Stephen’s Square Dance Blog

I’m getting ready to leave for the Callerlab convention in Niagara Falls, NY, but wanted to share one thing before I left.

I’ve been doing some research on square dancing’s history and traditions. To this end, I have found a number of old books and magazines to use as references. One of this year’s goals for me is to start an online “note service” like the ones from yesteryear. My plan is to publish something weekly (short articles) and have longer and more detailed issues every now and again.

Anyway, this is what I found in a booklet dated 1952.

“We are living in an urbanized period in which people are struggling desperately for something real. Life is so individualistic that they try hard to find something to bring to the group satisfaction that they find in their families. (Or once found.)”

60 years later, and this hasn’t changed.

Later, in the same introduction… “What about dancing? It is hardly fair to place this social activity in the same category with anti-social “social dancing.” Unless dancing borrows its forms from its older brother, the two are not in the same class at all.

The spirit of folk games and dances is inclusive (“everybody come”) while the spirit of ballroom dancing is more likely, “just us two.” Special dress is not usually necessary for folk games – but it is in ballroom dancing.

If people do no know how, there is usually friendly instruction in connection with folk games and squares. Nobody seems to care, usually in ballroom dancing. The assumption is that you either know how, or don’t care to. Folk games involve cooperative group activity – ballroom dancing involves individual activity.

Ballroom dancing often eliminates, or sends to the wall as a wallflower, the ungraceful, the unbeautiful, or the poor. Folk games, and squares – in their true spirit – genuinely welcome the ungraceful, those who need social activity. For this reason, church groups and many others who have similar objectives, find them valuable. they do something for people by including them.”

From “…and promenade all” by Helen & Larry Eisenberg. Copyright 1952

In this post 9/11 world, I fear that society, at least in the United States, is becoming increasingly anti-social. For whatever reason, we’re not connecting with our neighbors as we probably should. My hope is that I, as a square dance caller, can help people connect (and reconnect) with one another.

I was going to post this on the sd-callers email list, but changed my mind. I’m not sure why, but I felt this was a better forum. (I suspect it is because there are a number of people on that list that just like to disagree/complain and I don’t feel like listening to them today.

The topic from marketing man Seth Godin’s blog today http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/11/watch-the-money.html is “Watch the money.”

For me, the lesson came in his final statement… “Money is more than a transfer of value. It’s a statement of belief. An ad agency that won’t buy ads, a consultant who won’t buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn’t tip big—it’s a sign, and not a good one. ”

As I see it, in the 21st century, Seth is right, money has become statement of belief. I’ve seen in it politics, in religion/faith, and in the workplace. Why else would someone ask, “Care to put your money where your mouth is?”

In square dance land, it doesn’t matter if you’re talking about how much your charge for your services, how much you pay to dance, or how much you spend on records/music. What you do or don’t spend on the activity is very telling.

For this reason, I pay when I go to dances even when those in the know offer to let me in free because I’m a caller. For this reason, I buy new music that I might not use. For this reason, I subscribe to both American Square Dance magazine and Zip Coder. For this reason, I subscribe to the Palomino music service. For this reason, I don’t give my services away except in very rare (and special) circumstances. I believe in, and value, square dancing and the square dance experience.

For those that aren’t interested in the link, here’s Seth’s post:

Watch the money

“How much life insurance do you have?”

Zig Ziglar liked to say that with that one question, you could tell if someone was a successful life insurance agent. If they’re not willing to buy it with their own money, how can they honestly persuade someone else to do so?

If you’re in the music business but you never buy tickets or downloads, can you really empathize with the people you’re selling to?

My favorite: if you work for a non-profit and you don’t give money to charity, what exactly are you doing in this job? I’ve met some incredibly generous people in the charitable world, but I can also report that a huge number of people—even on the fundraising side—would happily cross the street and risk a beating in order to avoid giving $100 to a cause that’s not their own. And the shame of it is that this inaction on their part keeps them from experiencing the very emotion that they try so hard to sell.

Money is more than a transfer of value. It’s a statement of belief. An ad agency that won’t buy ads, a consultant who won’t buy consulting, and a waiter who doesn’t tip big—it’s a sign, and not a good one.

Meanwhile, back at the Square Dance Land Ranch…

If the rallying cry is to take back the SD activity from those that would over-analyze it, what would you do?

If you were given magical powers to overhaul things in Square Dance Land, how would you change it to make it more accessible and approachable?

You want more dancers for your club… where do you get them? How do you compete with alternative forms of entertainment that are available today that weren’t around 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago?

What would you do to keep them? Better, what would you do to prevent them from leaving?

There is, admittedly, a finite supply of dancers. One thing that gets overlooked is the short supply of callers. What would you do to increase the number of callers? What would you do to ensure that these new dance leaders do things without “over-analyzing” them and making the dance more complicated than it needs to be? (For the new dancer, that is.)

