December 14, 2004 - Holiday Dance
Saturday we went to the Alpine Squares "Annual Christmas Sock Hop, A Benefit Dance for the Children's Hospital." The callers, Jim Randall, Ray Holmes, Wil Eades, John Marus, Steve Sandeman, Andy Allemao, and Ron Nelson all donated their time. Held at Grossmont College, the room was all decorated in holiday decor, with white twinkle lights lighting the hall. It was all very pretty and even Santa was there. Everyone was in the holiday spirit, all dressed in red and green. We saw many friends from other clubs. They had an abundant array of refreshments. In fact, it appeared that everyone in the city had brought food. There was also a raffle, a bake sale, and both a silent and live auction, all raising much money for Children's Hospital.

December 8, 2004 - Spinning with the Spinners
We went dancing at the Single Spinners last night; the first time in about 25 years. Of course we've seen Lynn and Dana and also Dennis at the Round-Ups. I think they're the only ones we still know at the Spinners. They'd been asking us to come dance with them for a while now and since we had a tuesday free we decided to go. We arrived a few minutes early, during the class, and as we came in Dana started clapping, which was a little embarassing. He made an announcement telling everyone that we were charter members of the club.

I was hoping that the Spinners would have a large group of exuberant dancers but, like square dancing everywhere, they too are struggling to keep the club alive. Lynn says they are holding their own, having maintained their membership numbers for the last several years, but I think that is mostly because of Lynn and Dana's efforts. They have always worked very hard to keep the club, and square dancing in general, alive. Even so, they only had two or three squares dancing. It was a fun dance, though. John Marus is their caller.

We are planning to go the the Spinners for their New Year's Eve dance this year. We don't usually do much for New Year's so it will be fun to ring in the new year while dancing. Lynn and Dana are also having an after-party at their house which will go on all night and end with breakfast and watching the Rose Parade the next morning. I don't know if we'll go to Lynn and Dana's but I remember we used to have after-parties a lot in the old days and they were a lot of fun. I don't think any of the other clubs do that anymore.

That is one thing I miss from our old square dance days; the socializing that went on after the dances. We used to always go out for burgers or pizza after the the Reveler and Spinner dances. It was nice to have a chance to just visit with everyone and it also made it easier to form friendships. I'm glad to see that the Spinners are still keeping that tradition. We met several people at the Valley Kitchen after the dance and spent some time just catching up and visiting.

December 5, 2004 - Rip Van Winkle
Lloyd's views on the evolution of square dancing over the last twenty-five years.

November 22, 2004 - Web Master
I am now the official web master for the Wranglers Square Dance Club.
Check out their new club web site at thewranglers.org

November 20, 2004 - Hustler Rustler
The Wranglers' Hustler Rustler Dance was last night with Steve Sandeman calling. With a wild west theme, this is the Wranglers' special dance of the year (their money-maker dance.) Everyone dressed in western style for the dance. I made a blue denim square dance skirt with an overskirt of red bandana print fabric which I wore with a denim blouse and bandana scarf. I think it turned out pretty nice.

They had a chuckwagon style dinner with home-made chili, cornbread, and cole slaw. People brought their chili in and they just dumped it all together in one big pot. Amazingly, it was delicious. For dessert they had a chocolate lover's contest, giving an award for the best chocolate dessert, so there was a wide assortment of chocolate brownies, cakes, cookies, puddings and mousse. (Yummy!)

They had a "Hustler" and a "Rustler," dressed in saloon type outfits, out hustling people to buy them "drinks." There was also a jail set up where "Marshall" Dillon (his real name) made sure that people who were issued warrents spent some time behind bars, at least until they could get someone to bail them out. Our round dance cuer even had to cue a couple rounds from jail as part of his "sentence."

As well as 50/50 prizes, there were also door prizes, and prizes for the best western outfits. And, of course, there was dancing, lots of DANCING, and lots of fun!

November 9, 2004 - Blue Bandanas
One of the women in the Fiesta fashion show was modeling a dress she had made out of thirteen blue bandanas. The skirt was made of eight bandanas sewn together, the bodice made of four more, and the thirteenth was used to make a belt and trim. The dress is particularly meaningful to her because it is a reminder of her father, who, she said, always had a blue bandana tucked into his pocket. After her father's death, while going through his things, she'd found a pack of thirteen brand new blue bandanas and she used these to make the dress.

November 8, 2004 - Heritage Dancers
The California Heritage Dancers did an exhibition at the Fiesta. This was the first time I've seen them perform. They are a group that does dances from all different periods of our history ranging from the 1700's to the 1950's, showing how the American folk dance (square dance) developed. They do extensive research to make sure their dances and costumes are historically accurate.
The group travels all over giving exhibitions and have even performed in Europe at the Austria Performing Arts Festival. I don't think there is another group like this. They are truly unique and put on a very good show. As well as performing, they invite the public to come and watch their practices and rehearsals and they offer classes, free of charge, teaching the dances that they do. They are dedicated to preserving the heritage of American dance.

