Stephen’s Square Dance Blog

On Wednesday, Martha and I headed back to Mesa for the Mainstreamers’ Halloween Dance.

Traffic was pretty rough, and I was worried that we’d not get there on time. (I really don’t know why people are so opposed to merging. Also, is it so hard to just take your turn? We all have places to be and driving like a jerk doesn’t help anyone.)

We started lessons at 6:00 sharp. At one point, with students and angels we had three squares on the floor. However, most of the evening, there were two squares. I think we have 8 new dancers, but there might be 10. Some are visiting from other clubs and others are just trying to take a refresher. So, I don’t know where the students stop and the dancers begin.

However, at 7:30, when the lessons end, I barely had enough for a square of Mainstream dancers. Three students (all retreads) had to fill in. If that’s that way it’s going to be, we should just have lessons from 6-8 and call it good.

While teaching, especially the first couple of weeks. I jump all over the map in the teaching order. This includes the revised order. I really think it is important to show off the style of dancing we do TODAY. That is, today’s square dancers are primarily interested in line based choreography. However, the existing teaching order we start by teaching Circle and Star choreography. It is pretty stuff, but is not what we see at club dances.

Granted, ask any caller that’s been calling for a number of years and they’ll tell you that they “use every call on the list” and they do it “every night.” I’ve been to some of those dances, it isn’t true. I can’t tell you the last time I was at a Mainstream dance and heard Backtrack. I take that back, I can remember… it was at a local (Phoenix area) dance where Randy Daugherty was calling. Someone was bragging how good a dancer they were and I think Randy heard them. So, he started calling some simple, stuff using Stars and Circles… including Backtrack. It was fun, but you could tell that the dancers weren’t used to it.

Starting next week, I’ll be filling in the holes so we can stay on track for class.

We’re going to be hosting a Christmas dance for students in December, so I’ll be getting the word out.

Until next time, keep dancing!

Hello from Square Dance Land!

I’ve had a number of private comments about the blog change. One or two have made issues of how readible it is (or isn’t) so, if you have a problem with it, let me know. I’ll try to fix it.

Tonight was full of ups and down. I pulled in two more couples for lessons. I know have a full square, 8 people, as long as they all come back. Several of them are re-treads, they’ve danced in years past, and some of them are brand new. It is a healthy mix and they’re all young. (Youth is in the eye of the beholder. I’d say that everyone, nearly, is in their 50s.)

Nothing earth shattering, as far as material. Lots of Circles and Stars. Tonight, I added Ladies Chain (both 4 Ladies Chain and 2 Ladies Chain), Pass Thru, and Courtesy Turn. I can do a lot with just a few calls. I’m no Marshall Flippo, but I can entertain them.

I was having a great time, and I think everyone else was was well, and suddenly, it was time to be over. An hour and a half is good… but two hours would be better. I’d like the extra time to just let people dance and “let their hair down.”

I’ve got a woman “angel” (in Square Dance speak, an angel is someone that helps teach new dancers) that is struggling just a bit. There’s one man that likes to Swing when he does the Do Sa Do. From her expression and her body language, it isn’t a good thing for her. I don’t know if it is that she’s a tad on the frail side, or if she just doesn’t appreciate the sudden close contact.

Last week,  at a different dance, I had a dancer express annoyance that I wanted him to do Do Sa Do “properly.” (Properly is “back to back” and has no touching involved.) He told me that I took his fun away. Well, the trouble is that a number of the women he was swinging couldn’t get back into the formation they needed to be due to the extra frills. If you can hip swing or highland-fling swing and get back into your formation, go ahead. If not, you’re doing bad things to the square and to the dance and should stop.

The regular club dance was okay. We only had a square, and some of them, I think, weren’t feeling entirely well. They were moving slower than normal. So, I called three tips and we called it a night. We’re supposed to go until 9:00, but we were done before 8:30. I may just suggest that, if we’re not going to get a club of dancers, then we should just teach from 6-8 and have a couple of tips at the end for the angels. Eventually, we’ll get to a point where we’re just dancing and I can workshop calls as I need to.

Sharon (the president) asked me if next week would be okay. I didn’t have a problem with it, but Bill (the guy helping bankroll the group) wants to get lessons moving. I can sneak another couple into my program next week.

When we were done, I heard that another club, that teaches lessons on the same night, decided to stop doing lessons because they were losing money. They had 22 students on the books and had to quit. I was asking why and they said that between the hall rent and paying the caller, they were losing $50 a night. It made me shake my head. Granted, over the past 5 weeks, they averaged 10 people.