Then, for those dancers and callers that want the puzzle to be harder, how do you treat them? In this case, treat = reward.

News from Square Dance Land… at least my corner of it.

There’s a new Callerlab committee called “New Initiatives.” I’ve been asked, and accepted, to be the chair.

Its function has several aspects. (Though, I’m still a little unsure of one of them.)

One is to continue the work of the (now disbanded – I think) Program Policy Initiative. This is a discussion of how we can actively adapt the existing programs and mold them into a system that works better on an individual/local level.

Next, NI is going to actively maintain the Winning Ways document. The idea is to make it a living document that revisits past successes to see what still works, what might not work, and what changes took place to keep things going.

As part of NI, we’re going to be soliciting new ideas for the development and growth of the
square dance community and then find ways to engage our dancing population
to implement these ideas.

The last big part of the NE is probably the most fun. “Square Dancing in 50 Years.” What will square dancing look like in 50 years? How will it evolve? How will it grow? These are all hypothetical questions that allow us to talk about change but not feel threatened by it.

If you would like to be a member of the committee, here are the requirements. You must be in good standing and be an Active Member, Associate Member, Active Youth Member, Associate Youth Member, a Lifetime member, or a Partner of any of these members.

With the blessing of the Callerlab leadership, I may try to set up a group of dancers that are not callers to get their input as well. They might not be full committee members, but dancers have a stake in some of what we’re talking about, so I’d like to create a forum where I can get some information.

If you’re a caller and want to be a member (or a Vice Chair) please contact the Callerlab Home Office.

If you’re a dancer and want to be involved with any of these discussions, let me know… stephen.cole@isquaredance.com.

Thanks!

News from Square Dance Land.

It’s been so long since I’ve worked my square dance blog, I almost forgot my password.

I’ve got a lot of things to write about that happened over the summer (and from the spring too), but I’m going to go back and fill in as I can. I’ll try to stay current with what’s going on in square dance land today, and go back to fill in (from memory) stuff that’s been going on.

I’m not a marketing guru, but I’m a big fan of one. Seth Godin has become sort of a folk hero to me. I’ve been reading his books and following his blogs and I believe him to be brilliant.

If you want to find out yourself, his blog can be found at:

http://sethgodin.typepad.com

His blog today was about the the pursuit of the Olympics and how people bend over backwards to get them into their city. It turns out that nearly every city that has ever hosted an Olympics has regretted it financially. Seth’s question of the day:  How little patience would you have for the International Olympic Committee and their politics if they didn’t have a show people wanted to watch?

Seth goes on to make some valuable comments about marketing and how given the size of the Olympic Games how commercializing it is more like strip mining. (There’s not much skill needed due to the enormity of it all.)

However, my take on his post made me consider his question in a different light.

Related to square dance land, I’d like to rephrase his question.

How little patience would you have for your square dance club’s politics if they didn’t host an event you wanted to attend?

Based on declining numbers of square dancers, I’d argue that people are having less and less patience for such politics. Our numbers are down. They were down from their hayday when I started dancing in the 1990s, but I’ve seen them dwindle more and more every year. It’s depressing.

With the smaller numbers, a few clubs have seen their politics become condensed. Several have folded under the strain.

I feel that there are a number of reforms that have to take place to increase the popularity of square dancing. However, with the best of reforms, it will be for naught if we can’t eliminate the poison that is politics.

Time will tell.

Until next time, (which I hope is soon) keep dancing!

In the beginning there were no standardized square dances. Every caller had their own list of calls and knew how to teach them. Eventually, a few braves souls sat down to flesh out a list that would let callers travel around the nation, then internationally, and call dances.

Though I am a professional square dance caller, this is a personal note, not one about an experience based on a dance I’ve hosted. Though, I’m not sure there is a difference between personal and professional at this stage in my career.

On New Year’s Eve, Martha and I went dancing at a local square dance club because we a) wanted to go out, and b) wanted to go dancing. We had a nice time, but it was marred by a single issue. One woman I was dancing had no clue how to touch hands while on the dance floor. By “touching hands” I mean that she had a grip like a clamp.

I talk, over and over and over again, about touching in class. It is there for a reference. It lets you know where you are in your formation and provide some stability. You should never hold on “for dear life.” Gripping is not needed. If each dancer applies pressure, you’ll find there is enough feedback to manage your needs. I’ve met a number of dancers that REFUSE to touch hands. In my professional opinion, these dancers are the WORST ever. When I’ve asked why they don’t touch, the answer I get is, “I know where I’m going” or “I’m going where I’m supposed to be.” The trouble with that is that touching hands is not just about an individual need. Sometime, your hand touching is about helping others know where they are or where they need to be.

