THIS SQUARE DANCE WORLD by Chris Froggatt
The following articles appeared in the South Pacific Square Dance Review during 1999.
I recently read a letter from a dancer who wrote of being able to dance both the right-hand and left-hand dancers part. I was interested in the tone of the letter as much as what the author had to say. The letter touched on some very important issues in today's square dance world, and I believe it is worth taking a closer look at them over the next few months.
The Way It Used To Be
When I was learning to square dance, my caller told me that the lady on my right was my "partner"; the lady on my left was my "corner"; the lady across the set was my "opposite"; and the lady in the couple to my right was my "right hand lady". He also told me that they had traditional names like "Sally Goodin", "The Gal from Arkansas" and "Old Grandma". Interestingly, the year that I learned to square dance, there were more men than ladies, so some of us young guys learned to dance the "ladies part". It was fun, and we learned a lot (most men don't realize that the lady has to promenade further and faster). Now I find that I've been dancing as the "left-hand dancer" all these years. I personally do not like that term "left hand dancer", and in this article will refer to the "man's part" and the "lady's part".
The Way It Is Now
Australia is the only country that I know of that regularly uses the "Round-Up" to get dancers into squares. In this way, we cater for single dancers. Each club uses their own preferred mix of General Round-Ups, Partner Round-Ups and Square-Ups. To some degree, we are seeing a drift away from General Round-Ups at large dance functions.
Most other countries do not use Round-Ups at all. The advertising for learner classes, clubs and festivals is usually for couples. Single dancers who attend "regular" square dance events, must fend for themselves. You might think that this is unfair, but remember square dancing is a recreation - not the public service. However, most square dancers are courteous and welcome singles into their square. There may also be areas dedicated for singles to square up at festivals.
Tolerance?
As a caller, I sometimes see things from the stage that dancers don't think I see. Occasionally (not often) in a Round-Up, I have seen a lady (in the ladies line) refuse to take another lady (in the gents line) as their partner - brushing her off, and grabbing the next man. Obviously she didn't want a "left hand dancer", but a man to dance with. This leaves the lady who was willing to dance the "man's part" feeling bad, and sometimes she misses out altogether. In contrast, I have seen many times when women (on the end of their line) willingly give up the "women's part" and happily pair up with another lady, so that they both get a dance! Callers - how often have you seen the last set made up of seven women and one man? It is gratifying to note that the ladies willing to dance the "man's part" are made up of both those who come to the dance without a male partner, and those who do.
)
Last month we began talking about the new terminology of "left-hand dancer" and "right hand dancer". Let’s explore this issue a little further.
Most callers use the CALLERLAB definitions for teaching. The definitions for many early BASIC moves give specific instructions for the lady’s part and the man’s part, such as Swing, Promenade, Ladies Chain, Right & Left Thru etc. We do not expect two men or two women to swing each other.
It is interesting to compare this to later definitions, and how we teach more experienced dancers. The definition for Half Sashay says "the dancer on the right sidesteps to the left while the other dancer on the left steps back, sidesteps to the right, then steps forward to rejoin partner". This is the first of many non-gender specific definitions.
I find this fascinating that there is a complete turn around from gender specific to non-gender naming in the definitions as we progress from BASIC to MAINSTREAM to PLUS and beyond. I don’t think this represents a shortcoming by CALLERLAB, but rather a reflection of how square dancing has grown (and evolved) over the years.
The Way it Could Be?
Can you imagine what it would be like if callers started to use non-gender specific descriptions when teaching new beginners right from the start? When describing how to swing we would have to say "Dancers assume ballroom "waltz" hold, standing right hip to right hip (looking over partners left shoulder). Left-hand dancers have left hand palm up and right hand on Right-hand dancer's back slightly above Right-hand dancer's waist. Right-hand dancers have right hand palm down on Left-hand dancer's left hand, and Right-hand dancer's left hand on the Left-hand dancer's right shoulder. Dancers both walk forward around each other on the spot, one full turn. At completion of the swing, gently release hand holds as the Right-hand dancer rolls off Left-hand dancer's right arm, blending smoothly to stand on the Left-hand dancer's right hand side, both dancers facing the centre of the square. Twirling out of a swing is only to be done at the Right-hand dancer's instigation." How confusing it would be?
