Stephen’s Square Dance Blog

It’s been ages since I’ve updated my blog on SD land.

The big news is that we’re moving back to Seattle. The back story behind it is mostly drama and not really worth telling.

I’ve purchased some new music. I want to critique it here, which I will do in the next few days.

Finally, here’s something that I’ve noticed about modern western square dance callers, in general. (If you’re a caller and this doesn’t apply to you, then you are a square dance caller in “specific.” General won’t apply to you.)

I’ve noticed that, when you get a group of a callers together and talk about a random application of a specific call, there is nearly always (I said nearly, not 100%) someone that will say that they use some variation of said call at EVERY dance. Not some dances. All dances.

I was part of a discussion to limit how one particular call was danced at the Mainstream program. It was a common sense thing more than anything. (The details are going to remain unspoken so as not to call out anyone in particular. That would be rude.)

This application was so obscure that I couldn’t even fathom why someone would try it, yet there was one caller willing to defend the application of this call (seemingly) to the death.

Seriously. With numbers as low as they are, why does anyone fight like this?

A similar argument came up 6 months ago with a different group of callers about a different call. What came out of this was that someone didn’t like being told “what to do.” Really?

When your peers decide that something is the best interest of the activity  (and getting something to a vote is nearly impossible with some of today’s leadership) the answer is not to conform but to rebel?

There is no call in square dance land that I can’t live without.

You could cut the list in half and I could still put together a dance that would be fun and engaging. I might even use calls missing from the list, but I would introduce them in such a way that no one would have to know them when they walked in the door.

It saddens me to see and hear people argue over the trivial.

My house is full of stuff I don’t need. (I know, because I’m packing it.) Some of my books are a case in point. There are many that I want on my shelves. However, there are many more that I would have gotten just as much use out of had I borrowed them from the library.

I think that we’d have better luck in Square Dance Land if we had a smaller bookshelf with a stronger library.

Though, I’ve been wrong before.

Until next time, keep dancing!

Egads! One of my resolutions for 2010 was to stay caught up with my blogs. Easier said than done. Though, I’m going to get and stay focused.

Here are some random things for today, and I’ll get more posted over the next few days.

I’ve not had a huge number of gigs in Arizona so far this year, but I’ve been busy. (Especially with Eli, but that’s another story for another time/blog.)

Here are the highlights from the dances I’ve had but not blogged about.

January 9th – This was a (solo) visit to the White Mountain Rim Rompers. We’d had a busy few days with Eli the week prior, so felt that it would probably be best if he stayed home and just “chilled.” We had a nice dance. A square of folks for the Plus workshop and then two squares (with some extras) for the dance. They are a Mainstream club, but many of their members dance the Plus program. So, if they had only Plus dancers on the floor, I called Plus. If Mainstream only dancers were up, then I kept it Mainstream. (No matter what, I made sure they had fun all the time.)

January 16th – I was honored to be able to call for part of Dessert Valley Squares’ annual fly-in. It’s a mini-festival of square dancing and always fun. It’s the third fly-in that I’ve called for and all of them have been real events. I worked with the legendary Bob Jones for my set. The dancing was fun, and the food was outstanding! DVS knows how to take care of people.

January 28th – I took the family on a road trip to Lake Havasu for the London Bridge Squares. We had a blast. LBS is a great group and a lot of fun. They’ve booked me for next year already. We had, I think, 4 squares, but 3 danced most of the night. The lovely and talented Nancy Mouser did the rounds. They put us up for the night and we played tourist on Friday. The London Bridge was cool, but I was disappointed in the kitsch around it. I expected more British fare, but it was more geared to the college/bar-hopping set.

February 12th – The family and I headed to Washington state for a small vacation and some calling dates. This initially was supposed to be a Woodinville Toe Stomper dance, but they have since folded.  Our friends Susan and Larry Morris helped me put on the dance on our own. We landed and got to the dance no problem. We had 4 squares and a fun time. I tried a “Take No Prisoners” set in place of pre-rounds. It didn’t go as well as I’d have liked, but we had fun. I called and cued the whole dance. It made for a long night, but we all had a good time.

February 13th – We headed to Puddletown for their Valentine’s Day dance. What fun! We did some mixers and split the tips for the new students and the experienced ones. Martha and I love this club and its members/guests. We had a blast. (And we had some visitors come just to see Eli.)

February 14th – Just a quick visit to Spike Reid’s Sunday Plus. I wasn’t calling; we were just visiting. However, Spike let me call a tip which was great. I thought they started at 8, but they started at 7, so we missed some dancing. However, better late than never.

