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[bjarvis]

Square dance cultists aficionados note: "spin chain thru" has been moved from the Plus list to the Mainstream list. This after being moved from Mainstream to Plus in 2001.

Figures. Now I have to figure out where to insert it into both Mainstream classes in which I'm involved.

Comments

[allanh.livejournal.com]

Where did it fit into the teach order prior to 2001?

If you don't want to put it into the middle (which was what I vaguely recall the pre-2001 CALLERB teaching order saying), you can justify placing it at either end of the teach order as follows:

(1) You can teach it fairly early on because it's a more complex call, and will take more time to learn/practice/get right.

(2) You can teach it fairly late because you want them to get used to other concepts first, such as cast 3/4 and circulating around the outside.

Hm. What was the standard app again? Oh yes - parallel ocean waves, girls in the center, boys on the ends, "...called almost exclusively from this arrangement" according to my CALLERLAB PLUS Standard Apps book. (Yes, I'm still standardizing choreo...)

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure where it lived in the prior teaching order... I'll have to dig to see if I have anything in my files.

Looking at my notes for the current MS classes, I'm inclined to leave "spin chain thru" to near the end; as you say, it's easier to teach if they already have cast 3/4, circulate patterns and such. But I need to keep it away from "spin the top" so that they don't confuse the two.

[allanh.livejournal.com]

Actually, it could be a VERY good exercise in learning to listen to the entire call.

That's why Sandie's Right & Left Thru, Right & Left Thru, Right & Left GRAND trick keeps working so well ...

Maybe you DO want to do it near spin the top, and warn the students that they'll need to learn to listen carefully.

[bjarvis.livejournal.com]

I might try that in a club night, level dance or workshop but not in a class... the poor dears have enough to worry about. :-)

[allanh.livejournal.com]

Think of it as teaching a square dance survival skill.

"SURVIVOR: The Square Dance Class"