Visualize the call: "Four men make a left hand star, put an arm around your lady and star promenade, four ladies backtrack twice around, swing your man and promenade". With non-gender calls it would become: "Four Left-hand dancers make a left hand star, put an arm around your Right-hand dancer and star promenade, four Right-hand dancers backtrack twice around, swing your Left-hand dancer and promenade"!
The Way That It Should Be
Obviously we need to recognize that square dancing was originally intended as an activity where men and women dance with each other. In most cases this is still true, and when we square up, we always have four couples. Four dancers stand in the man's position (usually men) and four dancers stand in the woman's position (usually women). If one of the couples in the square has two women partnered, it is obvious that one lady is "dancing as a man". There is nothing wrong with this. This enables women who don't have a male partner to participate in our activity, and in most cases this is accepted by the majority dancers at club level. (Continued next month).
)
Last month I had a little tongue-in-cheek look at what it might be like if those terms were used exclusively (if we changed the calls to exclude any reference to men or women). This month I will look at the more controversial aspects.
Who Can Learn To Square Dance
We all say that anyone can learn to square dance, and we like to talk about the marvelous achievements of blind square dancers or wheel-chair square dancers. Everyone says that is fantastic when we see them dance a demonstration at a convention! Then isn't it kind of strange that some people don't like the idea of single women learning to square dance.
Many clubs that host a beginner class will get more women than men wanting to learn. There are two choices - turn some of the women away, or teach some of the women to "dance the man's part". These women need never learn "the woman's part", as they can square dance all night long "as a man". If there are ten "extra" ladies at the beginner intake, all ten will be able to participate if five of them are prepared to learn "the man's part". This of course requires the existing club members to accept the additional women, and to dance with them.
This could be seen by some as making an existing problem worse. For all the good intentions, the end result is there are more women than men in the activity, and these women will obviously want to dance at conventions and festivals as well as at the club where they learned to dance. You see, if we allow un-partnered women to learn, we are obliged to let them dance. Some clubs would not survive if they didn't welcome un-partnered women. Nobody would complain about un-partnered men in the activity.
The alternative is to ban single women and make square dancing a "couples only" activity. Taken to the extreme, this could mean that if one partner from a couple cannot attend for some reason, the other must also stay away. If one partner wants to sit out a bracket, the other must miss out too. If one partner dies, the widow must stop square dancing. This seems a bit rough, but it has happened in the past.
Is There An Answer?
You can't have your cake and eat it too. If we as an activity accept un-partnered dancers, we must cater for them. If we as an activity do not intend to cater for them, don't let them start. The problem is that decisions are not made "as an activity", each club or association makes their own decisions now.
We all need to develop more tolerance of other people, and at the same time be more honest with them (and ourselves). If the lady who wrote the letter about being a "left hand dancer" had been told that she would not be catered for, she would not have gone to that particular dance, and the hurt would have been avoided. If you don't particularly like dancing with someone of the same gender, surely there is a polite way to express the opinion without insulting someone. After all, that person would most probably be dancing "the women's part" if they were in your shoes.
If you look at any activity, you notice that are just a few who reach the peak. Look at golf, tennis, grand prix racing or whatever, and you will see that there are world rankings in each one. The few that achieve this ultimate level are rewarded with fame and fortune.
Below that level you will have national, state and regional players. Below that are people of different levels of achievement and experience, participating at club level.
A Firm Foundation Is Necessary
What enables the top players to command such attention and rewards? It is the fact that there are so many people aspiring to their stature - many thousands who participate in the activities on a social level. It is like a pyramid.
This pyramid does not happen by accident. The organizing bodies of these activity work hard to ensure that there are new players coming into the game all the time, in order to ensure the success of the activity as a whole. The marketing is always aimed at building membership at the base level. Getting new blood is essential.
Why is Square Dancing Different?
Unfortunately, what we have begun to see over recent years is that our activity now more closely resembles an inverted pyramid. Many of the participants in square dancing are now in the veteran class, dancing only Plus or Advanced. Many Mainstream clubs are shrinking, and beginners’ classes have been smaller recently.