February 15th – We headed over to Monday Squares where Rem Remington let me split the night with him. Just like old times. We didn’t have enough for 2 squares.  So, we kept the tips short/sweet and had some fun with it.

February 21st – We headed to Solo Squares for a visit with our square dance family there. Their caller, Cliff Nichols, took over when we moved to AZ and has done a great job of entertaining them. He even asked me to call a tip of which I was (and am) thankful.

Tomorrow, March 20th, I’m calling at the Mile High Squares in Prescott.

Over the next week or so, I’ll be providing more updates of some behind the scenes things I’m working on here in AZ. Never a dull moment!

Until next time, keep dancing!

News in Square Dance Land, but not about dancing.

Elijah James Cole was born Sunday, July 19th, 2009 at 3:25 p.m.
Even at pre-term labor of only 31 weeks and 6 days, he weighed in at 4 pounds and 11 ounces.
He was 17 and 3/4 inches long.

Martha and Eli are doing well. The baby, being about two months shy of term, will be spending at least the next 4 weeks in the NICU. (When he comes home is when I’ll plan on scheduling my paternity leave.)

Elijah is healthy and strong with good color. His lungs are underdeveloped, so he’s getting oxygen and he won’t be able to eat without a feeding tube for a few weeks. Still, he’s not in any immediate danger. The NICU doctor that I spoke with said that he’s seen lots of sick babies come into his unit. This is not one of them.

So, everyone is breathing a collective sigh of relief.

Whew!

To start with… Martha and the baby are fine.

However, we had a scare last night (Friday the 17th), one that kept us in Arizona. (We’d planned on visiting Washington this week.) It was a huge disappointment for both of us.

Last night, Martha, before bedtime, discovered some blood where there shouldn’t be any. So, we got dressed and headed to the triage center at the hospital. The triage center is a kind of emergency room for pregnant women. (At one of the birthing classes/sessions we went to, the nurse kept using the term “pregnant people.” That’s a little over the top in PC land. Pregnant women. Though, maybe I’m just old fashioned.)

At 10:30 at night, the parking lot in front of the birthing center was full. Though, in the triage center, it was rather quiet. (Apparently before we got there, it was busy, but still, a full parking lot?) I dropped Martha off at the front door and went and parked.

It turns out that she was, in fact, in pre-term labor. Not good, but easily remedied. Also, it turns out that she’s one centimeter dilated and her cervix was about 90% effaced. This means that the tissue around the cervix has thinned in preparation for childbirth.

The trouble is, she’s only 31 weeks along as the due date is September 14th and this is NOT easily remedied. Contractions can be stopped, however, when the body prepares for birthing, all you can do is slow the process.

Our nurse said that is not cause for alarm. During her own first childbirth she was dilated at 2 centimeters at 32 weeks and they had to induce labor at 40 weeks. (Her kid wasn’t ready to leave.)

Still, the answer here for Martha is bed rest and lots and lots of fluids.

Once the contractions were under control last night, they let us come home.

This morning (Saturday), the on call doctor phoned to let us know that we should have gotten a prescription for the drug that stops/prevents the per-term labor. Martha talked to him and he phoned in the order to the pharmacy. When I got back from the pharmacy, Martha said that the contractions were back.

I loaded Martha back into the car and back to the triage center we went. I may have set the land-speed record for the distance between the apartment and the hospital. I’m very thankful that the police were not out.

Again, the parking lot was full. Don’t those people ever go home? Seriously!

This time, the nurse said that while little had changed (she did say that Martha was dilated to a *good* 1 centimeter) from the night before the doctor was going to admit her to the hospital for 24 hour observation. They gave her the same shot to stop the contractions, and looked at the meds prescribed to stop the contractions. It, most likely, wasn’t a large enough dosage, and, it didn’t help that we’d left the hospital without it.

By the time I made a bathroom break of my own and made it back to her triage room, her observation time went from 24 hours to 48 hours. Also, they were planning on updating Martha’s treatment just a little bit.

They’ve given her a steroid to help with the baby’s lung development. If, for whatever reason, labor starts and they can’t stop it, the steroids will dramatically increase the baby’s  ability to breathe on his own.

The doctor told us that bringing the baby to term is best, but the important time frame is the next 48 hours. This is how long it will take for the steroids to work. To him, the extra time is just a bonus.

We don’t expect the baby to be born soon. This is just a preventative measure. If Martha goes into labor and there is a delivery, the baby would stay in the hospital until about the due date.

