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
|
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 | ||
2023-09-13 (Session 26) |
Track 2 (anything) And Roll Triple Scoot |
|
2023-09-06 (Session 25) |
Spin Chain The Gears Trade The Wave |
|
2023-08-30 (Session 24) |
Teacup Chain (Head Ladies Center, Side Ladies Right) Extend (from waves, 3/4 tag, etc.) |
|
2023-08-23 (Session 23) |
Load The Boat Linear Cycle |
|
2023-08-16 (Session 22) |
(Anything and) Spread Peel The Top Grand Teacup Chain (All 4 Ladies Right) |
|
2023-08-09 (Session 21) |
Fan The Top Peel Off Coordinate |
|
2023-08-02 (Session 20) |
Ping Pong Circulate Acey Deucey Grand Teacup Chain (All 4 Ladies Center) (Listed as "All Ladies Center, Teacup Chain" in Taminations) |
|
2023-07-26 (Session 19) |
Review completed Mainstream calls | |
2023-07-19 (Session 18) |
Dixie Style To An Ocean Wave Spin Chain Thru (CALLERLAB Mainstream program completed) |
|
2023-07-12 (Session 17) |
Walk And Dodge Spin The Top All 8 Spin The Top |
|
2023-06-28 (Session 16) |
Slip The Clutch Eight Chain Thru / Eight Chain n Pass To The Center |
|
2023-06-14 (Session 15) |
Allemande Thar / Allemande Left to an Allemande Thar / Wrong Way Thar Shoot The Star Cloverleaf Turn Thru |
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2023-06-07 (Session 14) |
Walk Around Corner / Left Hand Lady, See Saw the Taw/Partner Do Paso Some styling techniques, including
|
|
2023-05-31 | Review and dance SSD calls. No new calls taught. | |
|
Class changes to Wednesday nights, 7:00 to 8:40 | |
2023-05-20 (Session 13) |
Recycle CALLERLAB SSD list completed. |
|
2023-05-06 (Session 12) |
Tag The Line /
Half Tag Scoot Back |
|
2023-04-29 (Session 11) |
Box the Gnat Fold (Boys/Girls/ends/centers) Cross Fold (ends/centers) Hinge (Single Hinge) Half Sashay Split/Box Circulate (in Taminations, scroll down to 'Split Circulate') |
|
2023-04-22 (Session 10) |
Ferris Wheel Trade By Touch 1/4 -and- Left Touch 1/4 Single File (Column) Circulate (on Taminations, scroll down to 'column' at end of circulates) Facing Couples Rule (Swing Thru from facing couples) |
|
2023-04-15 (Session 9) |
Zoom Cross Run (in Taminations, scroll down to 'Centers Cross Run') Cast Off 3/4 (waves, lines facing out) Centers In |
|
2023-04-08 (Session 8) |
Partner Trade (on Taminations, scroll down Trade list to 'Partner Trade from couples facing out') Pass the Ocean Extend (from 1/4 tag) Circle to a Line |
|
2023-04-01 (Session 7) |
Alamo Ring / Alamo Style Swing Thru / Left Swing Thru Step to a Wave / DoSaDo to a Wave Boys/Girls Run (from center to end) Boys/Girls/All 8 Circulate from Right-hand Ocean Waves |
|
2023-03-25 (Session 6) |
Wheel & Deal (lines facing out) First Couple Go Left/Right, Next Couple Go Right/Left, To A Line Separate
Split the Outside Couple Lead Right / Left |
|
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 |
Here are some additional materials which may be of help to class members:
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.
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.)
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.
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