07 October 2018
Samena Squares Newsletter #4
10/11/2018
Dear Friends,
It was great to see everyone! Welcome to April and Dan!
Thursday was a night of review plus a couple of new things that I’ll talk about in a minute. The new call was Star Promenade. There were a few calls from the previous week that we did not review. They will be first on the list for review this week.
Two important topics that we talked about are what to do in an emergency (someone falls in your square, for example) and what to do if your square breaks down.
There is a definite procedure to follow if someone falls. A fall will happen. It’s not if, it’s when. Some falls are just slips due to shoes or the floor being wet. Some have been due to loose shoelaces, either yours shoelaces or someone else’s shoelaces. Some have been serious medical emergencies. Just remember to make a big ring so that club officers and the caller can assess what needs to be done.
Squares break down, occasionally or not so occasionally. Broken or lost squares happen. The goal is to help them happen less and less the more you dance. Broken squares happen for lots of reasons. A few of the reasons are: you didn’t hear the caller because you were talking or someone else in the square was talking; you didn’t understand the caller; you don’t know how to do that particular call; you forgot how to do that particular call; you and/or others weren’t touching hands; the square was too big plus a few other reasons that you will discover. When a square breaks, laugh, fix it, and keep dancing. DO NOT STOP TO DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED. Any discussions should happen after the tip is over. You paid to dance not stand around and talk.
Below is a paper on How to Fix Lost Squares. I’m afraid that the typeface might be too small to read in this email. I will have printed copies at class on Thursday. Read it and try to practice the methods suggested for getting back to dancing as soon as possible if your square breaks. If you have questions, ask. We can walk through the methods again.
Enjoy the sunshine this week! See you Thursday!
Happy dancing,
Susan
Week #4
Dancer naming:
i. Couple: Two people standing side by side; for universal understanding of square dance commands the dancer on the left dances the Boy/Man part of commands, the dancer on the right dances the GIRL/Lady part of commands.
ii. Heads, Sides: Head couples have their back to or face the caller/music; Sides are the other two couples.
iii. Couple Numbers: Couples are numbered as follows, #1 back to caller, #2 to their right, #3 to the right of #2 or face the caller, #4 to the right of #3.
iv. Boys, Girls: Actual Boys and Girls or those dancing the Boy/Girl part of the call.
v. Centers, Ends: Dancers near the center of the square or formation are Centers. Dancers on the outside of the square or formation are called Ends.
1. Circle Left & Right: Join hands in a circle and move left or right as indicated; circles can be made with 2 or more people. CIRCLE LEFT & RIGHT – 8 dancers full around, 16 steps; 4 dancers full around, 8 steps.
2 b. Forward & Back: In a squared set for heads or sides, it is 3 steps and touch, then back 3 steps and pause for the next call. FORWARD & BACK – 8 steps.
3 a. Dosado: With person you are facing, step slightly left, walk forward to pass right shoulders, slide back to back, back up past left shoulder, slide to face to face start position. DOSADO – with corner/partner 6 steps, across square – 8 steps.
5. Promenade Family:
5 a. Couples: With partner walk together counter-clockwise to home position; right hands joined over joined left hands. PROMENADE – couples full around 16 steps.
5 b. Single File Promenade: Specified dancers walk single file counterclockwise inside the square or where indicated by the caller. SINGLE FILE PROMENADE – 4 dancers inside to home – 8 steps.
5 d. Star Promenade: Dancers in the star put their arm around (or join hands with) the indicated dancer and continue walking together until the next call. STAR PROMENADE – 4 couples full around 12 steps; with backout at home – 16 steps.
6. Allemande Left: Turn toward Corner, left arm turn 180 degrees, let go and step through, end back to back with Corner, facing Partner. ALLEMANDE LEFT – 8 steps.
8. Right and Left Grand Family:
8 a. Right & Left Grand: Start facing Partner, take right hands, walk by, offer left hand to next, walk by; continue alternating hands to the 5th hand (should be the dancer you started with). Boys are going counterclockwise; Girls are going clockwise. RIGHT & LEFT GRAND – 10 steps.
8 b. Weave the Ring: Same as RIGHT AND LEFT GRAND without hands. Hint: pass same shoulder as the hand you would be using. WEAVE THE RING – 10 steps.
9. Left/Right Hand Star: Indicated dancers step to the center of the formation to join the designated hand in a loose star; walk forward to starting position of next call. It is often a full turn but can be fractionalized. LEFT/ RIGHT HAND STAR – 4 dancers full around 8 steps.
10. Pass Thru: With person you are facing step ahead passing right shoulders. STOP as soon as you pass by. Ends back to back. Same as 1/2 DOSADO. PASS THRU – 2 steps.