So, after finally being cured (or, at least pain free) of a nagging tendonitis problem, it is back and back in a major way. It started out when this woman wouldn’t let go of me during some move… probably a Swing Thru or a Spin the Top. My shoulder wasn’t happy at this moment either. I joke and say things like “she nearly pulled my arm out of the socket” but though that is an exaggeration, the pain/discomfort is real.

As a result, I’m going to have to find my tendonitis brace, take some OTC pain relievers, and if it gets worse, seek medical attention.

The question that it makes me ask is, how many people don’t go dancing because of stuff like this? I hope the number is small. But, with square dancing’s number as low as they are, even small numbers are easily noticed/felt.

Please, as you enjoy square dancing, take note of how you touch hands. And, be ready to change, should you find that you “hold on for dear life.” The dancers will be there. Trust them.

Until next time, keep dancing.

So, I got a note from a club in northern Arizona that is a 3+ hour trek for me. They’ve had to lower their caller fee from $150 to $130 because they’ve not been able to make ends meet. They also want callers to come an hour earlier to workshop/teach the Plus program because, as it was explained to me, they want to have their dancers “go to the next level.” (Their words, not mine.)

The conversation continued with me learning that they charge $3.00 per person to dance. I had four squares my last time there. So, that math still doesn’t quite make sense to me.

Then, a conversation I had with my Grandmother popped into my head about her favorite recreation (not that SD is strictly for grandparents, but there is a strong representation by that demographic) and how she loved playing bridge.

I did some checking… in my area (metro-Phoenix) one bridge club charges $50 for FOUR weeks of lessons. They have three levels… beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

Then, a regular meeting of the local club, not a tournament, is $10 for a 3 hour game.

That whole “fixed income” argument doesn’t really fly with me any longer. Maybe if dancing was a $50 event per person… I could see it. However, over in Mesa, one of our dance halls is being sold we’re out of luck finding a replacment. Why, they’re all too expensive.

The answer is not to immediately raise prices, though that’d be fine with me. The best thing is to ease people into regular cost increases. In the 1950s Coca-Cola was a nickel a bottle. It didn’t jump to $0.75 a can overnight. My time as a dance leader is worth something. Your dollar, or ten dollars, should buy something of value. A ten dollar dance (to name a round figure) should be more entertaining than a three dollar dance, don’t you think?

With low costs come low standards. I don’t know about you, but when a dance is “cheap” I don’t expect much. Yes, being a square dance caller is a labor of love, but do you really expect me to put together a creative and innovative dance experience for $30, $40, or $50? When I’m paid a premium price, I deliver a premium product. Costumes included.

I got this from an email list of callers:

Hi, I figured it was time to hear some good new about square dance classes.  My home club, the Hoedowners (aka, the Hillsboro Hoedown of Aloha, OR, west of Portland) has just closed our mainstream classes.  Daryl Clendenin is the teacher with 68 new dancers that have come to at least one of the three open introductory nights.  We have an age range from 6 to 76.  With the angels on the floor we had eleven squares dancing on night 3.  Needless to say, we are a little bit excited.

After all the feedback, we are estimating that we will have about 60 students that will continue in this series.  What did we do to get this many students?  1)  The first ten lessons are free (gulp, but it paid off last year with 23 new club members), 2)  The first three lessons are open to all and closed for the fourth, 3) a free spaghetti feed before the third lesson, 4)  We all, as a club, committed to talking to at least 10 people about joining us for square dancing (emphasis on joining us for some fun, not joining a club),  5) small prizes for angels that brought someone with them to lesson 3, 6) yard signs,  7) craigslist, flyers posted everywhere we could  9) club members inviting dancers from other clubs to help angel and 10) every dancer making the effort to talk to, welcome, and encourage the newbies.

No one knows for sure why we have so many this year.  We don’t know how much of this is due to the economy and people seeking inexpensive entertainment but we will happily take in the students and hopefully convert them to square dancers.   Daryl Clendenin is a master teacher and caller and I have no doubt that anyone that shows up will learn to dance.

I have heard that another club 7 miles from us also is doing well with nearly 30 students.

–

That is amazing and exciting. It isn’t just the caller and it isn’t just the club, it is the group, working together, for the betterment of dancing.

If you want to contact the author, email me and I’ll put you in touch with him. I’ve not asked his permission to post his email address or his name. Some people are very private and I can respect that.

Times are a changing, that’s for sure.

I’d argue that this is a good thing for if you don’t change, you’re probably dead. I enjoy change in my life. I like the upheaval that comes with it. It keeps me on my toes and thinking. I suppose it is true that not all change is good, but I think that there is good to be found in nearly all change.

The hardest thing about it though is that it is work. There is a huge amount of effort in adapting old ways into new processes.  Also, there is the risk of anger and frustration because what was learned at one point is “simple and effective.” When what is known becomes unknown, it is easy to dismiss it. The reasons are plentiful for this:

“It is a fad.”

