Samena Squares Newsletter #13
12/15/2011
Dear Friends,
Good class last Thursday! We missed you Jan and Randy. We hope you had fun at your concert.
I heard from a couple of dancers that the music was fast last Thursday. Several people commented that the music at the Candy Cane Ball was fast too. Callers hear this from new dancers when they start to go to dances. I hear it often when new dancers dance go to other dances and dance to other callers.
The fact is that all callers play their music around the same speed. My square dance music ranges from 124 to 128 beats a minute. I have a few of versions of some songs that are slower than that specifically for dancing in parades or on carpet.
As lessons progress, particularly with singing calls, callers gradually stop giving dancers extra time to complete the calls. An example is Right and Left Thru. It takes 8 steps to complete. When we first learned it, I gave you 10 to 12 beats to complete it because you had to think about what all the steps were to complete the call. Now that we have been dancing it for several weeks, 10 to be exact, you respond much more quickly to the command. We can now dance it in 8 beats. If you can’t, either you are moving too slowly or the square is too big. That’s a hint.
As we get closer to the end of lessons, the speed of the music won’t increase but the time allotted for completing the calls will move closer and closer to the correct number of beats for each call. Don’t worry, it will happen gradually.
I hope that your final days of holiday preparations are going smoothly. Don’t forget to exhale! Have fun!
See you next Thursday for the workshop session. If you have questions on specific calls or just want to review them let me know.
Merry Christmas!
Susan and Larry
Week #13
28 b. Left Square Thru: Same as SQUARE THRU except start with the left hand. Continue turning into your foursome. LEFT SQUARE THRU – 4 dancers full around – 10 steps.
39 b. Left Swing Thru: Those that can, TURN HALF BY THE LEFT then those that can TURN HALF BY THE RIGHT. LEFT SWING THRU – 6 steps.
40 b. Cross Run: Designated runner steps forward moving in a half circle across the center line to end in designated open position. Ends become centers and centers become ends. The runee without turning around slides into the open position. CROSS RUN – 6 steps.
52. Cloverleaf: Turn away from partner, walk in 270-degree circle to face adjacent wall to where you started. Like a four-leaf clover or a highway cloverleaf. CLOVERLEAF – 6-8 steps
55. Pass to the Center: PASS THRU, out facing dancers automatically PARTNER TRADE, in facing dancer in center are finished. PASS TO THE CENTER – 2 steps for couples facing, 6 steps for couples facing out.
56 a. Single Hinge: In a mini-wave, step forward turning 1/4. SINGLE HINGE – 2 steps.
Good class last Thursday! We missed you Jan and Randy. We hope you had fun at your concert.
I heard from a couple of dancers that the music was fast last Thursday. Several people commented that the music at the Candy Cane Ball was fast too. Callers hear this from new dancers when they start to go to dances. I hear it often when new dancers dance go to other dances and dance to other callers.
The fact is that all callers play their music around the same speed. My square dance music ranges from 124 to 128 beats a minute. I have a few of versions of some songs that are slower than that specifically for dancing in parades or on carpet.
As lessons progress, particularly with singing calls, callers gradually stop giving dancers extra time to complete the calls. An example is Right and Left Thru. It takes 8 steps to complete. When we first learned it, I gave you 10 to 12 beats to complete it because you had to think about what all the steps were to complete the call. Now that we have been dancing it for several weeks, 10 to be exact, you respond much more quickly to the command. We can now dance it in 8 beats. If you can’t, either you are moving too slowly or the square is too big. That’s a hint.
As we get closer to the end of lessons, the speed of the music won’t increase but the time allotted for completing the calls will move closer and closer to the correct number of beats for each call. Don’t worry, it will happen gradually.
I hope that your final days of holiday preparations are going smoothly. Don’t forget to exhale! Have fun!
See you next Thursday for the workshop session. If you have questions on specific calls or just want to review them let me know.
Merry Christmas!
Susan and Larry
Week #13
28 b. Left Square Thru: Same as SQUARE THRU except start with the left hand. Continue turning into your foursome. LEFT SQUARE THRU – 4 dancers full around – 10 steps.
39 b. Left Swing Thru: Those that can, TURN HALF BY THE LEFT then those that can TURN HALF BY THE RIGHT. LEFT SWING THRU – 6 steps.
40 b. Cross Run: Designated runner steps forward moving in a half circle across the center line to end in designated open position. Ends become centers and centers become ends. The runee without turning around slides into the open position. CROSS RUN – 6 steps.
52. Cloverleaf: Turn away from partner, walk in 270-degree circle to face adjacent wall to where you started. Like a four-leaf clover or a highway cloverleaf. CLOVERLEAF – 6-8 steps
55. Pass to the Center: PASS THRU, out facing dancers automatically PARTNER TRADE, in facing dancer in center are finished. PASS TO THE CENTER – 2 steps for couples facing, 6 steps for couples facing out.
56 a. Single Hinge: In a mini-wave, step forward turning 1/4. SINGLE HINGE – 2 steps.