11. Half Sashay Family:
11 c. Ladies In Men Sashay: In any circle of Boy/Girl couples with the Boy on the left and Girl on the right circling left, the Girls step forward, the Boys step to their left and the Girls step back to a new empty place. If the dancers are circling right, it is the opposite. Can also be done from a line. For variety, the call can be Men In Ladies Sashay. LADIES IN MEN SASHAY – 4 steps.
15. Courtesy Turn: Girls (or right hand dancer) sticks out left hand in front palm down, places right hand on hip or does skirt work; Boys (or left hand dancer) offers left hand palm up to Girl, place right hand gently on back; gently guide her forward, while backing up, turning as a couple to face opposite direction or the center of the set. COURTESY TURN – 4 steps.
16. Ladies Chain Family:
16 a. Two & Four Ladies Chain: Two (or four) Girls step toward the center to make a RIGHT HAND STAR; turn 1/2 way; offer left hand to opposite Boy for a COURTESY TURN; end as a couple facing the center of the formation. While Girls are starting the Boys take a step to their right to be in correct position for COURTESY TURN. TWO & FOUR LADIES CHAIN – 8 steps.
18. Lead Right: Directed couples (Heads, Sides), with a couple handhold, will walk forward as a couple to face the couple to the right. LEAD RIGHT – 4 steps
19. Veer Left/Right: Moving as a couple, slide left or right as directed, maintaining facing direction with a small forward motion as well. VEER LEFT/RIGHT – 2 steps.
20. Bend The Line: Couples, as a unit, turn 90 degrees to face center. Like folding a piece of paper. Each End moves forward to meet the other End. The Centers need to back up a little to accommodate. This creates new lines facing in. As a couple, you will ALWAYS be facing the other couple that was in your line. BEND THE LINE – 4 steps.
21. Circulate Family:
21. a. Named Dancers Circulate: Named dancers can be Boys, Girls, Centers or Ends. The indicated (active) dancers move along their circulate path to the next position. NAMED DANCERS CIRCULATE – 4 steps.
21. b. Couples Circulate: As a couple move to the next couples place in the square; if you are looking at someone’s back step straight ahead; if you are looking out of the square as a couple move around the corner to the place of the next couple. COUPLES CIRCULATE – 4 steps.
22. Right & Left Thru: From facing couples, give a right hand to the opposite dancer; pull by and join left hands with the one alongside. Finish with a COURTESY TURN to face the couple with which you are working. RIGHT & LEFT THRU – 6 steps.
23. Grand Square: (32 beats of music) Each individual dancer tracks the four sides of a square in their quadrant on the floor. Command is “Sides Face, Grand Square.” GRAND SQUARE – 32 steps.
It was great to see everyone! Welcome to April and Dan!
Thursday was a night of review plus a couple of new things that I’ll talk about in a minute. The new call was Star Promenade. There were a few calls from the previous week that we did not review. They will be first on the list for review this week.
Two important topics that we talked about are what to do in an emergency (someone falls in your square, for example) and what to do if your square breaks down.
There is a definite procedure to follow if someone falls. A fall will happen. It’s not if, it’s when. Some falls are just slips due to shoes or the floor being wet. Some have been due to loose shoelaces, either yours shoelaces or someone else’s shoelaces. Some have been serious medical emergencies. Just remember to make a big ring so that club officers and the caller can assess what needs to be done.
Squares break down, occasionally or not so occasionally. Broken or lost squares happen. The goal is to help them happen less and less the more you dance. Broken squares happen for lots of reasons. A few of the reasons are: you didn’t hear the caller because you were talking or someone else in the square was talking; you didn’t understand the caller; you don’t know how to do that particular call; you forgot how to do that particular call; you and/or others weren’t touching hands; the square was too big plus a few other reasons that you will discover. When a square breaks, laugh, fix it, and keep dancing. DO NOT STOP TO DISCUSS WHAT HAPPENED. Any discussions should happen after the tip is over. You paid to dance not stand around and talk.
Below is a paper on How to Fix Lost Squares. I’m afraid that the typeface might be too small to read in this email. I will have printed copies at class on Thursday. Read it and try to practice the methods suggested for getting back to dancing as soon as possible if your square breaks. If you have questions, ask. We can walk through the methods again.
Enjoy the sunshine this week! See you Thursday!
Happy dancing,
Susan
Week #4
Dancer naming:
i. Couple: Two people standing side by side; for universal understanding of square dance commands the dancer on the left dances the Boy/Man part of commands, the dancer on the right dances the GIRL/Lady part of commands.
ii. Heads, Sides: Head couples have their back to or face the caller/music; Sides are the other two couples.
iii. Couple Numbers: Couples are numbered as follows, #1 back to caller, #2 to their right, #3 to the right of #2 or face the caller, #4 to the right of #3.
iv. Boys, Girls: Actual Boys and Girls or those dancing the Boy/Girl part of the call.
v. Centers, Ends: Dancers near the center of the square or formation are Centers. Dancers on the outside of the square or formation are called Ends.