“It won’t work.”

“It’s too difficult.”

“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”

Granted, some change can be frustrating. In square dance land, it irks me to no end that, at club dances, parking spots are not reserved for the caller and cuer. This, to me, was (un)common courtesy.  It made for easy entry and exit. I don’t think I should have to ask for it, but I’m about ready to do so. It could be that new members don’t see it as important. I don’t know.

There’s other change on the horizon when it comes to square dance land. Numbers, in general, are down all over the world… even in Europe. It is a very real possiblity that organized SD will fade into history books. Indeed that last few times it made a comeback was due to a wealthy/famous patron. (Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company, was one of the biggest ever.) Having a singular vision, whether you agree with it or not, can take an idea far and wide.

A contemporary example of one person’s vision moving through popular culture is Apple and the Macintosh and iPod. Steve Jobs is the beginning and end of those products. There are a number of people that can find fault with them (I’m not one of them, I think they’re great) but one person’s vision is what is being produced.

Square dancing is without vision. It is not without visionaries. We have those. However, what I’ve found is that for every hundred square dancers I know, there are one-hundred-and-one ideas different of how to make it better, stronger, and sustainable. Not only that, a very small percentage of these people are willing to change.

Have you ever heard the following?

• “If the dancers knew the definition, they could dance to my calling.”
• “If we teach dancers right the first time, they’ll never have a problem.”
• “I know that’s how your caller taught you, but here’s how you really do it.”
• “I don’t dance Mainstream, I got tired of it. Besides, Plus is where the fun really is.”
• “Come square up with me so I don’t have to dance with those new people.”

ALL of these thoughts and attitudes frustrate me to no end.

When we (I) teach new dancers, I don’t have tests for the definitions. I teach them “the correct way” but I also take the time to let that patterns turn into a form of muscle memory.  Teaching new people is NOT the time to shove definitions down anyone’s throats. If someone needs some help and a written defintion is needed, then share it.

If dancers can’t dance, it isn’t that they don’t know the definition, it is that I don’t know how to call it. The onus is on me to provide the calls and deliver them in a manner that can be danced. If I want to call something complicated, then I need to work my way up to it. It is my job to deliver success.

It is a case of knowing your audience. If your audience is proficient, then yes, open up your bag of tricks. If they’re not, why would anyone want to show off how clever they are? It is only going to make people mad, hurt, and embarrased. Sounds pretty stupid to me.

So, change is needed. I prefer the term “reform.” Back in the late 1990′s Callerlab aimed for whole scale change. It didn’t happen. Mostly this was due to the fact that not everyone believed in instant change. Transitions are important. Also, a number of people felt that their voices weren’t being heard. (It goes back to that single vision thing, but still, people that are affected should be heard.)

How would I reform the activity? (It is somewhat rhetorical as I’m working on it every day with every caller I help train and every dancer that I teach. I shape attitudes.) Still, there is some widespread change that is needed.

The biggest thing is that we need to make the program lists more fluid. That is, they need to change with the times. Old calls need to be brought into the lists and existing calls need to be moved, dropped, or forgotten.

The problem with this sort of reform is that a large number of callers, and I mean a LARGE number of callers read nearly all their material. Changing their programs means a lot of work, sometimes a lifetime’s worth of work would have to be changed. So, let’s not do whole scale reform.

Let’s pare down the program lists for Mainstream and Plus and make them manageable.  To learn how to square dance should take at MOST 12 weeks. 10-12 would be optimal. The Basic program has not proven itself to be viable. In Europe, where callers have insisted they need at Basic program, it turns out that it is only a stepping stone that needs a title. Their goals are the same as here in the states… get the dancers to Mainstream, then Plus.

Gadzooks.

So, we need a better, and more efficient, destination program then Mainstream, but more viable then Basic. Small and nimble, it should be fluid enough to teach a number of basic calls but large enough to provide variety.  Then, those calls that have been dropped or forgotten can easily be “quarterly selections” or some other sort of workshop move that can be thrown in at a moments notice.

It should be easy to pull calls out of the historical record… Square the Barge (one that comes to mind)…and put them in a dance. It should be encouraged.

Then, after dancing for a while… let the dancers decide when they want to move on to another program. Some might want to go immediately. Others, not so much.

We don’t, in square dancing, have many options. In the USA, we have a market based economy. (The current 2008 market meltdown not withstanding.) It thrives because of options that keep it flexible.

So, if (when) I have my way, a new set of lists will be coming. A set that can breathe with the times and stay flexible. Will it be the end of civilization as we know it? That’s what people said about the automobile, the refrigerator, the radio, nylon, plastic, flying, and the Internet. Change is inevitable. It’s only other option is death.

The dance you save, may be your own.

Until next time, keep dancing!