I would reiterate Dave's comment. The dance really only has one challenge...but it is a doozy.. Remembering whether you are a head or a side on each interrelation of the grand square is a challenge, partly because you have to recall 2 things...Am I a head or a side & do I separate or approach.
Great weekend, thanks Luke! On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 9:46 PM, David Harding via Callers < [email protected]> wrote: > Hi Luke, thanks for a great weekend. I'm piping up as a dancer who had > hoped that you would call a grand square in a contra formation after the > discussion here. Tonight I find myself in an analytical frame of mind, > thinking about where we stumbled, in the hope that you (and others) will > keep calling this dance and have great success with it. > > I'm from Illinois, but a regular at the two Wisconsin weekends > (IndepenDance and Squirrel Moon). The programs tend to be dominated by > contras, but with enough squares so most dancers are familiar with the > basic concepts. I haven't been keeping count, but it feels as though most > weekends include one dance with a grand square, and I felt that there were > sufficient dancers on Sunday who knew the grand square figure that we > should have been fine. > > Personally, I struggled to remember which direction to start as we > flip-flopped from side to side. I think a lot of us were disoriented that > way. Even in a square dance with rotating partners, one role usually stays > home and can anchor the orientation. > > Part of my problem was not (yet) having internalized my identity as part > of a right or left couple in a four-facing-four. I don't need to think any > more when I'm addressed as a gent (or lady), as a middle or inside or > outside. I know when I'm a head or a side. I know where to find my corner > wherever I am at the moment. But I don't recall dancing a four-facing-four > where the right couples did something different from the left couples. > > My two cents in the interest of continuous improvement. > > -Dave Harding > > On 7/5/2016 12:15 PM, Luke Donforth via Callers wrote: > > Thanks John, that does seem like a fun bit to incorporate. > > I ran the Fox Hollow Foibles dance with the Grand Square happening on the > diagonal at IndepenDance in Wisconsin. Folks seemed to have fun with it, > but it was certainly challenging (my sense is that community doesn't do > many squares; Grand or otherwise). > > On Fri, Jul 1, 2016 at 5:20 PM, John Sweeney via Callers < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Of course contra dancers like swinging, so you could try incorporating >> this version into a contra dance: >> >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfqC8uVfCUo >> >> >> >> In “Cowboy Dances” (1939) there was also a version with half a two-hand >> turn (but they called it a swing!) every time you met someone. >> >> >> >> Happy dancing, >> >> John >> >> >> >> John Sweeney, Dancer, England [email protected] 01233 625 362 >> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Callers mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net >> >> > > > -- > Luke Donforth > [email protected] <[email protected]> > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing > [email protected]http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net > >
