Sashay Thru The Woods, Day 2
Apr. 3rd, 2006 08:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bjarvisSaturday started sluggishly. I hate mornings. There were, however, workshops I wished to attend and sad tradition has it that workshops are scheduled for mornings. Yay team.
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billeyler's A2 workshop went rather well, I thought. The biggest problem was executing "square chain thru" from positions other than a squared set, which confirmed --in my twisted mind, at least-- something I always suspected about our little "square chain thru" chant: it emphasizes the wrong thing.
The "square chain thru" usually has some dancers mumbling to themselves to pass thru, left swing thru... and then the entire hall erupts into "...AND DON'T FORGET THE TURN THRU!" Yet the number of times I've seen someone forget the turn thru (myself included) with or without the chant can be counted on one hand. In almost every instance where the call has crashed my square it was because the dancers were in such a hurry to remember their turn thru that they fumble the essential formation of the wave in the early part of the call.
This is what was happening during the workshop, to poor Bill's frustration: several dancers weren't waiting to look for the wave forming, esp. on when doing the left handed version of "square chain thru." Bill eventually slowed them down by recasting the call to start with "square thru" and freezing the dancers with handholds in place, forcing them to recognized the waves created before letting them proceed. Go Bill!
We had a similar issue with Bill's workshop on "motivate," working from non-wave formations. Again, the dancers (in my square, at least) were rushing ahead instead of taking the critical step of recognizing the formation of the star in the middle of the set.
In general, it's very difficult to get dancers to stop in their tracks for a beat or two, even when the call specifies to do so (eg. the ends of a tidal wave doing "triple trade"). And our dance culture/atmosphere at the intro levels of MS & Plus does generally encourage people to wander rather than freeze in their tracks if they become lost, with the hope that they will be cued by the other seven dancers, see something to clue them in, or simply find an empty spot in the set where they should be.
I didn't dance a great deal. Iam old enough have enough fly-in experience to pace myself, not feel obligated to dance to every tip available and generally enjoy myself with a mix of activities on & off the dance floor. I had as much floor time as I wanted and generally danced some of the most comfortable A2 sets thus far. Through most of 2004/5, I considered myself an adequate A2 dancer: I could get through a tip without crashing although I had to perform some mental gymnastics to remember the proper sequences & flow for a handful of calls. In 2006 --and particularly this weekend-- every call felt like an old friend: recognizable, comfortable, familiar, safe.
Something I noted from the schedule: this was the first fly-in I've attended where A1 was given such a level of prominence. Typically, most fly-ins would simply have A2 with a token A1 tip here & this time we had were blocks dedicated to A1 and others split evenly between A1 & A2. I'm guessing that some club --probably our host club, the Independence Squares-- has an A1/A2 course in progress and aren't finished the A2 list yet, but I neglected to ask at the time.
This lead to a personal realization: if I had to call A1, I'd be in big trouble. The A1 & A2 lists are so mixed in my head that I'd have to work very hard to come up with something on the fly that is purely A1-kosher. It doesn't help that I can't see any particular pattern or logic which places a call in one list or the other. OK, I see that the grand and triple calls (grand swing thru, triple scoot, etc.) are in the A1 list while the all eight, all four couples and hourglass calls are in the A2 list, but what logic puts square chain thru in A1 while remake is in A2? Anyone have an idea on this?
Kentshowed off the new minivan drove a bunch of us to a sports bar/pub called Shenanigans on Lake Harmony for dinner. Sean is a strict vegetarian, Mark was giving up meat & dairy for lent and Kent is gluten-intolerant. Memo to self: survey dietary requirements & check menus before selecting the restaurant next year. Mercifully, Chris, billeyler and I can eat, oh, just about anything so it wasn't a total loss.
All callers were on stage for the Saturday evening dance, alternating dance levels. Guest callers also had a shot at the microphone with the staff callers as their backup singers/chorus line.kent4str had a MS tip which he executed very well... he received many compliments from the dancers that evening and the following day. We humourously called it his "pity tip" since his Friday night MS set didn't have enough dancers for a square until the block was 2/3 over.
After 10 PM, we headed to the pool for-- square dancing! Zip and Chris called while we splashed in the pool. I was exhausted after the first two tips so I was content to bob around in the water and take some photos from the sidelines while the rest danced for another hour. This was probably the heaviest physical workout I've had in a while and the time flew past.
billeyler's A2 workshop went rather well, I thought. The biggest problem was executing "square chain thru" from positions other than a squared set, which confirmed --in my twisted mind, at least-- something I always suspected about our little "square chain thru" chant: it emphasizes the wrong thing.The "square chain thru" usually has some dancers mumbling to themselves to pass thru, left swing thru... and then the entire hall erupts into "...AND DON'T FORGET THE TURN THRU!" Yet the number of times I've seen someone forget the turn thru (myself included) with or without the chant can be counted on one hand. In almost every instance where the call has crashed my square it was because the dancers were in such a hurry to remember their turn thru that they fumble the essential formation of the wave in the early part of the call.
This is what was happening during the workshop, to poor Bill's frustration: several dancers weren't waiting to look for the wave forming, esp. on when doing the left handed version of "square chain thru." Bill eventually slowed them down by recasting the call to start with "square thru" and freezing the dancers with handholds in place, forcing them to recognized the waves created before letting them proceed. Go Bill!
We had a similar issue with Bill's workshop on "motivate," working from non-wave formations. Again, the dancers (in my square, at least) were rushing ahead instead of taking the critical step of recognizing the formation of the star in the middle of the set.