Where we are now is just a waiting game. Martha is at the hospital. I took her some stuff to entertain her and her toothbrush. Tomorrow, I’ll take her an extra pillow. The hospital is very nice but there’s not a lot of fluff to the pillows. Also, she said that she’s allowed real food so she’s asked for a McDonald’s Mighty Kids meal with Chicken Nuggets, so I’ll pick that up too.

When I left her tonight (Saturday at about 10:30) she was in good spirits but not really liking the whole hospital gown thing. The contractions have stopped and things look good.

I’ll bring her home Monday, and she’ll be on bed rest, probably until time she gives birth.

This means that I’m going to be the one getting the apartment ready for the baby. This is not my strongest ability.  I can barely find my glasses when they’re on my face and I’m to rearrange the apartment?

Wish us luck.

Peace to everyone and I’ll post more updates as things change.

News from Square Dance Land…

I’ve never been one to think that I need a publicity photo. People have often asked me for one, but, in all humility, I’ve just never thought of my mug as being one to sell anything, let alone a square dance.

Turns out that I was wrong. It took some convincing by some friends of mine and a large number of requests of late. So, I decided to take the plunge and have some photos taken. My first thought was to contact somebody like Sears or JC Penny’s but then I though, “if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right.”

So, I looked online and did a search for publicity photos and found a photographer in the area that specializes in such things.

If you click on this link, be warned, it crashed my web browser the first time I looked at it. (The second time, there was no problem.)

http://www.christopherbarr.com

He was spendy, but his website said he’d negotiate, so we did and I got some great looking photos out of it. I’ve seen the proofs and some of my favorite ones are on Facebook. I wanted something different and something bold. I don’t think that any of them are “bold” per say, but, in some ways, it is how you define bold.

If you ever get a chance to have a professional photographer take your picture, do it. Know that when I say, “take your picture” I mean take *hundreds* of pictures of you. However, it is a really interesting feeling to have someone that focused on making you look good. (No pun intended.)

Eventually, Chris and I will chat and we’ll pick one photograph and he’ll tweak it (crop/resize/color-enhance) for me and I’ll have a publicity photo to share with the world.

Way cool!

It’s been busy the past couple of weeks, and I’ve not updated my blog as I should have.

After my dance on the 13th in Cottonwood, stuff did happen, I just didn’t write it down. Here’s what happened in a nutshell.

On Wednesday, December 17th, we had another lesson at the Mainstreamers. It went well, but we’ve lost a few people. I’m not sure if they’re gone for good, or if it is just the holidays interfering. I suspect one couple is gone for good. They were not happy with the speed of the class. They’ve danced in the past and wanted a refresher. However, we have some brand new students, and I’m not going to rush though things. I also, like the US Marine Corps, won’t leave anyone behind. So, we work on things as needed. I’m sorry to lose anyone, especially strong dancers. However, I won’t sacrifice the the good of the whole for anyone.

One issue that people were complaining to me about was that they wanted to have a full Mainstream program dance after the lessons. I’ve got no problem with it, but it is hard when everyone leaves. I was taking the heat for it as it appeared I was closing shop, however, as soon as lessons are over, everyone leaves. I can’t blame them, they’re tired. Eventually, we’ll have more workshop type sessions. Though, I run all of my lessons (almost) like mini dances. I do lots of singing calls and review as needed. I’ve seen some dancers that say they’ll come back when lessons are over. However, I know they could use the review as much as the students need the teach time.

The 18th (Thursday) was to be my day to call for the Valley Single Squares. However, their president called me the week before and asked me if I’d give the dance back to Chuck Meyer as he’d called the Christmas dance for the past 19 years. Truth is, I really wanted to do the dance and planned for it, but I acquiesced. I’ll do an extra dance in January, I think. My big disappointment was that they waited until the week before to ask me.

December 23rd: We moved the next two Mainstreamers’ lessons to Tuesdays because of the holidays. Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve were on Wednesdays, so this would let us continue without having two weeks off. Two weeks off would have been the kiss of death. As it was, there were a number of no-shows, but we had enough to dance through the lessons. No one stayed for an angel tip/set. Also, we learned that we were losing our hall. The Del Sol reception hall is being sold. Word on the street is that it is owned by a husband and wife that are getting a divorce. He, apparently, wants his half of their estate sooner than later. Bummer.

On December 29th, I filled in for the great Dale Dockery at the Bucks and Bows lessons. It is a real privilege to do this because it is a great class. I follow his teaching order which is unique to him, and he has three designations, Red, Green, and Black. Red has been taught. Green was taught last week. Black has yet to be taught. So, I touched on the Red, Reviewed the Green, and introduced some of the Black. While giving the students a break, I was talking to the club members about what it would take to make square dancing strong again. A variety of opinions, several of them opposing. I’ll present them in my blog as time goes on.

