Calling for Ettseteras
Jun. 12th, 2007 09:05 amLast night, I called a C1 square dance for the Ettseteras,
justetthon's square dance group in College Park, MD, and I think it all went pretty well! We had two squares of dancers with a few extras, less than in prior dances but a fun crowd nonetheless.
This was a series of firsts for me:
- my first time calling more than a single tip of C1;
- my first time using a couples rotation to cycle dancers through squares;
- my first time calling a dance outside of our home clubs DC Lambda Squares and Chesapeake Squares.
As an additional treat,
sfbearhoney is in town on work-related travel and we were delighted to have him join us for the evening.
I learned plenty at this dance...
Alas, I won't be back to dance with the Ettseteras for a while as we're commited to DC Lambda Squares' open house and Plus class for every Monday through to Labour Day in September.
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This was a series of firsts for me:
- my first time calling more than a single tip of C1;
- my first time using a couples rotation to cycle dancers through squares;
- my first time calling a dance outside of our home clubs DC Lambda Squares and Chesapeake Squares.
As an additional treat,
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
I learned plenty at this dance...
- Yup, left-handed calls (even Plus and Advanced ones) still need to be used judiciously or at least carefully cued: a left-hand chain reaction didn't have the success I had hoped for, although we managed through.
- 'In your blocks: chase right' looks good on paper but folks can lose their orientation quickly; one person losing it is recoverable but two or more makes the square go boom.
- My stack of hard cards are harder than I suspected, although not by much. I need to build up my stack of medium-level cards so I can flip back to them effortlessly if the hard ones are a bit too challenging for a given floor.
- My stack of easy cards were well-liked. The cheer from the floor on the first 'right & left grand' of a tip is a good thing at any dance level.
- I still have a stack of cards which are yet to be road-tested. I wrote far more than I actually needed for this dance --over-preparation is always good.
- Most importantly, square dance figures work well if the caller actually reads his cards fully & correctly... thank god I was able to sight-resolve my way out of one snag!
Alas, I won't be back to dance with the Ettseteras for a while as we're commited to DC Lambda Squares' open house and Plus class for every Monday through to Labour Day in September.