Preparing for a Plus Square Dance Workshop

Tonight, I'm teaching a Plus workshop for the Chesapeake Squares. I've had a list of calls and topics in the back of my mind to use for this occasion, but this morning, I received a list of requests from the dancers so I'm going with that.

Well, largely.

The list is a long one. It includes some Mainstream material, but that's ok: if they feel they need it, I'll cover it. Besides, I'm taking a broader interpretation of the workshop to include everything up to & including Plus rather than just looking at the Plus list alone.

The complete list is also very long and will certainly take more than the two hours available tonight. Much of it also would be considered dance-by-definition: executing calls from very unusual positions such as 'load the boat' from a wave between two mini-waves, or 'ping pong circulate' from an I wave, etc..

My plan tonight is to remind them of certain basic rules from the preamble of the Mainstream program:

• Same Position Rule: If two dancers must occupy the same space, they join right hands.
  
• Facing Couples Rule: If two couples are facing and the caller gives an ocean wave call, it is implicit they first step to the ocean wave, then proceed with the specified call.
  
• Ocean Wave Rule: If the dancers are in a wave and the caller gives a call which requires facing couples, the dancers should proceed as though they had already started the call and must simply carry on to finish the rest of the call.

From that, I'm going to dance them through some circulates they already know, marking the theory behind our automatic movement: what is my formation? What is my starting point in that formation (leader, follower, end, center, whatever)? Where is the next spot? What do I do if someone is already there? What does 'split' mean in a given context? What would 1/2 circulate or 1/2 split circulate mean from this position?

From there, we start on the wish list I was given this morning:

• all 8 circulate from a completed double pass thru position, and from t-bones;
  
• split circulate from columns, t-bones, completed double pass thru and two-faced lines;
  
• pass the ocean from right-handed and left-handed ocean waves;
  
• zoom from columns and t-bones.

And that's just the Mainstream portion.

On their Plus wish list, we have:

• a review of the rules for "and roll" & "and spread";
  
• chase right/left from right- & left-handed t-bones, as well as mixed t-bones;
  
• load the boat from tidal waves; diamonds with facing points, a wave between mini-waves;
  
• spin chain the gears from a tidal wave and from two-faced lines.

There's lots more on the wish-list but I'd consider myself very lucky to get through all of this in a single evening. Hell, just reviewing the definitions for some of these calls from standard applications may take all evening.

Oh, and there was a request from one particular dancer to have 'spin chain & exchange the gears' from a position whereby he will be the one leading the parade for his team of four. That request I can guarantee we cover tonight. :-)

Preparing for a Plus Square Dance Workshop

Tonight, I'm teaching a Plus workshop for the Chesapeake Squares. I've had a list of calls and topics in the back of my mind to use for this occasion, but this morning, I received a list of requests from the dancers so I'm going with that.

Well, largely.

The list is a long one. It includes some Mainstream material, but that's ok: if they feel they need it, I'll cover it. Besides, I'm taking a broader interpretation of the workshop to include everything up to & including Plus rather than just looking at the Plus list alone.

The complete list is also very long and will certainly take more than the two hours available tonight. Much of it also would be considered dance-by-definition: executing calls from very unusual positions such as 'load the boat' from a wave between two mini-waves, or 'ping pong circulate' from an I wave, etc..

My plan tonight is to remind them of certain basic rules from the preamble of the Mainstream program:

• Same Position Rule: If two dancers must occupy the same space, they join right hands.
  
• Facing Couples Rule: If two couples are facing and the caller gives an ocean wave call, it is implicit they first step to the ocean wave, then proceed with the specified call.
  
• Ocean Wave Rule: If the dancers are in a wave and the caller gives a call which requires facing couples, the dancers should proceed as though they had already started the call and must simply carry on to finish the rest of the call.

From that, I'm going to dance them through some circulates they already know, marking the theory behind our automatic movement: what is my formation? What is my starting point in that formation (leader, follower, end, center, whatever)? Where is the next spot? What do I do if someone is already there? What does 'split' mean in a given context? What would 1/2 circulate or 1/2 split circulate mean from this position?

From there, we start on the wish list I was given this morning:

• all 8 circulate from a completed double pass thru position, and from t-bones;
  
• split circulate from columns, t-bones, completed double pass thru and two-faced lines;
  
• pass the ocean from right-handed and left-handed ocean waves;
  
• zoom from columns and t-bones.

And that's just the Mainstream portion.

On their Plus wish list, we have:

• a review of the rules for "and roll" & "and spread";
  
• chase right/left from right- & left-handed t-bones, as well as mixed t-bones;
  
• load the boat from tidal waves; diamonds with facing points, a wave between mini-waves;
  
• spin chain the gears from a tidal wave and from two-faced lines.

There's lots more on the wish-list but I'd consider myself very lucky to get through all of this in a single evening. Hell, just reviewing the definitions for some of these calls from standard applications may take all evening.

Oh, and there was a request from one particular dancer to have 'spin chain & exchange the gears' from a position whereby he will be the one leading the parade for his team of four. That request I can guarantee we cover tonight. :-)