December 30th, at the Desert Mainstreamers, we had almost two squares. Hot dog! One of our angels, Tobia, she joined the club, so a big welcome to her! They’re still working on a place to dance, but it looks as if we’re going to Apache Junction. It is “only” ten miles further down the road. However, it is 10 miles in rush hour and on one of the busiest freeways in the metro-Phoenix area. Wish me luck!

December 31st, the last day of 2008, was not a day that I taught a lesson or called a dance. Instead, I updated my blog’s software, and then Martha and I went dancing. We got to dance to one of the best callers (I think) in the world, Jerry Junck. Jerry has an amount of control over his dances that I find amazing. He keeps a floor moving, no matter how strong it is, has a nice variety of music, and he connects with people when they’re not dancing. Jerry also has an almost supernational control over the speed of the floor. Some callers go non-stop through their material. Other callers watch the slowest dancers on the floor and make others wait. Jerry, somehow puts just the right amount of pause and motion together to make an amazing dance experience. It was a lot of fun.

So, that takes us up to 2009. Hard to believe. Saturday, I’m headed to Portland to call for the Rosetown Rambers and the Heads to the Center. It will be fun. I’ve started putting together material for it. I work on it some more tonight and tomorrow.

I’m supposed to be calling for the Puddletown Dancers in May. This is in Seattle, so I’m trying to figure out a way to make ends meet by finding a dance to call on either side (preferably both) of that date. It is the second Saturday in May, the 9th.

Until next time, keep dancing!

On the 8th we changed our dance time to allow for lessons. We started at 6:00 and went until 9. 6-7:30 was for lessons and 7:30-9 was for the dance.

We got there with a little extra time and I was able to stop and get Martha a beverage from Jack-in-the-Box. I set up and was ready to go at 7:00 sharp.

We had, I think, one new couple. They weren’t really new as they’d danced in years past. (Or, is it passed? I’m not sure.) We dance, and I kept it pretty simple but they ate it up like candy. One couple asked how long it would take to learn the program as she’d been told “ten weeks.”

I think, when we started, I talked about teaching 80% of the existing program in 10-12 weeks. It was to be standard positions only and then we’d move the dancers into the club, let them dance, and we’d workshop the missing calls. This was, I think, interpreted as teaching in 10-12 weeks. Too late to get the genie back in the bottle.

However, if we only get retreads, I can workshop calls a lot faster and people up to speed pretty quickly. If this is the case, we should actively solicit membership rosters of other clubs for dancers that have quit. We might be able to get them back into the activity at Mainstream. Since nearly all the other local clubs are Plus, I’m sure dancers quit because of the length of time it takes to learn THREE programs. (Basic, Mainstream and Plus.)

After the lesson session, I called a Mainstream dance with a single Round Dance between tips. It went fine, but people were tired (even with short tips) by 8:30 and opted to call it a night.

So, we’ll see what happens next week.

Until next time, keep dancing!

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!

I’ve added a new sub-site to my own website. Check out:

http://www.isquaredance.com/hawaii

Norman Hangman told me that AOL is shutting down some of their web services including his own, so I logged into my domain, added a MySQL database, uploaded WordPress, configured it, and added a theme.

The rest is up to Norman (and anyone that posts comments) to add content.

When I get a chance, I’m going to sit down and add links to my home pages (not just this blog) to make it easier for people and search engines to find it.

Until next time, keep dancing!

Some random stuff today.

I was talking to some co-workers today and my square dance calling career came up. One of them couldn’t stop laughing, though I’m not sure why she found it funny. Another one thought it was the coolest thing ever. So, we’ll see.

I got a call from a club in Portland. They wanted to make arrangements for my dance in January. They’re going to help out with airfare too, so that was nice. They asked me to pencil in the date for 2010 too. Man, it feels good to be wanted. The 2010 date falls on New Year’s Day, so I suggested that they consider a New Year’s Eve dance. They’ve got time to think about it and plan.

I can’t believe I’m going to be 40 in just over a week. Seems like it was just a year ago that I turned 39.

I talked to my friend Rick Gittelman in Tuscon tonight. His mom back in Philadelaphia isn’t doing to well. That’s a bummer. So, I told him if he has to fly out and needs someone to cover a dance or two, I’d help him out. It is a trek (probably 90 minutes) to get there, but that’s what friends are for.

That’s my random ramble for today.

Until next time, keep dancing!