[From The California Heritage Dancers Website] -
"We Americans have a unique contribution to make to the world-wide cultural scene. However, the majority of our citizens are unaware of the richness of the art forms which have originated here and are unique to our land. The California Heritage Dancers are dedicated to preserving through exhibitions, the rich heritage of what has become known as American Square Dancing."
"In order not to lose these old time dances, the California Heritage Dancers was organized in 1986 recruiting members from various square dance clubs in Southern California. Extensive research has resulted in a large repertoire of varied dances from the 1700's to 1996. The dancers have created authentic costuming and music to complete the picture."

At the fiesta they did the "Cowboy Dance" from the 1800's, the "Henry Ford Dance" from the 1920's, and the "Lloyd Shaw Dance" from the 1930-40's.

November 7, 2004 - Fiesta 2004
We had a lot of fun at the Fiesta this weekend. It started on friday night and was held at Balboa Park. The callers were Jon Jones and Deborah Carroll-Jones, a calling couple from Texas, Also calling were David Mee,
Tim Pepper, and Darren Gallina, California callers. We were dancing Plus Level in the Municipal Gym, a huge room large enough for three basketball courts, with a wooden floor that's great for dancing. Part of the room was sectioned off for venders of square dance merchandise. There was also a room for round dancing, one for
A-1/A-2 dancing, and a room for Class Level/Mainstream dancing. We were happy to see one couple from the Wrangler's class there.

Deborah Carroll-Jones was the first woman caller we've danced to. I really enjoyed her calling. She has a beautiful singing voice and is very fun and entertaining, telling cute anecdotes and stories in between her tips, and teasing and being teased by her husband, Jon, when they call together. They are a cute couple.
Deborah was a former Rose Parade Princess (she has pictures and she shows them) and she does a very funny singing call, "Don't Cry for me Pasadena" (a take-off on the song "Don't Cry for me Argentina"). Everyone does the "beauty queen wave" while they are dancing.
I also loved her rendition of "All That Jazz."
Deborah Carroll-Jones - "Don't Cry for me Pasadena"

Saturday morning Lloyd had to work but I went early for the brunch and to see the square dance fashion show and an exhibition by the Heritage Dancers. Then there was dancing all day. When Lloyd and I returned in the afternoon we were happy to see about a square of Whirlaways and also some Wranglers there.

After a break for dinner, the Heritage Dancers did another exhibition before the Grand March, and then more dancing until midnight. At 10:00 the Gym and the Recital Halls closed and everyone moved over to the Park Club for the After Party Dance. All five callers called together at the After Party, and after a long, full day, both the callers and the dancers got a little crazy. Everyone was tired but having so much fun they didn't want to leave. So at midnight we all hobbled out, complaining of sore feet while making plans to meet the next day for more dancing.

Sunday morning started with an hour af non-stop dancing (no rounds between the tips), then more dancing until 2:00. A lot of fun! We're already looking forward to next year.

This was the 54th Fiesta de la Cuadrilla sponsored by the San Diego Square Dance Association. The chairmen, Dana and Lynn McCrary and LPaul and Sally Schmidt, did a great job organizing the event. They have been involved with square dancing for many years and have been active in keeping square dance alive in San Diego. It's a lot of work. We've known Dana and Lynn since our Reveler days. They joined the Single Spinners at the beginning of the club and have been with them ever since.

November 5, 2004 - Fiesta Is Coming
The 54th Fiesta de la Cuadrilla starts tonight at Balboa Park, San Diego. Three days of dancing. I remember years ago, when we were dancing, we always looked forward to the Fiesta. It will be fun to go to one again.

November 4, 2004 - Caller Gripe
We were recently at a dance with a caller from out of town. We'd been told by several people that we had to go to this dance because he was such a good caller. Well, I disagree. He seemed to be one of those callers who think the purpose of calling is to try to break down the squares. It was billed as a Plus Level dance, but most of the "just plus" dancers were lost. Even the advanced dancer squares were breaking down much more frequently than they should have been. It seemed to me that this caller was only calling to his pilot square (which appeared to be a pat square made up of his friends and followers), and was totally oblivious to the rest of the dancers in the hall. Several people we know were so frustrated that they left early. We stayed but didn't dance the last two tips, which is unusual for us because we come to dance. Watching the floor, it looked like, at any given time, at least half the squares were broken down, waiting for an opening to pick up the dance. Most callers, seeing standing squares, will work in an oportunity for the dancers to re-join, (such as "lines of four, up and back" or "allemande left, promenade your partner"). They at least make an effort to bring the dancers back home or to a position where they can join in. This caller just kept going on and on and on with his patter, with few openings for the waiting dancers. In my opinion, this is not good calling. I will not be going to another dance where he is calling.