If you have someone coordinating the students… someone that could call them to remind them, make them feel welcome when they’re there and missed when they’re not, then half your battle is over.  Get everyone in the door, and raise your prices $2.50 and you’ve covered your shortfall. If you need more… have a 50/50 drawing. I’ve said for years that I think that angels should bear some of the cost of lessons. It doesn’t have to be a full stake, but it would help the club a lot. Granted, I think they should get something for their money… a tip or two, just for them. After all, the dance they save, may be their own.

I can sympathize for those on a fixed income… but I also know that prices for all goods and services rise. Gas, heating/cooling bills, taxes, rent… the bills have to be paid somehow. If not, we lose our halls and our dances.

Sorry for being a downer. I just don’t think stopping lessons is the answer. Lessons are a loss leader anyway. You expect to lose money in the short term with a long term goal of a new member.

I’ll ponder some more and see what I can figure out… until then, I’ll just do what I do best and enjoy the most, calling square dances.

Until next time, keep dancing.

I’ve removed their entry from my calendar because it isn’t fair to single them out, but I had a very unpleasant experience today in my attempt to do some “outreach.”

A local group was doing a fundraiser and I offered to do the event for “free.” That is, whatever fee they paid me, I was going to return to them in the form of a donation. They’re a registered non-profit (or maybe not-for-profit, I really don’t keep those things straight) so, I was pleased to do it.

I got there with time to spare… indeed, Martha and I had a chance to grab a quick bite …and was able to set up without issue. Our host gave us space, but we had to find a table ourselves.

I need to start requesting that events (including clubs) reserve a parking space for me. It seems everywhere I go, I have to fight for a spot. I’m the one that has to haul lots of gear inside. I wouldn’t think that this would be hard to comprehend, but apparently it is. My father taught me a lot about respecting the needs of others. I’m glad his teachings sank in. Sometimes I think his voice was alone in the winderness. (No doubt that, during my childhood, he felt that way too.)

We were outside. It was a clear day. It was a sunny day and probably 95 degrees. Our host thought the heat had something to do with the fact that we couldn’t get anyone to dance. In the end, after a lot of tooth pulling, we got 8 people. There were 2 grownups, 4 young-adults (teenagers), and 2 tweens. Not a lot of balance there, but finally, I had someone.

I started them moving right away and everyone was having a good time. I went through the basics… Circle Left, Circle Right, Forward and Back, Dosado, Allemande Left, Right and Left Grand, and Stars. Perfect. I ran through this in about 10-12 minutes and did a singing call, Scooby Doo. Well, right before I was to do the 4th figure… one of the teen’s mothers came out of the blue and dragged her son away. I started to say she could having him in abou 90 seconds, but took him by the arm and took him away. She came up to me and said “I’m sorry, but we’re late and we have to go.”

How rude.

How totally rude.

I had to stop the music and everyone just sort of walked away. Okay, I can understand that she was late for another enagement, but it wouldn’t have killed her to wait a minute or two.I don’t really get that sense of entitlement that lets people interrupt whenever they want.

So, after that, I told our host that we were leaving. No one wanted to participate and it just wasn’t worth my time.

I had such high hopes too. I’ve done a number of square dance parties where I’ve been asked for “just one more dance!”

I won’t say that my feelings were hurt, but I am truly disappointed.

I’ve got a few days off before I call again. I’m going to spend them working on some more material for my Mainstream class and work on my handbook for being an accredited caller-coach. (I’ll be sure to address the issue of establishing expectations.)

Until next time, be cheerful, and keep dancing!

First off, let me say Happy Birthday to an old friend. Julie States of Pennsylvania made another complete turn around the sun and for that we have reason for celebration. If you see her or know her be sure to smile and wish her a happy day.

Friday was a LOOOOONG day. After work, I got on my bike and pedaled furiously to get home so I could drive to Tucson. A drive that was made more difficult because there was an accident on I-10 that had a fatality. Later we found out, sadly, that it was a 14 year old girl that died. Our thoughts and prayers for her and her family.

The Twirlers had a small showing on Friday. They’d hoped for more, but we got just over a square.There’s a workshop from 7:30 to 8:00 and a dance from 8:00 until 10:00. The workshop was not overly hard. Just call applications that are a little less common. Explode the Wave with the boys in the center of the wave. (It’s a call that references neither left nor right but rather IN. You have to Pass Thru, FACE IN, then Pull By. Like the call Wheel and Deal, there a tendency for people to want to turn the same way all the time. I need to find a helper word/trick to work around this.)

I had some requests for songs… ” Cheeseburger in Paradise” was one of them. It is funny how people remember certain songs and want to hear them nearly every time. I don’t rightly understand it. I would think that people would want some new material. In all fairness, I did pull out a couple of new ones that I’d never done before as well as one of my Royal Records Platinum tunes that I just learned. “I loved ‘em Every One.”

