[Squaredancing] Whatever happened to being a polite dancer?

Tue Aug 8 13:41:14 EDT 2006

Sounds like your club has a lot of slower paced people. Is it possible to 
call every other one faster and every other one slower somehow so that the 
slowest of people understand this would be a good time to sit and 
rest/socialize and the faster people could have a challenging dance? Or 
start the evening slower and build up pace? A lot of the time the older 
folks want ot go home early anyway. I cater for a dance (folk) where a lot 
of pensioners come.Many of them are really just so happy to come and watch! 
The bands there often start slowish and gather momentum. At the end of the 
evening there are fewer people left but their heels are smoking. (and faces 
pink cheeked and smiling) It's too bad to scare off either group, but if 
people are going to leave early let it be happy older people since they 
probably weren't going to stay long anyway, and they'll be back. Driving 
younger people off makes no sense at all, 'cause they won't be back.
The 'I'm So Excited' dance does illustrate how a caller can influence the 
crowd!

Cynde

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <Robert.Morris at uboc.com>
To: <Squaredancing at rbnsn.com>
Sent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 7:18 PM
Subject: Re: [Squaredancing] Whatever happened to being a polite dancer?

>
> Richard brought up a good point. If you have people that cannot dance 128
> beats per minute what do you do as a caller.
> You have 1/2 of the floor that wants to go 128 beats per minute or faster
> and others that cannot go that speed because father time was not nice to
> them.
> Do you slow the dance down so that the slowest dancer can dance? Or do you
> only use 48 beat figures so that they can keep up?
> I angle for a club and you are lucky to be able to do a 48 beat figure. If
> you tried to do the full 64 beat figure the floor would break down. Some 
> of
> the people there can go full speed and they get board. Before long all of
> the dancers that can dance full speed leave and don't come back.
>
> I was at Nasser's dance this weekend and he did  " I'm so excited".   Well
> when he did it like he was board the energy in the square went down.
> when he delivered it when he was excited the energy in the square was 
> high.
> So the way a caller delivers a tip helps the dancers get excited and move.
>
> Robert E. Morris
>
>
>
>                      M0220sr at aol.com
>                      Sent by:                    To: 
> Squaredancing at rbnsn.com
>                      Squaredancing-bounce        cc:
>                      s at rbnsn.com                 Subject:  Re: 
> [Squaredancing] Whatever happened to being a polite dancer?
>
>
>                      08/05/2006 06:53 AM
>                      Please respond to
>                      This list for
>                      discussing all
>                      aspect of MWSD
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Thank you, Cynde, for your reply. It was very informative and I agree with
> you.
>
> We have several elderly people in our club who can no longer dance faster
> than the standard 128 beats per minute. If a caller generally plays his
> records (patter or singing call) faster than that, these elderly dancers 
> do
> well just to get through a tip without breaking down the square they are
> in. You can see it in their faces that they are having trouble: faces red,
> breathing hard, etc. But the caller often has no idea that he is causing a
> lot of stress for people in the squares before him/her. He/she is calling
> what he/she feels is a good dance, keeping the dancers "up" and happy.  It
> isn't until a member of the club comes up and asks that the speed be
> reduced due to whatever the conditions are in the hall that changes are
> made.
>
> Whenever I'm in control of a dance (primarily rounds now, not calling) and
> I see rowdy behavior on the floor I know other people see it as well...as
> far as our club is concerned.  I rarely have to say anything to someone
> being rude, there are several other people in the club who I have seen
> talking quietly and in a very diplomatic manner to someone who has been
> pushing or being rude. Usually it is taken care of and the aggressive
> person eventually finds out that his/her manners are not welcome and "calm
> down".
>
> I was speaking primarily (and I didn't say that) of when we go on vacation
> or to a special dance out of town. There, you have dancers from many
> different places and, yes, it would likely be difficult to "control" their
> behavior unless they cause a bad problem like hurting someone or cause the
> beginnings of a fight in a square. We are supposed to be having fun, after
> all.
>
> I've known Nasser for years. He is a great caller and provides a wonderful
> evening of square dancing. His "creativity in delivering material" is well
> known throughout the world. If you have never been to a dance where he is
> calling, you should make every effort to attend the next one if he is in
> your area.  Some people like him, some don't. You just can't like 
> everybody
> and that's fine.  We're entitled to our opinions.
>
> No one should have to leave a dance because of an injury inflicted by
