25 September 2011
Samena Squares Newsletter #3
09/29/2011
Dear Friends,
It was great to see everyone Thursday night. Good dancing!
I hope that you got to see the pictures from the Winthrop Barn Dance weekend. They have been posted on the Samena Squares web page… www.samenasquares.org.
This week is the first new dancer or student level dance. It is Friday, 10/7, at the Hayloft in Lynnwood. The time is 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. I don’t know the cost but most dances are $6 or $7 a person. If you go to the Samena web site, once again, to the Just-For-Students tab there is a Student Level Dance calendar. There you will find the address with a link to a Google map. Or if you have a GPS the address is – 15320 35th Ave W, Lynnwood. Larry and I are planning to be there. Some of the Samenas may show up too.
As we learn more and more moves, new dancers frequently ask if there are other resources to help with remembering how the steps go. Here are two web sites that I recommend. Look at them both and decide which one works best for you. Use these sites to hopefully clarify points of confusion or to refresh your memory of how to do a call. Do not get ahead of us in class. If you find yourself getting more confused don’t use them. They are supposed to be a helpful tool.
These two sites are very different. One has live dancers that you can watch execute the move. The other has squares (boys) and circles (girls) that do the movement of the calls, giving you a bird’s eye view.
This is the live square dancer site. Pick one dancer and follow them throughout the move. http://www.saddlebrookesquares.com/lessonindex.htm
This is the squares and circles in different colors site. http://www.tamtwirlers.org/tamination/info/index.html
As you use these sites, particularly the live dancer sites, you will note that there are some styling differences from what we have learned in class. Please dance the calls as I teach them in class. Some of the differences are due to regional styling differences across the United States. Some of the differences are that the definition of the call has been modified since the videos were produced.
This is the last week I will list all the calls that we know. Next week I will just list the news ones. The emails should be shorter then.
See you on Thursday,
Susan
Week #3:
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, Couple Numbers: Head couples have their back to or face the caller/music; Sides are the other two couples; Couple numbers – #1 back to caller, #2 to their right, #3 to the right of #2 or face the caller, #4 to the right of #3.
iii. Boys, Girls: Actual Boys and Girls or those dancing the Boy/Girl part of the move.
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. Forward & Back: In a squared set for heads or sides, it is 3 steps and touch then back 3 steps. 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.
4. Swing: Dancers step toward each other in ballroom dance position; leaning back slightly, walk around each other; the boy ends facing the direction of the next call; the girl rolls out to dance position on his right side. SWING – 4-8 steps at callers discretion.
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.
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. End 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 in small of back, palm out; Boys (or left hand dancer) offers left hand palm up to girl, place right hand on her right hand; 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 couple facing center of formation. While girls are staring 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 the 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.
24. Star Thru: Starting with facing dancers (boy & girl), boy’s right hand and girl's left hand form a momentary arch. The girl ducks through the arch while the boy slides past the girl crossing behind her. Each turn a quarter in the direction of their joined hands. End as a couple side by side. STAR THRU – 4 steps.
25. California Twirl: With the joined hand of your partner, raise hands to form a momentary arch. Turning towards each other the girl goes through the arch (under) while the boy steps across behind her to become a couple facing the opposite direction. CALIFORNIA TWIRL – 4 steps.
30. Dive Thru: Inside couple raise joined hands to form an arch while the outside couple ducks through the arch into the center. The archers step forward and immediately CALIFORNIA TWIRL to face back in. DIVE THRU – diving couple, 2 steps; couple facing out, 6 steps.
It was great to see everyone Thursday night. Good dancing!
I hope that you got to see the pictures from the Winthrop Barn Dance weekend. They have been posted on the Samena Squares web page… www.samenasquares.org.
This week is the first new dancer or student level dance. It is Friday, 10/7, at the Hayloft in Lynnwood. The time is 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. I don’t know the cost but most dances are $6 or $7 a person. If you go to the Samena web site, once again, to the Just-For-Students tab there is a Student Level Dance calendar. There you will find the address with a link to a Google map. Or if you have a GPS the address is – 15320 35th Ave W, Lynnwood. Larry and I are planning to be there. Some of the Samenas may show up too.
As we learn more and more moves, new dancers frequently ask if there are other resources to help with remembering how the steps go. Here are two web sites that I recommend. Look at them both and decide which one works best for you. Use these sites to hopefully clarify points of confusion or to refresh your memory of how to do a call. Do not get ahead of us in class. If you find yourself getting more confused don’t use them. They are supposed to be a helpful tool.
These two sites are very different. One has live dancers that you can watch execute the move. The other has squares (boys) and circles (girls) that do the movement of the calls, giving you a bird’s eye view.
This is the live square dancer site. Pick one dancer and follow them throughout the move. http://www.saddlebrookesquares.com/lessonindex.htm
This is the squares and circles in different colors site. http://www.tamtwirlers.org/tamination/info/index.html
As you use these sites, particularly the live dancer sites, you will note that there are some styling differences from what we have learned in class. Please dance the calls as I teach them in class. Some of the differences are due to regional styling differences across the United States. Some of the differences are that the definition of the call has been modified since the videos were produced.
This is the last week I will list all the calls that we know. Next week I will just list the news ones. The emails should be shorter then.
See you on Thursday,
Susan
Week #3:
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, Couple Numbers: Head couples have their back to or face the caller/music; Sides are the other two couples; Couple numbers – #1 back to caller, #2 to their right, #3 to the right of #2 or face the caller, #4 to the right of #3.
iii. Boys, Girls: Actual Boys and Girls or those dancing the Boy/Girl part of the move.
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. Forward & Back: In a squared set for heads or sides, it is 3 steps and touch then back 3 steps. 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.
4. Swing: Dancers step toward each other in ballroom dance position; leaning back slightly, walk around each other; the boy ends facing the direction of the next call; the girl rolls out to dance position on his right side. SWING – 4-8 steps at callers discretion.
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.
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. End 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 in small of back, palm out; Boys (or left hand dancer) offers left hand palm up to girl, place right hand on her right hand; 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 couple facing center of formation. While girls are staring 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 the 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.
24. Star Thru: Starting with facing dancers (boy & girl), boy’s right hand and girl's left hand form a momentary arch. The girl ducks through the arch while the boy slides past the girl crossing behind her. Each turn a quarter in the direction of their joined hands. End as a couple side by side. STAR THRU – 4 steps.
25. California Twirl: With the joined hand of your partner, raise hands to form a momentary arch. Turning towards each other the girl goes through the arch (under) while the boy steps across behind her to become a couple facing the opposite direction. CALIFORNIA TWIRL – 4 steps.
30. Dive Thru: Inside couple raise joined hands to form an arch while the outside couple ducks through the arch into the center. The archers step forward and immediately CALIFORNIA TWIRL to face back in. DIVE THRU – diving couple, 2 steps; couple facing out, 6 steps.