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June 26, 2008 - Dancing at the Fair
We went to Square Dance Day at the San Diego County Fair last week. I was only able to dance a little, since turning my ankle a couple weeks ago, but we had some fun dancing, and watching, and visiting with friends. Ray Holmes and Jim Randall were calling all singing calls the hour we were there, which I think makes a nice show for spectators, and Ray and Jim always sound so good singing together. There were five to seven squares danceing at first and nine squares finishing out the hour.
Before the last tip they announced that one of the Charger football players, Shawne Merriman, was in the crowd and had expressed an interest in giving square dance a try. Of course there was no problem finding a place for him in a square. With the help of the seven other dancers, he did very well in the tip, even though he had never square danced before.
June 3, 2008 - Fun Dance
We went to a fun dance this past weekend. Jointly sponsored by the Circulators and the Alpine Squares, it was a special dance introducing the new, young caller, Hunter Keller, calling with Scott Byars. Hunter is a college student from Billings, Montana who's only been calling a short time, but shows real talent and possibility. He has amazing stage presence with an "Elvis-like" quality and is a lot of fun dance to. And don't we really need more young callers?!
There were twenty-two squares in attendance. Helping Scott and Hunter, Steve Woodard and Andy Allemao acted as emcees, and with several other callers on the dance floor, I counted eleven callers in the room. Wow, now there's a "purple heart" opportunity, but I'm not sure anyone does that anymore. It used to be you could earn a purple heart pin (I guess it would be a dangle now) by dancing in a square with three callers.
April 7, 2008 - Good-Bye Pat
Last night was Pat Carnathan's last night calling for the Ruffles and Beaus after 23 years of being their caller. There were nine-plus squares of dancers there to share memories and bid him farewell. Pat calls a fun dance and we will miss dancing with him each week.
Though the official Welcome New Caller Dance isn't until next month, Buddy Weaver (another of our favorite callers) will take over as the Ruffles and Beaus' new club caller starting next week.
April 6, 2008 - The Wearing of the Plaid
Today is National Tartan Day, a day to recognize and honor the contributions made by generations of Scottish-Americans to the "foundation and prosperity of modern America."
For those of us in California not of Scottish descent, there is the Official State Tartan, duly registered and accepted by the Scottish Tartans Society, The Scottish Tartans Authority, and The World Register of Tartans, as a unique tartan.
All residents of California may rightfully wear and show this tartan as their own. The tartan's blue reflects the sky, the Pacific, and the rivers; the green, the Sierras, fields, forests, and parks; and the red, gold, and blue signify the arts, sciences, and industry of the people of the State of California.
So everyone, don your tartan and join us in a Scottish Country Dance.
February 17, 2008 - Grand Colonel Spin
At the last Wrangler (student level) dance Ray taught and called the Grand Colonel Spin. It has been years since I've heard it. It is a 32-bar dance sequence which is basically a fancy variation of the Grand Square done to the music River Kwai March. But it's a lot more fun than a Grand Square. Since the heads and sides are doing different things simultaneously, the caller usually just calls to the heads and the sides just need to know their part until they come to the head position and it all repeats.
Allemande Left to an Alamo Ring & Balance, Swing Through, Swing Through, Turn Through, Left Allemande
"SIDES FACE, HEADS READY, for the GRAND COLONEL SPIN"
Heads -- Pass the Ocean, Spin the Top, Star Through, California Twirl (They are now in side positions.)
Sides -- Back Away 3 Steps, Turn In, Walk Forward 4, Dosado, Star Through (They are now in head positions.)
Repeat Heads / Sides
Repeat All
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The Grand Colonel Spin was wildly popular in the early seventies. Many clubs used it as the ending dance each week. In the Revelers, Bob West would often just put on the music and let the dancers go, without calling it at all. Everyone loved it. Ray said they kind of ran it into the ground, overdoing it, but that was thirty years ago. I think it is time to bring it back. It is a lot of fun and looks very showy, though it is really not that hard. The squares of class members and new dancers seemed to be able to handle it just fine at the Friday dance and at the end all the squares were whooping and hollering, all excited to have made it all the way through.
February 16, 2008 - New Student Dances
After several months of not dancing much, it's nice to be back out again.
Last night we went to the second of the Wranglers' new "Class Level" dances. Lloyd has been saying all along that there needs to be somewhere for Basic/Mainstream dancers to dance. With classes taking nine or ten months - or even longer, it's just too long before the students experience the actual fun of a real dance. There are also some dancers who just want to feel the joy of the music, rhythm, and movement (the dance itself), without having to think too hard about definitions and positions.
It took a long time for the Wrangler board to decide to try something like this, but it looks like it could be a real success. Each of the two dances so far have had eight squares dancing. Dancers have included not only Wrangler class students, but also students from other classes, relatively new dancers from several clubs, as well as quite a few Wrangler and visiting "angels." Ray is calling fast, fun dances, keeping the choreography interesting, even though he is limited to fewer calls.
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