I called some harder material and everyone seemed to enjoy it. I tend to keep my singing calls easier than my patter because I like it when people can relax and let their hair down.

With one square, I tried not to tire them out, so I attempted to keep the tips short. Still, we ended early because 2.5 hours is a long time. I was going to cue some rounds, but no one seemed interested.

The drive home was uneventful. I’ve been doing my best to “lead by example” while driving. I’ve been keeping right, except to pass and stick to the posted speed limit. (Okay, maybe a few MPH over, but no more than five.) Still, it is very disconcerting to be doing 55 in a construction zone and have people breeze by as if I’m sitting still. Where are the police when I want them?

Be safe and enjoy your day!

Until next time, keep dancing.

On Thursday, Martha and I went back to Mesa to call for the Valley Singles. Normally, I have a late lunch so I can skip dinner, but didn’t get a chance to do this and I was hungry. There’s not much fast food near where the Valley Singles Dance but there is a McDonald’s just down the street. Time for Happy Meals for 2!

I had FIVE square nearly all night with four at the very end. I must be doing something right.

That said, the evening’s dance was a bit of a struggle at times. More than once the entire floor crashed using the standard application of Mainstream calls. I had to modify my presentation style and speed of delivery, and eventually we got into a groove.

In discussing the issues with some club members later, they said they’d had some newer graduated Plus dancers as well as a few that hadn’t been to a dance in a while. So, next time, as part of my preparation, I’m going to be sure that I am ready to work both a Mainstream call as well as a Plus call to try and improve dancers’ ability just a little.

Still, with my struggles, I kept four squares until the end. There was one that wanted to dance and a couple that were sitting on the sidelines, so there were still people there. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Linda Liberti did a fine job on the rounds. Her husband was out, and he, like always, was missed. He’s a real card. He’s got this grin that lights up the room when he enters. Not quite as mischievous as the Cheshire Cat, but pretty darn close.

If you were there, thanks for coming to the dance. It was great to have you and I hope to see you again.

Until next time, keep dancing!

On Wednesday, Martha and I headed back to Mesa to call for the Desert Mainstreamers.

It was their second dance since starting lessons. We’ve picked up a second couple. While I do wish for more, I’m happy with the number that we get. This couple is brand-spanking-new and the first couple danced a couple of years ago. I worked them through a number of basics and then taught Grand Square.

We didn’t have a full square of club members, probably due to the presidential debate. (I’m sorry I missed it myself, but in the end, I catch it, or at least the highlights, on the news.) So, we just kept the students dancing. My tendency is to just keep teaching, but I’ve learned over the years that the teaching has to stop after about an hour. A quick review, then teach something and dance to reinforce what was learned. I’m starting to think that the review at the beginning should really only be centered around the calls learned the previous week.

I used to try to review EVERYTHING before I started teaching. The trouble is that at a certain point. It takes a long time to do that; almost too long. By the time you’re ready to start teaching, dancers are tired.

The first couple of weeks with new people are mostly the same materials. There is some variation so that it isn’t overly repetitious. However, I make note of what I’ve called or taught so that no one gets short changed.

I taught some and we danced and everyone had a good time. Eventually, people started to trickle out so we didn’t have enough to keep going. However, we had at least 2 hours of teaching and dance time. Not too shabby.

Next week, I hope to have more. Please join us, we’d love to have you.

Until next time, keep dancing.

Saturday, I headed to Show Low to call again for the White Mountain Rim Rompers. (No visits with the law this time around.)

Martha stayed home as we had company from California. I got an early start and enjoyed the drive. I stopped several times to be touristy and take pictures. (One of the few regrets about my time in Washington and even Virginia is that I didn’t take more tourist type pictures. Though, in this digital age, it is much easier.)

I got to Show Low with time to spare, so I went to the home where I was to be staying. The people I’d stayed with before were out of town, but they left a key for me. Square dancers are good people but Chuck and Mary Ellen are among the best.

I changed my clothes at their home. This was a good thing because it was COLD. It was probably 20 degrees colder there then Phoenix. I wasn’t dressed for the weather at all.

I went over to the dance and got set up. I didn’t get a spot in front of the door so I’m glad I didn’t have to haul all my gear into the building. They have a Hilton 300C in the hall all ready. (I love it.) They have a pair of Hilton speakers. (I don’t love them so much.) I bring my own hearing enhancement as I know there’s one person that needs it.

Note to clubs: Federal Law REQUIRES you to provide hearing assistance to those that need it. It is part of the ADA of 1996. Once upon a time, you could claim “hardship” but it’s been over ten years and that claim is a lot harded to prove.

