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May 21, 2005 - I'm Back
After four weeks of recooperating, I am dancing again. I felt pretty good last week, but didn't want to risk dancing too soon, especially since we really wanted to dance to Mike Sikorsky at the Whirlaways this week. A very good caller, he calls fast but smooth, and is a lot of fun to dance to. He also has a beautiful singing voice and a real "stage presence," dancing along with his calling. We were told to be sure to square up where we could see him while we danced. Some callers just call the dances, others, like Sikorsky, really put on a performance.
May 15, 2005 - Getting Better
It has been two weeks since I have danced and, since Kerry and Stacy arrive today, we won't be dancing this week, either. My arm is feeling much better now, so by next week I think it will be completely healed. (I hope so.)
May 14, 2005 - Chicken Dance
Today is National Dance Like a Chicken Day. Just thought it should be mentioned.
May 13, 2005 - High Demand
It seems we are in high demand. We have been asked to be Vice-Presidents of the Wranglers Square Dance Club, Vice-Presidents of the Palomar Square Dance Association, and to join the Heritage Exhibition Dancers. I have also been asked to web-master another club's website (besides the Wranglers') and to be editor of the Palostar Square Dance Magazine. This, in addition to the messages I get from several clubs reminding us of upcoming dances we must attend.
Though we enjoy dancing and supporting the Square Dance community, we have resisted extending ourselves any further. We just don't have time. We are currently dancing regularly with four clubs and "angeling" two classes, plus dancing "boxes" once a week, and making visitations when possible. That's enough.
April 23, 2005 - The Balboa
The Balboa Park Club was built for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. A corridor linked a chapel on the right with a two-story east wing, enclosing an open patio with a rustic fountain in the center.
Redesigned for the 1935-36 California Pacific International Exposition, the patio was closed with a roof and a 13,000 sq. ft. exhibit room was added in back.
The U.S. Navy Training Center moved into the building after the Declaration of War in 1941. The auditorium was converted into a barroom for officers and their guests. With a bar extending along the north wall and slot machines and a jukebox at the rear, couples danced on the floor and in the central lobby.
In 1986 the city decided to restore the building to its 1935 form. Dancers and other users continue to use the ballroom and central court today.
I have been dancing in the Balboa Park Club for many years. I've done Tap, Jazz, Folk, Square and Round dancing there, but I never knew that there was a dance named after the building.
(From the US Swing Dance Server) - The Balboa Dance:
"Very fast, 8-count, partners basically glued together, all footwork. The Balboa was created in, and named for, the Balboa Park Club, an enormous wood-frame building, home of the Naval Officer's Club in San Diego during WWII (Lowell Gosser, several-time WCS champion, *was* here in San Diego during the war, and backs up this story.). The floor is about 13,000 square feet.
The Balboa has lots of fast footwork but not much whole-body movement, and was developed as an answer to the question, "what do you dance when the band plays Dixieland jazz?" (The Balboa uses a "shuffle" basic, with short foot movements and overall "look" optimized for really fast swing music, such as Dixieland.) It goes 1-2-3 kick. Skippy Blair says that the Balboa is *not* a swing dance since it has no 6 count patterns, only 4's and 8's --Skippy said that all swing dances have a 6 count basic pattern.
According to SylviaSykes (who, along with JonathanBixby, has made Santa Barbara the Balboa capitol of the world), the Balboa really isn't a style of swing at all. It is danced almost exclusively in closed dance position and most closely resembles a dance the natives of 1930's Chicago called the "Shag". The Balboa has an eight count basic but the rhythm pattern isn't like traditional single swing's "slow, slow, quick, quick". "It looks like cartoon dancing, close together, with lots of footwork, although the feet hardly leave the floor. The upper body remains still and the dance doesn't travel much around the room. You could dance to very fast music - 190 to 250 beats per minute! while being dressed up. At one time it was popular up and down the west coast, from Seattle to southern California."
April 23, 2005 - Square Dance Magic - By Lloyd
April 22, 2005 - Sore Arm
I pulled a muscle or something in my shoulder a couple weeks ago. Of course I didn't want to miss the convention so I took some Tylenol and decided to ignore it. Last week we danced Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. So come Tuesday this week, I basically couldn't move my arm. Now after three days of total rest, heat packs, and massaging, it feels much better, but I don't know if I can dance tonight. We may have to skip the Whirlaways Dance. Too bad.
April 19, 2005 - Name Badges
Buying lunch saturday at the Square Dance Convention, the clerk, dealing with a long line of mostly dancers, took my sandwich order and said, "We'll call your name when it's ready."
"Did I give you my name?" I asked.
Without hesitation she responded, "Yeah, It's Sue, Right?"
Still a little slow to catch on, and totally confused, I stood there with a blank look on my face, thinking "I don't remember telling her my name," before it finally dawned on me that I was wearing a club name badge. Duh.
April 18, 2005 - State Convention
The State Square Dance Convention was a lot of fun. It started with dancing on Friday night. Some of the callers included Pat Carnathan, Steve Sandeman, Eric Henerlau, Tim Pepper, Roger Smith, Wil Eades, Phil Farmer, Rick Hampton, Jay Henderson, Ron Nelson, Andy Allemeo, Rich Gierman, Dennis Young, John Marus, Lloyd Lewis, Jim Randall, Ray Holmes, Dave Rensberger, Scot Byars, and Ben Goldberg. About 1600 dancers attended the convention.