Is this just a sign of the times, or is there something lacking in our organization? In the publications associated with other social activities we always see the advertising of expensive sports equipment and venues for those who wish to climb the next rung up the ladder, yet we usually also see things advertised for those at entry level.
In the Review we see lots of callers advertising a new Plus club, and we are also starting to see a few advertising A1 classes. Sadly, we don't see some of these callers advertising a "Ten Week Basic Class" or a "Ten Week Beginners Class." Most of the advertising is aimed at the expert or those wishing to become experts.
How Can We Fix It?
If some of these callers were to put as much effort into promoting the foundation of our activity as they do into Plus and A level, we would be in much better shape. Perhaps if we paid less attention to having the best ever Weekend Festival or National Convention, we could spend more time building a firm base just like tennis and golf. We might have a pyramid too.
Believe me, I’m speaking from experience and I know how much work it takes to organize Weekend Festivals, be on a Convention Committee or teach a Plus Class. I’m not criticizing anyone who does these things, but we all need to look at the big picture as well. We need to put more effort into the base of our activity.
Every caller must actively and passionately promote for beginners EVERY YEAR, and must help to make the new blood that we get (however small) fall in love with square dancing. Even if a caller has been promoting for 100 years, they MUST keep doing it (even if they are sick of it!)
Even if you are a veteran dancer, you need to occasionally spend some time helping the novices. Everyone must actively help to promote for beginners even if you don’t dance at a Basic or Mainstream club. You can’t leave it to someone else.
Think of the image conjured up by the words Square Dancing. Mention square dancing to anyone outside our activity and what do they think of – hay bails and the Beverly Hillbillies. Have you ever tried to explain to non-dancer friends or associates that we don’t dance in barns and that our callers use modern music? Have you ever had to cringe when you see them slap their knee and shout "yee-haw!"
A square dancer by any other name would still be a square - right? Is the name of our activity making us look like some throw back to a past era?
Who wants to be a Square?
I remember back in 1970 when I was 16 when my sister was encouraging me to try square dancing for the first time (she had been dancing for about a year and loved it). I fought all the way to the dance hall kicking and screaming. This was because the only exposure I had to square dancing was old movies and the "lessons" we were forced to endure at school. This "square" image lasted until I found out how much fun square dancing was! The next week I dragged several of my schoolmates along.
From our recent experiences with the media, I know that this image still exists today with many people. We were treated very fairly on most occasions, and certainly the vast majority of the coverage that we received was very positive. However, I clearly recall Linda and I asking (sometimes insisting) that they don’t portray us as "hicks from the sticks". The risk was much greater with "live" interviews or when you don’t have the chance to see a TV segment or Newspaper story before it becomes public.
We are very proud of our activity, and don’t want it to be shown in the wrong light.
Would a New Name Help?
There is an instinctive resistance to change the things we like. Square dancing has been part of many people’s lives for a long time. Those of us involved in square dancing love our activity, and most of us are quite vocal in promoting it. We try very hard to get our friends and work mates to join us.
Would it be easier to convince others to join if it was called something else? We could say to them "Come along on Saturday night to the Club and try XYZ dancing, it’s a bit like the old square dancing but very modern". We would have a whole new product to market, without the negative image. Many people are willing (even enthusiastic) to try something new, but not many are interested in trying something old fashioned.
Three of our children square dance with us on a regular basis (the fourth is a little to young yet, but he knows some of the calls!) They all love it, but I can see that they are going through the same image problems that I did as a teenager. Peer pressure can easily turn teenagers away. And although we may not realise it, the same applies to adults as well.
What Could We Call It?
I don’t know if you think the name "square dancing" should be changed at all. But let’s assume that we were going to, and you had an opportunity to select the new name. What would YOU call the "new" square dancing? Please send your comments and suggestions to me at 43 Auburn Street, Sutherland NSW, Australia or email me at chris@easy.com.au and I will publish your views in a future column.
Although this article aimed primarily at callers, it applies to all instructors of dancing, whether it is rounds, lines or clogging. And I think it may be interesting for dancers to look at things from the other side of the microphone as well.