We had three squares at the start, two for most of the evening, and one at the end. There was one fellow that had a Mount Baker Singles badge from Washington. It made me feel right at home.

There were a few new dancers there, and some experienced ones as well. One square struggled all night while another one danced nearly everything I gave them. The funny thing is that nearly everyone took turns in both squares. The one on my left was the one that didn’t do well. So, I blame the floor. 

I had one square of Plus dancers, so I gave them a tip in the middle in lieu of a break. My gimmicky call was to: Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears …BUT… do the Exchange 3 Times.” It took us a try or two to get it done, but once they got it, they loved it. (I’ll have to make a note of it and call it again when I go back in December. A second note will to bring a heavy coat.)

I also made my pitch about using other groups to help recruit new classes. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. So, why not have a benefit dance for the American Cancer Society? Someone asked me how that would be good for the club. I told him that if they have a benefit dance for the ACS, have 2 dances in 1. Have a dance from 5-8 as “no experience needed” and enlist the aid of the ACS in recruitment. After hall rent (maybe the hall will donate their time) give the REST of the money to the ACS. Don’t sell lessons at this time, but make sure people are aware… possibly by saying that the club is giving up one of their normal recruiting nights for the event. After the student dance is over, have a full Mainstream dance and give those proceeds to the ACS too. Do a good deed, twice.

It was a fun evening. Lots of good compliments and feedback at the end of the night. I’m looking forward to going back.

Until next time, keep dancing!

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.

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!

First, a preamble from Clark Baker of Belmont, MA:

As some of you may be aware Tim Crawford, a caller from Canada, has had some severe issues traveling to, and calling in, the United States.  He sent the following to me, and I asked him if it was OK to send it onto the sd-callers list.  This was initially sent to Callerlab’s Executive Committee and I edited it very slightly.  – Clark Baker

Begin forwarded message:

From: CALLERTIM@aol.com
Date: October 3, 2008 6:24:22 PM EDT
Subject: My Border details…

Below are the details of what happened.  As you might imagine, there are some pretty entertaining rumours out there.

Tim Crawford
316 – 1411 Walkers line
Burlington, ON, L7M 4P5
905 572 5080 WWW.CALLERTIM.COM

********************************

If you would, the full true story is below, and I would appreciate you passing the “true” story on to as many people as possible. When this happened in 2005, all the notes of support, the petitions, and the letters went a very long way in getting the result that was just, and I would also be appreciative of those again!

here’s how this occurred…………

In 2005 I was calling in Rochester NY, and while crossing the border I was searched and asked specific questions about my calling in the States. I was not about to mislead so I told them the truth about my calling and that I was the only caller. The border guard then, seized my passport, my possessions and threatened me with arrest because I was “illegally entering the USA and working illegally”. They denied me entry to the US and advised me to get a legal opinion on that action, which I did. After $7000 to an immigration lawyer, a US consulate adjudicator, and a US lawyer for opinion, my reentry, and approval to enter the US and call was granted. They issued me a border crossing package that has been consistently accepted by Border guards literally everywhere. in mid 2005, I resumed crossing the border without delay.

Since 2007, it has been getting more and more difficult to cross the border. More questions, more searches, more delay’s. In August this year, I was crossing the border to fly from Buffalo to Nashville to call for the Singles Convention. I arrived at the Border at 3pm for an 8pm flight and was detained at the border for secondary inspection. I was escorted to a room where I sat for 9 hours, was not allowed to make a phone call, offered not even a drink of water and was not allowed to leave. Occasionally they would ask me questions about calling, and told me that I would need to get a Visa. Each time, I explained to them that I had been through this in 2005, and I had the “Border Crossing Package”, which they refused to review. near midnight, a singular Border Guard told me that I was being refused entry to the US, and that “this time it would be for 5 years” as he was taking action under the “Immigration act”. When I asked why he would not consider my package, he replied that “at this border he was Judge and he was Jury”. I was escorted back to my car, then escorted back to Canada across the bridge.

This situation has forced me to repeat my $7000 legal episode from 2007, except this time the immigration action is different, and the cost will be near $10,000 and could take up to 6 months. It makes me incredibly sad that I am being treated like this, and that they would not even consider the action from a mere 3 years ago.

I am in the process of fighting this action, and I am assured that I will get it overturned, not so much that I want to come back and call, but because I believe that they made a mistake, and have charged me with something that I did not do…I had it all approved!

I am truly sorry that this has occurred and I will surely miss everyone in the meantime. I call because I L O V E to call, not because it’s a job or a career or because I make money from it. I call because I love to do it, and I love the people, and that is motivation enough for my fight!

Again, I am sorry for all this trouble and I certainly appreciate your support and understanding.