Caller" and we also looked at "Five Common Myths About Beginning Contra Dancers" by Greg McKenzie.

From these documents and our own experience, this is what we've learned:

The beginners learn much more from the other dancers than they do from the caller (despite what the caller may think!). The caller is saying something that sounds remarkably like "blah blah blah" to someone who is new to the terminology, even if there has been an orientation workshop.  It takes a while for the words to make sense!  But watching the other dancers and being led by your partner and your neighbor through the maze is what really helps.

How does a dance angel best do this?  With body language rather than words.  If the experienced dancer is trying to explain the moves, the dancer just hears more "blah blah blah."  But a smile and directing the neighbor's left hand into the center for a left hand star brings it all together.  The experienced dancer especially does not want to try to talk over the caller.  Set the example that "we listen when the caller is talking."  Even if you think you could do a better job than the caller at explaining it, you are doing more harm than good by teaching the new dancers to ignore the caller.

Drop the fancy stuff.  When dancing with a new-comer, forget the twirls.  You want the person to begin to feel comfortable and safe so predictable is best.  Focus on moving in time to the music and being exactly on time for every move to reinforce to the newbie that we're dancing, not just wandering aimlessly.

As an experienced dancer, you may get bored if you're not doing a hundred flourishes a dance, but this is not the case with a newcomer.  If you encounter someone who is doing remarkably well and expresses interest, you may ask permission - "Would you like to try that twirl at the end of a Ladies's Chain?" and with permission try a gentle, one turn twirl.  If they're interested in doing more, its' great incentive to say, "Next time you come, I'll be glad to try (X) move with you!"  You can be sure he or she will be back next time!

Contra dancing should be a "complaint-free zone."  Don't complain about the band or the caller or the other dancers.  "This is one of our worst callers.  Come back next time and you'll have a better experience."  or "This band is awful, but we keep asking them because we don't want to hurt their feelings."

The message this sends to a new dancers is: "I can't have fun unless the dance is perfect. and I'm going to complain about everything that isn't perfect." The new dancer realizes that she is far from perfect and that she must be ruining it for everyone! Newbies are very self-conscious that they might "mess things up."  They're used to seeing dancing as more of a performance like on "Dancing with the Stars." It's a culture shift for people to realize that contra dancing is strictly for fun and that the "messing up" can be as much fun as "getting it right!"

If you let your partner know that you are having fun, even when she wanders off in the wrong direction, you'll allow her to get a little closer to that realization that she can relax and enjoy the dance.

Introductory Workshop

I put a lot of work and thought into my Introductory Workshop.  I realized that when I called a ONS (one-night-stand, like for a wedding or other venue where there are few or no experienced dancers), I wanted to get folks dancing as quickly as possible.  I didn't want them stand and listen to me teach for very long before they started moving to the music.  I have an easy dance called "Glowworm Mixer" that I can teach to non-dancers in less than 30 seconds.  People reluctant to dance see it and think, "Hey I can do that!" and they can join in at any point after the dance has already begun.  

I wanted my Introductory Workshop at a regular contra dance to be just as welcoming and encouraging.  I base my workshop on the work of George Marshall.  He is so good with beginners and I wanted to know what he considered the "bare essentials" that the dancers need to know before we could actually line up for a contra dance.

I have attended many Introductory Workshops where all the basic moves are taught and then the newbies are thrust into the first dance without ever having moved to the music at all.  In my experience, they won't remember 10% of what happened in the workshop when the music is playing and the caller is saying "Blah blah blah" and dancers are all reaching out to try to point them in the right direction. 

I am so grateful to have a large group of "Dance Angels" in my home community in Gainesville so it's always great to teach there where there are so many experienced dancers willing and even eager to help new dancers learn.  Even in other communities, I always ask for the experienced dancers to partner with a newcomer and we don't start the workshop until every newbie has an experienced dancer partner.  If there are not enough experienced dancers, I treat it like a ONS dance until there are.  I know that while we callers *think* we're teaching the newcomers, it's really the experienced dancers that they learn from mostly.  My job is to let them know that they can do it and that they'll have fun.

I teach new dancers to listen for the 8-beat phrase of the music, having them clap on beat one as the band plays a tune.  I teach them to give weight and we circle in 8-beat phrases. I teach them to swing, including the buzz step.  Then I line them up, teach the directions, identify neighbors/partner, progression and what to do when you are out at the end of the line and we dance "Broken Sixpence," a dance where every move is exactly 8 beats.

When the "real" dance begins, each dance will teach a new move until by the end of the first half, the newcomers will have experienced most of the basic moves and had a great time doing it. The experienced dancers have done what they do best - guide the newcomers to have a blast and enjoy the dance.

Glowworm Mixer - a traditional circle mixer.  It is only 16 beats so the dance repeats four times during a 64 beat contra dance tune.

(4) With your partner, promenade in ccw direction 4 steps.
(4) Face your partner and back away 4 steps
(4) Face the person to the left of your partner and walk towards that person 4 steps
(4) Allemande left with this person and end in promenade position ready to start the dance again.

Broken Sixpence - Don Armstong
Improper Duple
A1 - (8) Neighbor Do-si-do, (8) Men Do-si-do
A2 - (8) Women Do-si-do, (8) 1s Swing in the center of the set
B1 - (8) 1s between the 2s go down the hall in a line of four, (8) Turn alone and come back up.
B2 - (8) Bend the line to a Circle and Circle L, (8) Star left. 1s look down and 2s look up to see a new neighbor ready to start the dance again.