Finding the right balance between providing mental stimulation and successful accomplishment is a delicate balancing act. It is particularly difficult to achieve when it involves calling to (or instructing) a club that has a mixture of experience levels.
What some dancers perceive as fun on the dance floor, can be a very difficult challenge for others. What some dancers see as boring and repetitive is very difficult to others as they struggle to master new steps. Even recognising that a balance is required is not obvious to some (both dancers and callers). So how can we make everybody happy?
The Art of Teaching
Before becoming callers, some of us have never taught anything to anyone in our whole lives. Yet as soon as we try to bring new dancers into our activity, we are expected to teach the fundamentals of Square Dancing in a fun, relaxed and entertaining way. Have you ever heard someone say, "he’s a great caller, but a lousy teacher"? Teaching is not easy, but anything that is worthwhile is seldom easy.
Like many others, I had no teaching experience before becoming a caller and had to "learn the hard way". You had to travel many miles to watch and listen to as many callers as you could, hoping to pick up hints wherever you could. Unfortunately, sometimes my lack of teaching skills resulted in trying to teach too much too fast, and a lot of confused beginners. Fortunately I was able to attend a caller’s school in Sydney (run by Ron Jones) and I got hold of a few good books to learn from. After a few years, I became able to recognise that there is a fine line between challenge and confusion. I also realised that you can’t please all of the people all of the time. However, I was determined to try to keep as many dancers happy as I possibly could.
Words of Wisdom
I would like to pass on a few thoughts from some of the callers who have influenced me:
"While finding the right balance is often difficult, establishing an accurate dance level remains one of the modern caller’s most critical programming responsibilities."
"To be able to teach a movement, you must understand it thoroughly yourself. You must be able to communicate your instructions in a way that can be easily understood by the dancers and without confusing them. Long winded explanations are confusing and unnecessary."
"You folks have put hours of work and love into what you are doing here. Just remember, when you go out there today, only the love must show."
"Look around at a weekend festival, a State Convention or a National. Many callers are usually present in the hall. Most of them spend the greater part of the event talking - with each other or with dancers. A few of them spend most of their time dancing. It is our contention that the ones who dance more easily retain a sense of joy in square dancing."
Last month I wrote about the difficulties that callers face finding the right balance between providing mental stimulation and dancer success. This month I would like to speak as a square dancer. As a square dancer, I think I also have a responsibility to achieve a balance between my own pleasure and the needs of those that I am dancing with. I believe that we all have a right to be entertained at a square dance, without the pressures and prejudices we often have to put up with in our day to day lives.
On the rare occasions that I am able to go just to dance, I usually find that I can forget about all my cares and woes in a short time. Good music, enjoyable dancing and a bit of laughter are all it takes to make this happen. Even if I arrive tired or stressed, I will usually feel much better after a few brackets of dancing. We share the dance floor with people from all walks of life. Often you wouldn’t know if you are dancing with a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker, rich man, poor man, beggar man, thief, doctor, lawyer or Indian Chief. Unfortunately I sometimes find that there are some people who are even grumpy while dancing.
A Few Words Spoken in Haste
It’s amazing some of the things I have over heard on the dance floor, like "he’ll never make a good dancer, he’s hopeless", or "she’s too old, I wish she didn’t dance here". Now I’m sure that most of us would never say anything like that, because "nice people go square dancing", and saying things like that is not very nice.
I guess it is possible to say things without realising the hurt that your words might convey, so let’s give the benefit of the doubt. However, if I over heard, I’m sure it is possible that the target of the comments might hear them too. Sometimes that might be all that it takes to put that person off square dancing for good, and that would not be fair. Everyone has feelings, and everyone can be hurt by a few cutting words.
Rigging the Round up.
Now, because I don’t get to dance much, you might think that I would be pretty choosy about the squares I get into. Actually, the opposite is true. I love to dance with as many people as possible. And sure, I have been in some pretty crook squares. But I have also been in some pretty good ones. It balances out. I can remember dancing in a square at a National Convention when there were six callers and one cuer in the square, and you know how much callers and cuers like to muck up in a square. We managed to struggle through somehow (it must have been because we had one non-caller/cuer in the square!) I have also had the pleasure to call to squares like these at conventions, and have enjoyed watching them have a ball.
