Making dancers nicer
Adam Carlson
lurkings, I haven't seen it recently and I thought I'd open it up again.
I'm _not_ looking for a debate about the "dance experience" vs. "community"
dancing. I am looking for specific (or general) suggestions for how to deal
with certain phenomena as a caller. (As if I could control the course of
this thread.)
I call at a variety of venues in my region and I've found that in some
communities dancers are very nice, friendly welcoming to beginners and
appreciative of the band and caller. In others, people are much more likely
to exclude beginners, or even good dancers from other areas who they don't
recognize, much less likely to applaude even if the band or caller is merely
mediocre, and much more likely to criticise other dancers on the floor.
I believe that the caller sets the tone for the evening, so I work very hard
to create an atmosphere of fun. A phrase I use a lot is "if you're smiling,
you're doing it right." I also try to mention that there are dancers
sitting out and that people can find new partners on the sides of the hall.
Adam
Nancy Martin
"Adam Carlson" <car...@cs.washington.edu> wrote in message
news:G99u5...@beaver.cs.washington.edu...
> I know this topic has been done before on r.f-d, but in my occaisional
> lurkings, I haven't seen it recently and I thought I'd open it up again.
> I'm _not_ looking for a debate about the "dance experience" vs.
"community"
> dancing. I am looking for specific (or general) suggestions for how to
deal
> with certain phenomena as a caller. (As if I could control the course of
> this thread.)
This is where I say "A dance is just a party!" and Bill Tomczak says "Just
what the hell IS community?" I have to say that, in Oregon and Washington,
the farther away you get from the big urban areas the friendlier and more
jolly become the dance crowds. I used to think I knew why, but anymore I'm
not so sure. Also, the kids are much better behaved and actively engaged in
the dancing outside of Portland and Seattle. Why? I'm not imagining this,
its a real phenomenon. The caller can certainly show people the
possibilities of an open, welcoming and tolerant community through his own
attitude and style. But there is a lot more going on that we simply have no
control over. Sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things, though.
Bill Martin
Donna Richoux
Who runs these dances? Are they put on by a volunteer dance
organization, whose active members would share the feeling of
responsibility to make sure that things go well, that people want to
return, etc? Or are they run by the caller or the musicians -- in some
way separate from the dancers?
I don't know if that's the solution, but I'm curious.
--
Best --- Donna Richoux
David Cottle
in article 1epeqfl.1ryd0indizu9qN%tr...@euronet.nl, Donna Richoux at
tr...@euronet.nl wrote on 2/25/01 3:14 PM:
> Adam Carlson <car...@cs.washington.edu> wrote:
>
>> I know this topic has been done before on r.f-d, but in my occaisional
[...]
>> I call at a variety of venues in my region and I've found that in some
>> communities dancers are very nice, friendly welcoming to beginners and
I'm not sure how it has come about, but we have had a very welcoming
attitude at all our dances. Experienced dancers are expected to dance with
new people. (I think one of the incentives is to split beginning couples up.
They are much less dangerous.) But I don't know how this can be directed by
the caller unless you have run the dance for a long time. I think these
kinds of attitudes have to begin with the better/older dancers and newer
people just assume that's how it is.
Bill Tomczak
Sorry, I had get that out of my system.
As the esteemed Mr Martin has already pointed out, it seems you are
already doing what can be done. As both Donna and David have as much
as said, unless it's your dance series and you are the regular caller
every time, there is only so much you can do. Sure you set the tone
for the evening, but a dance series has a life of its own. If you are
just passing through to do a dance once in a long while, you will
either fit in with or counteract whatever the entrenched attitudes are
at that dance.
Bob Archer
says...
> As the esteemed Mr Martin has already pointed out, it seems you are
> already doing what can be done. As both Donna and David have as much
> as said, unless it's your dance series and you are the regular caller
> every time, there is only so much you can do. Sure you set the tone
> for the evening, but a dance series has a life of its own. If you are
> just passing through to do a dance once in a long while, you will
> either fit in with or counteract whatever the entrenched attitudes are
> at that dance.
Whilst I agree with Bill Tomczak, it is still heartbreaking to watch a
couple of new dancers walk into a hall and have a lousy evening because
the entrenched attitudes in that dance series are not conducive to
newcomers.