In general, it's very difficult to get dancers to stop in their tracks for a beat or two, even when the call specifies to do so (eg. the ends of a tidal wave doing "triple trade"). And our dance culture/atmosphere at the intro levels of MS & Plus does generally encourage people to wander rather than freeze in their tracks if they become lost, with the hope that they will be cued by the other seven dancers, see something to clue them in, or simply find an empty spot in the set where they should be.
I didn't dance a great deal. I
Something I noted from the schedule: this was the first fly-in I've attended where A1 was given such a level of prominence. Typically, most fly-ins would simply have A2 with a token A1 tip here & this time we had were blocks dedicated to A1 and others split evenly between A1 & A2. I'm guessing that some club --probably our host club, the Independence Squares-- has an A1/A2 course in progress and aren't finished the A2 list yet, but I neglected to ask at the time.
This lead to a personal realization: if I had to call A1, I'd be in big trouble. The A1 & A2 lists are so mixed in my head that I'd have to work very hard to come up with something on the fly that is purely A1-kosher. It doesn't help that I can't see any particular pattern or logic which places a call in one list or the other. OK, I see that the grand and triple calls (grand swing thru, triple scoot, etc.) are in the A1 list while the all eight, all four couples and hourglass calls are in the A2 list, but what logic puts square chain thru in A1 while remake is in A2? Anyone have an idea on this?
Kent
billeyler and I can eat, oh, just about anything so it wasn't a total loss.All callers were on stage for the Saturday evening dance, alternating dance levels. Guest callers also had a shot at the microphone with the staff callers as their backup singers/chorus line.
kent4str had a MS tip which he executed very well... he received many compliments from the dancers that evening and the following day. We humourously called it his "pity tip" since his Friday night MS set didn't have enough dancers for a square until the block was 2/3 over.After 10 PM, we headed to the pool for-- square dancing! Zip and Chris called while we splashed in the pool. I was exhausted after the first two tips so I was content to bob around in the water and take some photos from the sidelines while the rest danced for another hour. This was probably the heaviest physical workout I've had in a while and the time flew past.
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no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 02:31 pm (UTC)I think there are few callers who can easily separate A1 from A2. I know that Sandie Bryant has to pull out a list when she calls it. Carrying around a list per level seems to be a good idea, especially the further up you call. I know that John Sybalsky keeps a notebook open on the table in front of him, with a list of the calls for the level he's calling.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 02:57 pm (UTC)I keep a copy of the MS, Plus, A1 and A2 lists in each my clipboard, my laptop case and my backpack, just in case. Most typically, I use these to scan for calls I've been ignoring while the dancers are promenading home or the like...
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 02:57 pm (UTC)I totally agree with you about Square Chain Thru. When it gets killed it's just about always because people don't form the wave. I am not a big fan of verbal cuing in general, especially since people often fail to cue the correct definition. For instance, I heard someone self-cuing "swing, slip" on the Square Chain Thru when it's really a left swing thru. I guess you could argue that the result is basically the same, but getting sloppy with definitions is a very slippery slope.
Saw you shutterbugging around a lot this weekend. Will you/where will you post photos?
Good to find you on here.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 03:12 pm (UTC)I've downloaded the photos from my camera, copied it all (77 images, 50 MB) to my USB flash memory keychain and will be labelling & sorting the lot today. I'll import them into iPhoto and post them on my web site tonight, god(s) willing. Watch for a link announcement in the next 24 hours!
Left Square Chain Thru
Date: 2006-04-03 05:29 pm (UTC)As for A1 & A2... I remember that no sooner had
Re: Left Square Chain Thru
Date: 2006-04-03 08:25 pm (UTC)Apparently, a while ago, CALLERLAB was prepared to vote them into a single level/list. The motion was made, discussion was under way and a vote was about to be undertaken. One particular caller of great influence & reputation (whose name I don't recall) argued persuasively for combining the lists and that result seemed assured. Then, almost literally at the last moment, that same caller did an about-face, recanted his prior position and urged maintenance of the current A1/A2 split. John had no clue why the caller changed his mind so dramatically at such a late hour, but here we are.
As a dancer, I see no need for two lists. As a caller, it's annoying. I could synthesize an argument for keeping two lists for pedagogic reasons, but the only sane way to do that --IMHO-- is to rationalize the lists, shuffling some calls between the two for consistency.
Fortunately, not having been a member of CALLERLAB for three years yet, I'm not allowed under the rules to put my money where my mouth is on this particular topic and may therefore continue carping from the sidelines. :-)
A1 in general
Date: 2006-04-03 09:00 pm (UTC)Part of that may be that A1 is more like a stepping stone on the way to getting through intensive lessons through A2, and the dancers haven't developed any proficiency at that marking point.
Mostly, I just call the A2 program "Advanced"...occasionally, when I announce an Advanced tip, I'll get someone coming up to me that was only partly through A1, thinking that's what I was calling.
Sigh.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 08:54 pm (UTC)I, like you, can't differentiate A1 and A2 anymore...it's been so long since I taught A1 by itself that it has all blended together. I DO have the current Callerlab lists and definitions on my laptop, mercifully.
As for dancing in the pool, I did enjoy watching your version of "bobbing in the water." Quite educational!
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 09:16 pm (UTC)Apparently, the Philadelphia MS class she was teaching was two weeks behind schedule because of bad snow storms earlier in the winter. Figures.
no subject
Date: 2006-04-04 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 09:22 pm (UTC)Everybody wins! :-)
no subject
Date: 2006-04-03 09:59 pm (UTC)