And yet I have seen people walk off the floor because someone in their square is not up to their standard. There is nothing more embarrassing than seeing someone stranded in a square. What is my message here? Let’s lighten up a little. We need to maintain a balance - one crook square doesn’t ruin an evening. You can never have the perfect square all the time, but you can still have fun.
My recent article about the name "Square Dancing" has invoked some interesting responses about possible changes to our activity. Most people don’t want drastic changes, but minor changes might make things better than they are now.
So What Needs To Change?
Lets look at some of the suggestions:
Diane from Charmhaven suggests "Cued Dancing" as an alternative name for our activity. She also says that a more casual dress style would encourage younger people to the try it and "dressing up" should be reserved for "special occasions".
Murray from Castlereagh believes that what we need is more active promotion of square dancing, not necessarily a change of image. However, he offers the interesting possible names "Synergetic Dancing" (the whole is greater than the sum of its parts), "Set Dancing", "Sequence Dancing" or "Call Dancing".
Jean from Roselands says that "Square Dancing" is a wholesome activity, which offers a good alternative to Disco’s and Pubs. Our dress code and etiquette encourages the right type of people to participate, and discourages the "riff-raff".
The Public Relations firm APR suggested that the name "Diamond Dancing" could work, as a diamond is merely a square seen from a different angle. They also suggested a more casual dress style, and a shortened entry class.
One dancer related to me that he was almost banned from a State Convention because he was wearing dress type shorts and long socks. His attire was neat and clean, but did not meet with approval. His suggestion is that a sensible attitude must be adopted, not rigid adherence to very strict guidelines. (As an aside, I was once asked to write an article for the Review describing accurately what the acceptable Square dancing dress code is. I declined, because there is no way that all the acceptable variations can be described. Common sense needs to prevail.)
Jeff from WA suggested "Interactive Dancing" would be appropriate as there is a continual interaction between the caller and the dancers. "Formation Dancing" was also suggested as a good description of what we do.
Is it Worth the Change?
As you can see, the opinions vary widely, and you certainly can’t please all the people all the time. I believe that the only reason we should change anything at all is if we can be assured that it would encourage more new people to join up. No-one wants to change a good thing - remember what happened when Coca-Cola decided to change their recipe?
Change is a natural process. Square Dancing is certainly different to what it was when I started nearly thirty years ago. Not all the changes have been good, mind you - it takes longer to learn now than it did back then. However, there have been some very good changes – we all dance the same programs world-wide thanks to Callerlab.
We cannot allow the activity to stagnate, or it will die. Even though it’s easier to stay the same, we must evolve. Yet we cannot afford to change everything all at once. If we were to change our name, the dress style, the Round-ups, and the attitudes - it would upset too many people currently in the activity. Changes should only be made if they are for the better.
I think everyone can recognize a good dancer. Without needing to know why, we can just tell. But what is it that makes them stand out from the rest? Is it the way that they effortlessly glide from one call to the next? The way they seem to always know where they should be in the square? Or is it that gentle assistance they give other dancers without ever making them feel that they went wrong?
There is no such thing as a perfect dancer, but all good dancers have the things listed below. These things are amongst the "finer points of being a better dancer":
Always Dance Lightly On Your Feet. Don’t walk flat-footed, or lift your feet high off the floor like in marching. Take your weight on the ball of your foot, and slide your feet as you move along. This is the main difference between walking and dancing.
Use Gentle Handholds. When pulling by (as in square through), your handholds need to be firm enough to feel positive, without gripping. Don’t Grip Hard (particularly men). It can be uncomfortable for the other dancers. Gripping hands are usually the result of nervousness. Just relax a little - you will enjoy your dancing more.
Don’t Push or Pull. If someone is going the wrong way in your square, just give a subtle indication where they should go, either by pointing or with a gentle touch. Pushing or pulling someone will not teach them what to do, it will only cause embarrassment and can actually cause them to falter more. Just remember that everyone can make a mistake - it is the recoveries that count.
