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Walk In, Dance OutIn the summer of 2023, Larry Caves and I taught a series of social dance classes at Leisure World in Mesa, Arizona. Over 160 participants attended the classes! Information is shared here so that others might use this information to likewise teach others. Everyone is strongly encouraged to teach a friend, a relative, a neighbor. Let's get the whole world dancing! Information here includes a teaching sequence for five rhythms generally danced in social situations, step-by-step information of how to perform the basic patterns, info on some of our advertising strategies which can be used as starting points to develop your own, and some additional helpful resources about various aspects of the three forms of partnership dancing including articles published in the Leisure World newspaper and participant handouts. Teaching Outline
Focus is on partnership dancing in a social situation. The first hurdle many have is getting accustomed to timing. The first two rhythms use Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick where the Lead starts each pattern with the left foot and the Follow starts each pattern with the right foot, eliminating some of the complications of changing rhythms and recognizing which foot to begin with. It is suggested that one rhythm be dealt with (and subsequently reviewed) each session, but some may need to stick with just the first pattern for a time (since one can do most social dancing with just one pattern). The link below (Basic Pattern Descriptions) details what to do on each beat (including body motion between steps) in each of the five rhythms taught for both the Lead and the Follow. Basic Pattern DescriptionsThis document, written for participants to reinforce class instruction, describes the basic patterns taught:
Introductory information about each rhythm is followed by explanations for the patterns. In the descriptions of patterns:
AdvertisingThe Leisure World Shall We Round Dance Club hosted the lessons during the "off-season" when other dance activities were not available. As a club in this community the hall had an extremely modest cost. Many different forms of advertising were used, including Other ResourcesSeveral articles were submitted and published in the Leisure World - Arizona newspaper: October 2023: "Three Aspects of Partnership Dancing: Social Dancing Ballroom, and Round Dancing" Besides written notes from the lessons, two additional handouts were provided to participants: The first may be modified with information about one's own community, and the second may be useful so that dancers can understand some of the complexities and interrelationships of three aspects of partnership dancing and how they complement one another. All three aspects are worthy in and of themselves, and when partnering with those from the other aspects of partnership dancing, all three may become stronger.
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September 19, 2023 |