Wednesday Nights 7PM — Monroe Hall 1400 W. College Ave.

Class Information

The Singles and Pairs started a new beginners' square dance class on Saturday afternoons in February of 2023.

Under "Calls Covered," below, we will post the schedule covered by our class. The calls which have been taught in the class, week by week, will be listed, with the most recent week at the top of the list. Each call, where available, is linked to the Taminations animation for that call on the Tam Twirlers Square Dance Club's website.

Information For Class Members
Information for Angels
  • Angels are club members who help during the class

Calls Covered

Each week, the calls covered in the class session will be posted in this section.  Wherever possible, each call will be linked to an animation (or TAMination) on the website of the Marin County Tam Twirlers square dance club.  You can see how the call works by clicking on the link.
(Many thanks to Brad Christie of the Tam Twirlers for his extensive work on the TAMinations, and for making them available to be linked from other websites!)

If you want to look ahead, our caller's lesson plan for the first 12 weeks is available here.
(Plan is subject to change depending on how receptive the class is on a given night, phase of the moon, etc.)

The most recent class session will always be at the top of the list.

Class Started February, 2023
2023-03-18
(Session 5)
Couples Circulate (note: scroll down the list of applications on the left!)
Flutterwheel / Reverse Flutterwheel
Sweep 1/4
Wheel & Deal (2-faced lines)
2023-03-011
(Session 4)
Square Thru (1, 2, 3, 4 hands)
Veer Left/Right (from facing couples)
Trade (Girls/Boys in 2-faced line)
Chain Down The Line (note: look down the list of applications on the left!)
2023-03-04
(Session 3)
Rollaway
California Twirl
Dive Thru
Slide Thru
Square Thru (1 hand only)
2023-02-25
(Session 2)
Face In/Out/Right/Left
Double Pass Thru
Bend the Line (Lines facing out)
Star Thru
Right & Left Thru
Grand Square
Star Promenade
Backtrack (Girls, from Star Promenade and Single-File Promenade)
2023-02-18
(Session 1)
Dancer Naming / Square Identification
Circle Left/Right
Allemande Left/Right (Arm Turns)
DoSaDo
Swing
Promenade (Couples, outside, full and 1/2)
Forward & Back
Right & Left Grand
Pass Thru
U-Turn Back
Wheel Around
Courtesy Turn
2 Ladies Chain / 4 Ladies Chain (across and 3/4)
Ladies In, Men Sashay
Right / Left-Hand Stars
Face In/Out/Right/Left

Class Resources

Here are some additional materials which may be of help to class members:

Printed Materials

Basic, Mainstream and Plus handbooks

These booklets were originally published by the Sets In Order American Square Dance Society, and were later updated by American Square Dance magazine after SIO faded away. They contain: (1) the written definition/description for each call, (2) diagrams showing the movement of each dancer through the call, and (3) photographs of actual dancers performing the call. Very helpful for visual learners.

Our caller generally has copies of these available at his cost after the first few weeks of class. They can also be ordered from the website www.hiltonaudio.com. This website is a well-respected provider of supplies for callers. They are a reputable organization, and it is safe to order from them online.

Definitions and Call Lists

The official written definitions of the Basic/Mainstream and Plus calls can be downloaded for free from the Dance Programs area of the CALLERLAB website. The same areas will have listings of the calls in each program, without definitions.

(Note: the full CALLERLAB definitions can be dry and very technical! For the Basic/Mainstream program, there is also an "Abbreviated Definitions" document which is more readable.)

Videos

The Saddlebrooke Squares of Tucson, AZ have made a series of instructional videos available for free viewing on the Internet. They've been criticized for not completely following the official CALLERLAB definitions, but they may still be of help to some people. They can be found at videosquaredancelessons.com/lessons/ and can also be ordered on DVD.

More recently, a group called the Traveling Hoedowners has introduced a set of instructional DVDs.  These can be purchased from (and samples viewed at) their website.

Online Call Animations

The Tam Twirlers' TAMinations were mentioned above, and our list of calls taught each week has links to their website, www.tamtwirlers.org. A Taminations app is also available for iPhones and Android devices, from the Apple app store and the Google Play store.

If you have a computer that does not support the TAMinations for some reason, there are a number of other websites on the Internet which provide alternative animations of dancers executing calls. Probably the best-known such collection is Noriko Takahashi's GIF animations from Japan.  They should work on any computer, as just about all web browsers support animated GIF images:

www.bekkoame.ne.jp/%7Enoriks/ENGLISH/English-Index2.html