Let the Lady Twirl Herself. There is nothing worse for a lady than to be forced to twirl (after a swing) when she is not ready for it. The Golden Rule is that if a lady wants to twirl, she will usually indicate this to her partner by lifting her hand to start the twirling motion. Please men, don’t spin the ladies around when she twirls, let her take the lead.
Touch Hands after Completing Each Call. In the split second after each call, lightly touch the nearest hand with the adjacent dancer, even if the call doesn’t require you to do so. This helps to stabilize your formation and it can be a big help to others in the square to recognise where they should be.
Always Thank Those in Your Square. Not every square you dance in will be full of expert dancers. But they will always be worth thanking for sharing the dance with you.
Square Dance Angels. For those of you not familiar with the term, "Angels" are experienced Square Dancers who help the new comers as they learn to Square Dance. Angels help the square by giving a confident (yet gentle) guiding hand to those who may be a little nervous or unsure of the calls. Of course when our current Angels learnt to dance, they were helped by the Angels of years gone by.
Be Loyal to Your Club. It’s great to see club loyalty still exists. There is a great amount of dancing available to experienced dancers nowadays with weekend Festivals and the like. Yet dancers are happily repaying the effort that was given to them during their own learning years. Without dancer loyalty, many smaller clubs might fail which would mean the eventual demise of square dancing.
Remember your Square Dance Etiquette and Enjoy your Square Dancing!
We eagerly await the arrival of our "review" each month, wanting to catch up on the latest square dance news from around Australia. You see, over the years we have met so many people and made so many friends, that it is interesting to read about what they are up to, especially if we haven't seen them for a while. There is always something happening, whether it's up north in sunny Queensland, down in Tassie, or way over in Western Australia. It's always fun to read. And of course we always read our own club news (even though we write it ourselves). Imagine our surprise and embarrassment when we read last months news only to discover that it was from twelve months ago!
The Millennium Bug Had Struck Early!
With great enthusiasm and diligence we type up this article and our club news and send it off to The Editor via the internet. You see, it is very efficient to do things electronically these days. No need to print it out and post it, simply save the file and send it either to an email address or a fax number. Of course, you have to send the right file. Oops.With all my computers' gigabytes, RAM and megahertz, you still have the human factor. They say to err is human, and they were right. Anyway, it got me thinking about what could happen if the "Millennium Bug" were to visit square dancing. Picture this:
It Was the Night Before 2000
A great crowd has gathered for the New Years Eve dance. The caller is in fine form and the dancers are having a ball. Everyone is laughing and singing along to their favourite tunes, the evening just flies with a great atmosphere, and soon it is time to form a big circle to count down the last few seconds of the 1990's. Streamers are at the ready and everyone is holding hands. The chant goes up "five, four, three, two, one, happy New Year!"
Our Government has done a fine job - the lights haven't gone out!
When the caller says, "lets dance", we all get ready for the first square of 2000. We look around and see that our friends are in our square - what luck. The music starts, and the calls start to flow. We are dancing a mentally stimulating yet smoothly choreographed routine and just as the call reaches a crescendo, we hear "allemande left". All of a sudden my corner is nowhere to be seen. Come to think of it, my other friends are not around anymore too. I find myself standing alone on the dance floor. "Where did everybody go?" There is supposed to be a big crowd here. How else am I going to enjoy square dancing?
Now I remember. Joe and Floe didn't come because they were invited to a private party. Matt and Pat went camping. Ray and Fay have the flu. Bill and Lil are overseas on holidays. And come to think of it, I haven't seen Dan and Ann for a while, I wonder where they are tonight? Gee, I can remember not long ago that these folks wouldn't have missed a square dance for anything.
Don't Let This Happen
For a few years now, we have seen a decline in the number of people square dancing. The new blood that used to come rushing to beginner classes to supplement club numbers every year hasn't been as forthcoming as it used to be.
For square dancing to survive in the next millennium it is vitally important that we all dedicate ourselves to finding and keeping those vital new dancers. It won't matter if we change (or keep the same) music, dress standards or the name of our activity if there is no one in the dance hall. We must all accentuate the positive! We must all stop being shy about square dancing and go out and spread the word! Don't just tell people about the new beginners class, take them there and dance with them. And keep dancing with them.