Bob
Donna Richoux
Yes, and seeing myself referred to up there reminds me that I asked a
question (who ran those dances, a community organization or a caller,
etc) that wasn't answered. My hunch is that there needs to be a feeling
among the dancers that "this is our series, and we want it to flourish."
Some sort of Welcome Committee might let that start -- it could just be
three or four people who feel some sort of commitment to the series and
an obligation to look after the welfare of newcomers.
Even one strong, sociable individual could make the difference. Someone
who remembers names, introduces people, is happy to see people again, is
good-humored... The presence of one such person, over time, could be
enough to make an entire hall connect. It might be that the friendly
dances you saw happened to have some natural social leaders like that,
and the less friendly dances just didn't happen to.
Phil and Carol Good-Elliott
> Even one strong, sociable individual could make the difference. Someone
> who remembers names, introduces people, is happy to see people again, is
> good-humored... The presence of one such person, over time, could be
> enough to make an entire hall connect. It might be that the friendly
> dances you saw happened to have some natural social leaders like that,
> and the less friendly dances just didn't happen to.
>
> --
> Best --- Donna Richoux
Yes, very true indeed! I'd guess this is true with just about *any* social
environment. Recruiting some well-mannered folk to wear "Ask me about
Contradancing" buttons (a nod to a Quaker meeting I once attended) and seek
out newcomers would probably help out quite a bit. Think of it in terms of
the established "we" and "them" of "natives" and "immigrants". "Them" become
"we" with time if welcomed and given opportunity.
-Phil Good-Elliott
Selki
>Some sort of Welcome Committee might let that start -- it could just be
>Even one strong, sociable individual could make the difference. Someone
>who remembers names, introduces people, is happy to see people again, is
I like the voluntary name tags at Glen Echo. It helped people learn my
name when I started going, and newbies can look for the "dance buddy"
smiley face stickers on regulars' name tags (also voluntary) to ask for
help.
--
Selki
"Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that
can be counted counts." - Big Al
Bruce Hamilton
> The caller can certainly show people the
> possibilities of an open, welcoming and tolerant community through his own
> attitude and style. But there is a lot more going on that we simply have no
> control over. Sounds like you are doing a lot of the right things, though.
I agree with all of this: the caller can set an example, you are doing a
lot of right things, and there is more going on.
It struck me one evening as I watched my dancers push, scowl at, and
pester a newcomer, that I was watching well-intentioned people who
happened to be unskilled at helping. The thought that followed was,
"well, Bruce, whose job is it to teach those skills?" Oops. So I began
trying to weave into each evening a bit on how to help effectively. The
higher the percentage of experienced dancers, the harder I tried. I'll
mention at the end how I teach the skill, but I want to head in a few
other directions just now.
First, it works. At the last two San Francisco English dances I attended
(one as caller, one as dancer) about three completely new dancers came
in the door. This is a jolt for a dance with only 12-15 couples, and for
an English dance, where there's little repetition and a fair amount of
unconnected moving. The new dancers were absorbed seamlessly: they got
partners, they moved, they saw happy faces all around them, they saw
holes where they were supposed to go, they made mistakes, looked around
to see what ought to be happening, and fixed those mistakes, the room
was quiet so they could hear the caller, -- it was magnificent. And it
happened *both* times I was there. Most of it is generous-spirited
dancers, of course. But where I watched the details, I saw people who've
worked with me, doing things I taught.
Second, it takes time. I've been making this pitch (inconsistently -- I
don't have a regular local dance) for at least ten years, probably more.
I had reports right away from individual dancers that they had this or
that good result, but it's only in the last year or so that I've seen a
whole room get results.
Third, *receiving* help is also a skill (and teaching it is, again, the
caller's responsibility). Ironically, when I started working on this I
got rapid, dramatic results; beginners are much better at it than
experienced dancers :-). The bad news is that few (where I've been)
dance venues give the caller explicit work-on-skills time with
beginners. I myself have only been able to do it in our Scottish class
(which is a closed, 9-month session) and in Basic classes at week-long
camps.
I said I'd say how I teach this skill. I now realize that I want to get
it right, and the guidelines are at home. I'll bring them tomorrow. (the
guidelines for beginners are subtle, and take more time to explain. I'll
do that, but not tomorrow, and only if people are interested).