Since Lloyd was working during the day on Saturday, I went alone to watch the Fashion Show, visit the vendors, and to see the Dance Exhibitions. There were exhibitions by;
Kay's Team, a group of round dancers,
Guys and Dolls, a novelty dance group consisting of a square made up of four men with dolls as partners,
The Heritage Dancers, a group dedicated to the preservation of historically correct country dancing.
"The Heritage Dancers have been performing for eighteen years, including all but one California State Square Dance Convention. Their repertoire includes ten different dances performed in period costuming, using authentic music and choreography. When they perform, they take their audiences on a journey through time for a quick glimpse of America’s history through dance, demonstrating how America’s own folk dance - square dancing - evolved into what it has become today."
In Cahoots, a line dancing group, and
Cardinal Whirlwind, a country dance group from Stanford University.
"The group specializes in complex square dance choreography and is best known for its spectacular aerial figures! Maintaining the traditions of Lloyd Shaw's famous Cheyenne Mountain Dancers, the Stanford Square Dancers are currently the only college-age group in the nation performing this lively style of dance. In addition to square dances, the group also performs contras, circles, mixers, rounds (such as waltzes, two-steps, polkas, and cha-chas), and a few international folk dances."
Saturday I also got a chance to try a little line dancing and that was a lot of fun. Later I ran into John, also alone during the day, so we danced a few tips.
Saturday night the festivities started with the Grand March, followed by the singing of the Star Spangled Banner by Carl (I didn't even know he could sing) and God Bless the U.S.A. sung by Pat, then dancing, dancing, dancing, followed by more dancing at the After-Party. We danced until midnight then were back again Sunday morning for more. It was a lot of fun!
April 15, 2005 - Convention Is Coming
The 46th California State Square Dance Convention starts tonight!
The last time I attended a State SD Convention was in 1974 in Anaheim.
April 14, 2005 - Five Star Dance
The California State Square Dance Convention is being held in San Diego this weekend. It should be a lot of fun.
Tonight we're going to the Trail-End Convention Kick-Off Dance. It's the "Five Star Benefit Dance" with Sacramento caller, Scot Byars, local callers, John Marus, Andy Allemao, and Pat Carnathan, and Rey Garza cueing. All proceeds will be going to support the State Youth Program.
Then dancing at the Convention all weekend.
April 12, 2005 - Hugs
Greeting everyone with a hug is common practice in square dancing. So when we attended the trade show for our business, without even thinking, I greeted Jens with a hug. Though we've been doing business with him for years, I've never hugged him before. As I saw the shocked look cross his face, it occurred to me that a handshake would probably have been more appropriate. I think I may have surprised him.
April 6, 2005 - No Rounds
I don't know when the round dancers took over the square dancing clubs, but they sure take up a lot of the time; a half hour of "pre-rounds" before the dance and two more rounds between each tip. And, of course, all the announcements, drawings, etc. come out of the square dance time. They never skip a round dance. In a two and a half hour square dance, there is actually more time spent on the rounds.
We used to dance four tips an hour, with one round between every two tips. Now there are never more than six tips during the whole dance and sometimes only five. At a recent dance we attended they only danced four tips during the two hours.
The rounds themselves have changed over the years, too. We used to do easy, fast paced two-steps, polkas, and cha-chas to Western music. We would really kick up our heels and just have fun, without worrying about the steps. They were simple enough that anyone could just jump in and follow along.
Now round dancing consists of six or seven difficulty levels of choreographed ballroom dance, with intricate steps requiring additional dance classes to learn.
We do as many of the rounds as we can just so we can have an evening of continuous dance. But, even after taking the round dance class, I'm just not really finding them to be much fun. Most of them, even the two-steps, are very slow and rather boring. The kicks and stomps of the Western styling are all gone now. It's just ballroom dance, and not even very good ballroom dance.
I say let the round dancers have their own rooms, their own time, and their own clubs. Give the square dance clubs back to the square dancers.
April 5, 2005 - Four Generations
Dave and Heidi took their kids to dance at the club where Dave's parents and grandparents dance. Four generations in one square. How cool is that!
April 3, 2005 - Pass the Sea
Last night we went to the Pass the Sea dance sponsored by Finest City Squares. This dance was so much fun! This is the way I remember square dancing to be, very fast and lively.
The hard thing about dancing in a non-gender-specific square is keeping track of position. If everything is moving smoothly, it's okay, but if the square gets out of sync, there's no point of reference so it's harder to recover.
It's probably more awkward for Lloyd because guys are generally not used to dancing with other guys. It's not that different for me since I'm still dancing with guys most of the time, and, when not, well, it's no big deal. Girls dance together all the time anyway. We all danced together at school dances, and in gym class, and for years I went folk dancing with a group of girlfriends.
I don't have a problem dancing with the gay club, but of course the question is, why aren't there any straight clubs that are this much fun?
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