December 14, 2005 - Need to Focus
I just wasn't with it at the last dance. I don't know where my mind was, but apparently I was only half listening. I did a "peel off" instead of a "peel the top", a "single circle" instead of a "circle to a line", and I think I went the wrong direction on an "explode the wave." Luckily the other dancers were all friends and very forgiving. I need to focus.

December 13, 2005 - Board Meetings
The Wranglers' board has adamently said that they are NOT interested in discussing Lloyd's Proposal for revitalizing the club, so I guess we don't have to go to the board meeting tonight, after all. That's fine with me. I'd rather go to a movie instead, anyway. I hate all the club politics. I just like to dance.
But, I do hope they have some other good ideas to try, though.

November 29, 2005 - Anniversary
November 29th is National Square Dance Day. It is also OUR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. Now how fitting is that considering we met square dancing? We didn't even know.

November 22, 2005 - Pure Luck
We were dancing to Pat Carnathan at Ruffles 'n Beaus last weekend. One tip we had a square of strong dancers but somehow we all managed to get lost. I don't remember the sequence of calls, but it was total chaos, with dancers just wandering around every which way. No one knew what they were doing. We were just about to admit defeat and line up when the sequence ended with "And you're home." We all looked around and were surprised to see that indeed we were home. (CLAP CLAP CLAP) We all burst into laughter. Pat just shook his head and said, "This square proves that you can throw a deck of cards in the air and catch a straight flush as it comes down."

November 21, 2005 - Scrambling Squares
We danced at Scrambling Squares' "Remake the Scramble" Dance yesterday with live bluegrass music provided by "Ranch Party" (made up of three very talented musicians, Dan Sankey, Fred Wade, and Don Hickox) and Peter Ostapenko calling. Peter also played the fiddle a bit. We'd never danced to live music before so it was an interesting change and gave the dance a real "country" feel.
Scrambling Squares is a new club being organized by new caller, Peter Ostapenko. Its format differs from other clubs in a couple of ways. First, they promote "tagging in" throughout the dance. Alternate dancers can tag into the tips whenever the dancers reach home position, so everybody dances, whether they came with a partner or not. This also solves the problem of what to do if there's not quite enough people to form another square. Secondly, Peter believes in non-stop dancing; no rounds and no breaks. It makes for a lively dance and that suits me fine since, of course, I have endless energy. It was a lot of fun.

November 20, 2005 - New Dancers
The Wranglers' Hustler Rustler Dance was fun but it was definitely a low level dance. Since the class was invited to attend, Ray called THREE tips at class level. Plus there was an exhibition from the Heritage Dancers, rounds, breaks, announcements, raffle prizes, etc., etc. --- which really didn't leave much time left for plus level dancing.
I THINK THIS WAS A MISTAKE.
The class members haven't completed enough of the class to dance with the club yet. I don't know who made the decision to invite them (and charge them FULL PRICE) to come to a dance they couldn't dance at, especially the Hustler Rustler Dance, the special dance of the year where the Wranglers hope to attract visitors from other clubs.
Visitors came expecting a plus level dance, as advertised on the flyers, but at least half the dance wasn't even mainstream level.
I was opposed to inviting the class to this dance, except as spectators. They should have been invited to come, have some chili and cornbread, watch and enjoy - free of charge.

The whole situation wasn't fair to the class members, the club members, or the visiting dancers.
I think this will come back to really hurt the Wranglers at future dances.

November 18, 2005 - Hustler Rustler
The Wranglers' Hustler Rustler Wild West Dance is tonight. This is their BIG dance of the year, complete with western costumes and a chili and cornbread dinner. (In fact, I've been baking corn bread all afternoon.)
Ray Holmes is calling.

November 13, 2005 - Sick
I am just not feeling tip top today. My equilibrium is off. I'm feeling extremely exhausted and slightly dizzy all the time. My head feels fuzzy.
I blame square dancing.
For years I made a conscious effort never to touch anyone and I attributed this practice as a factor to the fact that I never get sick. Now that we're dancing again, in the course of an evening I touch hands with six new people every fifteen minutes. And, it's flu season, don't you know.

November 8, 2005 - Simon Says
"Square Dancing is like the ultimate game of Simon Says."

November 7, 2005 - Energy
What does it mean when three separate people compare you to the Energizer Bunny within one weekend? I think I should pick up some pink bunny ears to wear while dancing.

November 6, 2005 - Fiesta 2
Of the four callers at the Fiesta, I had only danced to one of them before. They were all good and fun to dance to.
We spent a lot of time dancing in the youth hall where the kids are much more active and the dancing is faster and more flamboyant. Also, they don't do rounds in between, so the breaks between tips are shorter.

My favorite part of the dance festivals are the late Saturday after-party dances and Sunday morning, which is almost an extension of Saturday night. The atmosphere is more relaxed and casual. (And the weaker dancers tend to be too tired by that time to attend.)

***Looking forward to Jamboree in February.

November 4, 2005 - Fiesta
Fiesta is here again. The SDSDA 55th Fiesta dela Cuadrilla features callers Don Wood, Robert Townsend, Nassar Shukayr, and Ben Goldberg this year.
Dance festivals are so much fun. Three days of dancing.

November 3, 2005 - New Callers
Norman from the Ewa Ready Squares in Ewa Beach, Hawaii writes,
"Enthusiasm is what used to drive Square Dancing. People found this new Hobby and couldn't wait to share it with their friends. New people wanted to try their hand at Calling as well as dancing."

"But, they ran headlong into the established Clubs. They only wanted the best callers because they needed to pay the rent on the halls and they wanted the best entertainment they could buy. For callers who went out on their own, they were only supported by very close friends and talked bad about by the others. Sometimes you found out just how good of friends you had when they talked like crazy to get you to take lessons, but wouldn't take the time to support you in your calling efforts."

"I remember when my Wife and I became Presidents of a Club and I put two new callers on the Schedule. I knew them and knew they could call a good dance, but I thought the club was going to ride me out of town on a rail! I had a laugh when I looked at a dance card 10 years later after I had moved away and saw their names still on there."

I'm hearing the same thing from people in San Diego.
San Diego caller, John Marus, holds an annual calling class here and several promising new callers have come out of it. But just as new dancers need "floor time" to improve and polish their new dancing skills, new callers need mic time and the opportunity to call and gain experience to improve their calling skills. And, of course, they need the support of dancers.
Everyone is concerned about the future of square dancing, but many do not want to spend their time dancing with new dancers or dancing to new callers. That is the future of square dancing.

So there's my Square Dance Public Service Announcement for today. Don't hesitate to square up with new dancers and don't hesitate to attend dances held by new callers. After all, fun is more an attitude than a circumstance, and enthusiasm can definitely be catching. Half the fun of dancing is meeting new friends.

November 2, 2005 - Music
After a weekend of listening to Raymond's Celtic music, I'm playing Country again today.