-Bruce
bruce_h...@agilent.com Tel: 650-485-2818 Fax: 650-485-8092
Agilent Technologies MS 24M-A, 3500 Deer Creek Road, Palo Alto CA 94303
Jonathan Sivier
>I said I'd say how I teach this skill. I now realize that I want to get
>it right, and the guidelines are at home. I'll bring them tomorrow. (the
>guidelines for beginners are subtle, and take more time to explain. I'll
>do that, but not tomorrow, and only if people are interested).
I, for one, would be interested.
Jonathan
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Claire Chang
I said I'd say how I teach this skill. I now realize that I want to get
it right, and the guidelines are at home. I'll bring them tomorrow. (the
guidelines for beginners are subtle, and take more time to explain. I'll
do that, but not tomorrow, and only if people are interested).
*****
this reminds me of a workshop that you gave in portland in '94-96 where
half the class was sent out of the room. the remainder were taught the
dance. when the "new half" was brought back in, the "experienced" half
had to teach the dance to the "newbies" without talking or touching. only
by body language and motioning of hands, heads, eyes! then the reverse!
please do post your distillation! i would love to read it and put it into
practice!
claire
Adam Carlson
thread. I have been thinking about teaching people how to give help, but I
hadn't thought of teaching people how to receive it.
Adam
"Bruce Hamilton" <bruce_h...@agilent.com> wrote in message
news:3AA3DD56...@agilent.com...
[stuff deleted]
Bill Tomczak
>
>>I said I'd say how I teach this skill. I now realize that I want to get
>>it right, and the guidelines are at home. I'll bring them tomorrow. (the
>>guidelines for beginners are subtle, and take more time to explain. I'll
>>do that, but not tomorrow, and only if people are interested).
Bruce has kindly permitted me to publish his guidelines on my web
page. You'll find it at:
Bruce Hamilton
> the guidelines are at home. I'll bring them tomorrow. (the
> guidelines for beginners are subtle, and take more time to explain. I'll
> do that, but not tomorrow, and only if people are interested).
Our news server was down yesterday, and in that time Bill Tomczak kindly
put my notes on his web page <http://www.nrthwnd.com/contradance/>.
Since that settles a bunch of formatting issues and it's a page worth
browsing, I'll just point you there
(http://www.nrthwnd.com/contradance/hamilton1.html) for what I ask
experienced dancers to do when they help (the sheet labelled "When
You're Not the Caller" is actually a handout I give to callers in my
workshops).
Receiving help is a different skill. I could go on for hours, but
callers are supposed to be brief, right? Let me try:
1. When there is a mistake, recognize that you are curious about it: Who
made it? Was it me? What did I do? What should I have done? What must
everyone be thinking of me? Etc. Recognize also that none of this is
helping, and the dance is still going on while you wonder these things.
2. So train your mind to go -- not backward to the mistake -- but
forward to the recovery. Spend 1/10 of a second saying "Darn!" and then
focus on this question: if this figure had gone properly, where would it
leave me? Go there, and wait for the music to come around for the next
figure.
3. Sometimes the question is easy, e.g. if the figure is one that leaves
you where you started. Sometimes it's hard -- it's a complex figure,
your partner is pursuing a different recovery strategy from yours, etc.
In those cases you may need to think two or three figures forward.
Sometimes it's best to bag the whole round of the dance: get to
progressed places, get opposite our partners, and carry on from there.
This is so counter to human nature that it needs a lot of reinforcement.
My approach is to focus myself on their recoveries: when a mistake
occurs, I shout "recover!" cheerfully and immediately; I praise good
recoveries and grumble at awkward ones; I award verbal bronze, silver or
gold stars for smooth recoveries; sometimes after the dance is over I
facilitate a short discussion about what recovery options the dancers
had, which ones they chose, etc. I never discuss what the mistake was,
who made it or how not to make it, only how to recover (if a mistake is
widespread or keeps happening then I review the figure). Notice, by the
way, that I think recoveries are the responsibility of the *set*, and I
award stars to the *set*. I don't award stars for anything else: if you
want a star, you have to make a mistake. No joke.
This does a good job of helping people decide that recoveries are
important (so they learn to think of figures in terms of "where does
this leave me?"). It also really downplays mistakes! This makes it
easier to keep the mind from drifting back to the mistake, it makes
mistakes less likely in the first place (since people are less uptight),
and I think it helps, when they become experienced dancers, to treat
other people's mistakes lightly.