1. Circle Left & Right: Join hands in a circle and move left or right as indicated; circles can be made with 2 or more people. CIRCLE LEFT & RIGHT – 8 dancers full around, 16 steps; 4 dancers full around, 8 steps.
2 b. Forward & Back: In a squared set for heads or sides, it is 3 steps and touch, then back 3 steps and pause for the next call. FORWARD & BACK – 8 steps.
3 a. Dosado: With person you are facing, step slightly left, walk forward to pass right shoulders, slide back to back, back up past left shoulder, slide to face to face start position. DOSADO – with corner/partner 6 steps, across square – 8 steps.
5. Promenade Family:
5 a. Couples: With partner walk together counter-clockwise to home position; right hands joined over joined left hands. PROMENADE – couples full around 16 steps.
5 b. Single File Promenade: Specified dancers walk single file counterclockwise inside the square or where indicated by the caller. SINGLE FILE PROMENADE – 4 dancers inside to home – 8 steps.
5 d. Star Promenade: Dancers in the star put their arm around (or join hands with) the indicated dancer and continue walking together until the next call. STAR PROMENADE – 4 couples full around 12 steps; with backout at home – 16 steps.
6. Allemande Left: Turn toward Corner, left arm turn 180 degrees, let go and step through, end back to back with Corner, facing Partner. ALLEMANDE LEFT – 8 steps.
8. Right and Left Grand Family:
8 a. Right & Left Grand: Start facing Partner, take right hands, walk by, offer left hand to next, walk by; continue alternating hands to the 5th hand (should be the dancer you started with). Boys are going counterclockwise; Girls are going clockwise. RIGHT & LEFT GRAND – 10 steps.
8 b. Weave the Ring: Same as RIGHT AND LEFT GRAND without hands. Hint: pass same shoulder as the hand you would be using. WEAVE THE RING – 10 steps.
9. Left/Right Hand Star: Indicated dancers step to the center of the formation to join the designated hand in a loose star; walk forward to starting position of next call. It is often a full turn but can be fractionalized. LEFT/ RIGHT HAND STAR – 4 dancers full around 8 steps.
10. Pass Thru: With person you are facing step ahead passing right shoulders. STOP as soon as you pass by. Ends back to back. Same as 1/2 DOSADO. PASS THRU – 2 steps.
11. Half Sashay Family:
11 c. Ladies In Men Sashay: In any circle of Boy/Girl couples with the Boy on the left and Girl on the right circling left, the Girls step forward, the Boys step to their left and the Girls step back to a new empty place. If the dancers are circling right, it is the opposite. Can also be done from a line. For variety, the call can be Men In Ladies Sashay. LADIES IN MEN SASHAY – 4 steps.
15. Courtesy Turn: Girls (or right hand dancer) sticks out left hand in front palm down, places right hand on hip or does skirt work; Boys (or left hand dancer) offers left hand palm up to Girl, place right hand gently on back; gently guide her forward, while backing up, turning as a couple to face opposite direction or the center of the set. COURTESY TURN – 4 steps.
16. Ladies Chain Family:
16 a. Two & Four Ladies Chain: Two (or four) Girls step toward the center to make a RIGHT HAND STAR; turn 1/2 way; offer left hand to opposite Boy for a COURTESY TURN; end as a couple facing the center of the formation. While Girls are starting the Boys take a step to their right to be in correct position for COURTESY TURN. TWO & FOUR LADIES CHAIN – 8 steps.
18. Lead Right: Directed couples (Heads, Sides), with a couple handhold, will walk forward as a couple to face the couple to the right. LEAD RIGHT – 4 steps
19. Veer Left/Right: Moving as a couple, slide left or right as directed, maintaining facing direction with a small forward motion as well. VEER LEFT/RIGHT – 2 steps.
20. Bend The Line: Couples, as a unit, turn 90 degrees to face center. Like folding a piece of paper. Each End moves forward to meet the other End. The Centers need to back up a little to accommodate. This creates new lines facing in. As a couple, you will ALWAYS be facing the other couple that was in your line. BEND THE LINE – 4 steps.
21. Circulate Family:
21. a. Named Dancers Circulate: Named dancers can be Boys, Girls, Centers or Ends. The indicated (active) dancers move along their circulate path to the next position. NAMED DANCERS CIRCULATE – 4 steps.
21. b. Couples Circulate: As a couple move to the next couples place in the square; if you are looking at someone’s back step straight ahead; if you are looking out of the square as a couple move around the corner to the place of the next couple. COUPLES CIRCULATE – 4 steps.
22. Right & Left Thru: From facing couples, give a right hand to the opposite dancer; pull by and join left hands with the one alongside. Finish with a COURTESY TURN to face the couple with which you are working. RIGHT & LEFT THRU – 6 steps.
23. Grand Square: (32 beats of music) Each individual dancer tracks the four sides of a square in their quadrant on the floor. Command is “Sides Face, Grand Square.” GRAND SQUARE – 32 steps.