Ten stupid things beginners do to mess up their contradance experience/Skipping the Beginners Workshop

2. Skipping the Beginners' Workshop.
If you've shown up at your first dance too late for the beginners' workshop (or, if this is a festival where the dance isn't preceded by a beginners' workshop), there's no way of undoing it, but plan to attend at your next opportunity. If you haven't yet gone to your first dance, plan to be there several minutes before the workshop is scheduled to start. Workshops are usually taught by the evening's caller, who will teach the most common basic figures, and give you some idea of how he or she will call those figures as the evening progresses. This basic instruction gives you a real leg up on the night – you're not nearly as much of a beginner after attending the workshop as you would be without it.

Sometimes first-time dancers skip the workshop and show up late because they've been out having a nice dinner with wine. This really sets you up for failure in several ways: you throw yourself into the deep end because you miss the workshop, you're not processing new information as well as you would cold sober, and you're trying to do vigorous exercise on a full stomach.

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