> someone else in a square. If that aggressive person is not taken aside
> (maybe by someone who knows him/her well) and asked to cease the rude
> actions, then it's likely that other kinds of trouble and bad feelings 
> will
> happen sometime during the evening.
>
> Our activity is supposed to promote fun and fellowship and generally does.
> We can't let that periodic instance of someone who wants to dominate their
> actions over others spoil an evening of fun. But let a friend of that
> person or a club officer handle the situation for the best solution to the
> problem.
>
> Richard
>
>
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 8/5/2006 3:01:33 A.M. Central Daylight Time,
> cynde at twistercom.fi writes:Do you think a caller could/should/would remind
> people now and then of this? I know I have been to dances where the 
> callers
> call too quickly, double speed or two or three calls in a row causing
> 'dancers' to race through -everyman/woman for him/herself to get to the
> final position before the next set of calls are blurted.(even though the
> music is the same!) If you ask me, even if three calls are given at once
> the music should still dictate how many beats each call takes, wouldn't
> it?. The above mentioned just causes 'dancers' to become charging buffalos
> to the amusement(?) of the caller(?) I certainly don't find it amusing 
> when
> it happens too often and without humour.
> We had a guest caller, Nasser Shukayr, come recently and call an unusual
> dance with odd calls causing  a mild chaotic scramble. This is NOT what
> I'm taking about. This was welcome silliness and a lot of fun, as it was
> intended, to be fun. The caller was laughing the dancers were laughing and
> it didn't continue throughout the day.(but will be fondly remembered)
> Richard, as a caller you are in charge, if you see dancing you don't like
> could you not prompt, encourage, force them (as often as it takes) away
> from these bad habits and teach them about dancing and manners? I like
> twirling but I don't like my shoulder and elbow in a sling for the rest of
> the week or my feet (even ankles!) stomped on either! (funny, that) I'm
> sure most dancers really want to dance well.
> Dancing is one thing, stampeding for the blue light special is something
> competely else.
>
> Cynde, dancer dependant on caller
>  ----- Original Message -----
>  From: M0220sr at aol.com
>  To: squaredancing at rbnsn.com
>  Sent: Saturday, August 05, 2006 9:16 AM
>  Subject: [Squaredancing] Whatever happened to being a polite dancer?
>
>
>  Lines:  Pass Thru, Wheel & Deal
>  Lines:  Pass Thru, Bend The Line
>  Wave: Swing Thru, Centers Run, Bend The Line
>  (or any call where the dancers temporarily break contact then remake
>  contact before turning to another position)
>
>  What happens on that last call of the three examples above?  Somebody
>  turns in a small space to make the turn and somebody takes longer steps
>  to make the arc of the turn to finish in the ending position.
>
>  When dancers are taught, they are generally (hopefully) told that
>  whenever they come to a position adjacent to someone else that they make
>  hand contact.
>
>  If this is true, then why is it that some dancers who are in the position
>  to do the small turn usually forgets that they are dancing with at least
>  one or two more people who they will come into contact with them?   What
>  do they do? They forget to take the hand of the person next to them who
>  has just finished doing that Pass Thru or Run figure and they...by
>  themselves...turn to the ending position and the other person has to play
>  "catch up" to end in position next to them.
>
>  Don't you think this is kind of rude on the part of the person who left
>  the other person "in the dust"?   These people are so worried that they
>  will not be position to do the next call that they forget that they are
>  dancing WITH seven other people. I've seen these same types of people get
>  big frowns on their faces when they are promenading, getting real close
>  to the couple in front of them as if to push them out of the way so they
>  can get home to do their "end of promenade" swing, hip bump, hands clap,
>  etc.
>
>  I was always taught that a lady is not twirled if she doesn't want to be
>  twirled. She initiates the twirl, not the man.  Do they still teach that
>  in class so a lady's arm is not wrenched or hurt so badly that she has to
>  go home?  Is it that some aggressive male  wants to twirl and thinks,
>  "Darn it, you are going to twirl or I'll break your arm!"
>
>  As to the above scenario, don't you think that the person who is going to
>  make the small "inside" turn do the following:   He/she should wait for
>  the person that did the Pass Thru with them or the Run around them remake
>  contact with them  before they initiate their turn?  Are they dancing by
>  and for themselves or are they "working with the team"?
>
>  I doubt if I am the only member of this group who has some pet peeves
>  about what happens in a square.
>
>  Whatever happened to being the polite dancer?  Thank goodness that the
>  number of the type of people described above are in the small minority.
>
>  Thanks for letting me get one item off my chest.
>
>  Richard
>
>
>
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