Help! Suggestions for beginner's lesson

[foursquare]

HELP!

My girlfriend and I found time during our 'Best Little Whorehouse..." performances to go out dancing not too long ago.

We were approached about doing a pre-dance beginner's lesson by the club that organizes the venues we dance at. We cheerfully agreed, and we'll be scheduled sometime at the end of June, beginning of July when our run is over.

So now that reality has set in, I realize I have no idea what to do for this. How complex do you get? How many things do you show them? Etc., etc., etc.

Beginner moves are no problem for me; I've only been dancing since last November. :)

Any suggestions from anyone that's done this would be GREATLY appreciated!

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[KevinL]

What kind of dance?

Plan to spend at least 10 minutes on the basics of the dance, then 10 minutes on each (very basic) pattern you want to teach. It's not enough time, really, but you want the emergency lessons to cover enough material that they people can do _something_, even if they aren't very good at it.

Obviously don't teach dips/drops/lifts, they aren't safe.

Kevin

[foursquare]

Ah, yes. The type of dance would probably been helpful if I had remembered to mention it.

Swing (EC probably... that's what they generally teach from what I've seen... would a swing out be too much?)

One of the biggest advantages I think we'll have over much better, much more qualified teachers is we'll be able to show them how to dance after a few martinis. This is easily my strongest skill. Oh, and how to kiss during a swing out.

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[Sagitta]

EC swing has swingout? No swing out for a beginner survival lessons. (I've been to many beginner lessons and never have I have seen lindy taught..charleston yes, but not lindy!!) Basic step in closed and open positions, follower R turn, leader L turn. All these can be covered within 1 hour well. If you scrimp on the details I'm sure you can squeeze more in. Perhaps do a cuddle/sweetheart, also?

[Genesius Redux]

Depends on the club, really, and what the people already know how to do. Is it beginner beginner? A throwout seems a little challenging for a strict beginner. What about just a basic step, an underam turn, and maybe a tuck turn?

[foursquare]

Well, ECS, Lindy, Charleston... swing kind of jumbles around in my brain as one thing (except WCS, oo, ick.) <--- (I know, I know.)

The club is not so much a club as a restaurant with a great dance floor upstairs on their third floor (Anyone been to the Firehouse? Second Street, Harrisburg?) And from what I've seen, beginner means BEGINNER... like dragged along kicking and screaming by a GF/BF/SO (Like I was.)

I'll leave the swing-outs for another time. Now that I think about it, the first time I was taught one, I had a HELL of time doing it in class, let alone out in the Real World. The tempo had to be absolutely ARTHRITIC for me to even try it, and even then, not all that successfully.

Cuddles! Tuck turns! What great ideas! Thanks! We'll definitely start with the basic though. Pound that into them, and then add a couple of the things you guys have mentioned just so it doesn't get boring out on the dance floor.

Hey Genesius, I have a medal bearing your name in a drawer somewhere for good luck. Where do you perform?

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[Sagitta]

De nada. I thought of cuddle as you mentioned "kiss" during the swingout. :)

[DWise1]

You might add a turning basic at some point as a variation. Close position, they rockstep and he triple-steps to his left, rotating them both clockwise about 180 degrees in all. This is the first move taught in our regular beginners' class.

Also, a "she goes, he goes" turn in which he turns her left on the first triple-step and then he does a turn under the same arms in the second triple step.


A story about swingouts and rank beginners. We had already had some single-step ECS classes when we went to our very first Lindy workshop given by an entirely different group (for those who remember, it was at Memories when it was still in Orange). We went almost immediately into trick variations of the swingout. One of my partners, also middle-aged, suddenly blurted out, "I can't do this!", burst into tears, and ran out of the club.

Definitely, swingouts and beginner beginners do not mix well and should be avoided.

[DWise1]

Most pre-dance beginners classes I've seen start with the basic rhythm, then pair them up and have them do the basic in open. Then build up a series of about three moves.

A thought that just occured to me is this: instead of just one lesson in the very beginning, there could be a break after about an hour or so of open dancing in which you show them a few more moves. My thought on this is that they've had a chance to use what you taught them the first time, so now their brains should be ready to absorb more and, hopefully, now that they've gotten a taste they are hungry to learn more.

I haven't seen this actually done, nor have I thought through the pro's and con's. Just tossing the idea out there to see if it has any merit.

[Sagitta]

What an idea Dwise1!! I wonder why it never has been done. At live events there usually is a band break, but then canned music is usually put on.

I think this may have to do with many experienced dancers coming aftre the beginner lesson and wanting to just dance. Putting another/part of a lesson in the middle of the dance may not be appreciated by such people. Hmmm...I just might bring it up with people and see what sort of reaction I get...

[jdavidb]

Partner dances are complicated. If it's "pre-dance", you could start with line dances.

Looks like swing is sorta the direction that group goes in. In that case, I like Madison Time. I recently learned it. It is a little hasty, has changes, introduces them to what a 6-count move to 8-count music feels like and gets them moving to a swing beat. I would have liked to have learned this before ecs, lindy hop or lindy charleston just for the sake of a fun intro rather than overwhelming and hopeless feeling.

[jdavidb]

I don't know if the Madison Time version on the Hairspray soundtrack cuts out the Cleveland Box and the Birdland parts like the movie did. Does anyone here have this? I have the Ray Bryant one, which is complete.

[Sagitta]

Don't really do line dances...don't have it..

[pygmalion]

Partner dances are complicated. If it's "pre-dance", you could start with line dances.

Looks like swing is sorta the direction that group goes in. In that case, I like Madison Time. I recently learned it. It is a little hasty, has changes, introduces them to what a 6-count move to 8-count music feels like and gets them moving to a swing beat. I would have liked to have learned this before ecs, lindy hop or lindy charleston just for the sake of a fun intro rather than overwhelming and hopeless feeling.

Is this the same as the Madison, introduced in another swing thread?

[jdavidb]

Yes that's the same one. I say "Madison Time" for refering to the whole dance with "the Madison" being that 6-count step that you always go back to.