Hopper Newsletter #4
10/04/2010
What fabulous October sunshine we have been having this week! I hope you were able to get out and enjoy it Tuesday and Wednesday.
I just want to say a quick word about the Square Dance Movement books in your notebooks. Use them as a tool to help you remember the calls. If you don't learn by reading WAIT to read the book until after we have danced the calls a couple of weeks.
As we learn more calls there are some other resources available. There are some online square dance sites. One has live dancers that you can watch execute the move. The othe has squares (boys) and circles (girls) that do the movement of the calls, giving you a birds 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
I will keep this week's note short. Great dancing everyone! Have a good weekend!
Happy dancing,
Susan
Week #4
5. Promenade Family:
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.
11. Half Sashay Family:
11 b. Rollaway: Dancer on right steps forward and rolls to face dancer on left and continues to roll to the left side of the other dancer, a 360-degree turn. Use your hands to steady the dancer doing the roll. In a circle, unless stated otherwise, the ladies do the ROLLAWAY. ROLLAWAY – 4 steps.
12. Turn Back Family:
12 a. ‘U’-Turn back: One of the self-explanatory calls, turn around in place to face opposite direction. If you have a partner beside you it is friendlier and nicer to turn toward your partner, sometimes this is left and sometimes it is right. ‘U’-TURN BACK – 2 steps.
12 b. Backtrack: Designated dancers roll out (away from center) and walk around the set in opposite direction until next call; the others continue in the direction they were going. BACKTRACK – 2 steps.
16. Ladies Chain Family:
16 b. Two & Four Ladies Chain 3/4: Same as above except the turn is 3/4. Can be called with other fractions. TWO & FOUR LADIES CHAIN 3/4 – 10 steps.
16 c. Chain Down The Line: Starting position is a two-faced line with the girls in the center holding right hands; girls trade with the right hand (the star part); offer their left hand to the boy for a COURTESY TURN; while girls are trading boys take a step to their right to be in correct position for COURTESY TURN. CHAIN DOWN THE LINE – 8 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.
I. Emergency call: If someone should fall down in your square, immediately have the other seven dancers join hands stretch out to as big a circle as you can and raise your joined hands as high as you can. This will signal the club officers and the caller that something happened.
J. Lost squares: All squares will occasionally break down. The causes can be numerous. A few examples are not hearing the caller, talking in the square, forgetting how to do a call, dancing above your ability, losing your concentration and focus, or the caller calls something from the wrong formation. When your square breaks down, make lines of four facing. This is a sign for the caller. Try to do this in 4 or 5 beats of music. The caller will signal an opportunity to rejoin the dancing with “Lines of four, up to the middle and back,” or an equivalent.
Next week: Circle to a Line, Walk Around Corner, See Saw, Square Thru
I just want to say a quick word about the Square Dance Movement books in your notebooks. Use them as a tool to help you remember the calls. If you don't learn by reading WAIT to read the book until after we have danced the calls a couple of weeks.
As we learn more calls there are some other resources available. There are some online square dance sites. One has live dancers that you can watch execute the move. The othe has squares (boys) and circles (girls) that do the movement of the calls, giving you a birds 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
I will keep this week's note short. Great dancing everyone! Have a good weekend!
Happy dancing,
Susan
Week #4
5. Promenade Family:
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.
11. Half Sashay Family:
11 b. Rollaway: Dancer on right steps forward and rolls to face dancer on left and continues to roll to the left side of the other dancer, a 360-degree turn. Use your hands to steady the dancer doing the roll. In a circle, unless stated otherwise, the ladies do the ROLLAWAY. ROLLAWAY – 4 steps.
12. Turn Back Family:
12 a. ‘U’-Turn back: One of the self-explanatory calls, turn around in place to face opposite direction. If you have a partner beside you it is friendlier and nicer to turn toward your partner, sometimes this is left and sometimes it is right. ‘U’-TURN BACK – 2 steps.
12 b. Backtrack: Designated dancers roll out (away from center) and walk around the set in opposite direction until next call; the others continue in the direction they were going. BACKTRACK – 2 steps.
16. Ladies Chain Family:
16 b. Two & Four Ladies Chain 3/4: Same as above except the turn is 3/4. Can be called with other fractions. TWO & FOUR LADIES CHAIN 3/4 – 10 steps.
16 c. Chain Down The Line: Starting position is a two-faced line with the girls in the center holding right hands; girls trade with the right hand (the star part); offer their left hand to the boy for a COURTESY TURN; while girls are trading boys take a step to their right to be in correct position for COURTESY TURN. CHAIN DOWN THE LINE – 8 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.
I. Emergency call: If someone should fall down in your square, immediately have the other seven dancers join hands stretch out to as big a circle as you can and raise your joined hands as high as you can. This will signal the club officers and the caller that something happened.
J. Lost squares: All squares will occasionally break down. The causes can be numerous. A few examples are not hearing the caller, talking in the square, forgetting how to do a call, dancing above your ability, losing your concentration and focus, or the caller calls something from the wrong formation. When your square breaks down, make lines of four facing. This is a sign for the caller. Try to do this in 4 or 5 beats of music. The caller will signal an opportunity to rejoin the dancing with “Lines of four, up to the middle and back,” or an equivalent.
Next week: Circle to a Line, Walk Around Corner, See Saw, Square Thru