Stacy Rose, Dance Instructor
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Dare to be square

9/28/2014

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I've often bemoaned, "why won't the local square dancers come to our contra dance??" Contra is SO much more fun than square dancing with that hokey music and those ridiculous costumes. At contra dance, we've got awesome live music! Anyone can walk in off the street and be contra dancing in minutes - you don't need to commit to 12 weeks of lessons! 
To be honest, I don't know that I've ever personally invited a local square dancer to my beloved contra dance. Yet.  

Instead of whining and wondering why there isn't more cross-population between the local contra dancers and square dancers, I decided to do something radical. I decided to "be the change" that I wanted to see happen. I went to my first square dance lesson today. 

They let new people come during the first three weeks of the series. But today was week four, and past the time for new people to join. I was told that I might not be able to start so late, but they'd let me try today - the caller kept a close watch on me to see if I could keep up. There are a lot of calls similar to contra dancing, and I had done some squares in the context of a night of contra dancing. I must have "passed the audition" because they said I could continue with the lessons.

The hardest move for me was the "star through" - the lady (woman/follow/girl) gives her left hand to the gent (man/lead/boy), who takes it in his right hand and they basically trade places, then stand side by side. I instinctively wanted to offer my right hand. 

The music was indeed ridiculous - "without love, where would we be now... sides promenade...". The people were very nice. The floor isn't wood, and I am concerned about that. However, unlike folk dancing, there's no stomping, so it may not be an issue. The calling was great. It was spot on. Sherm did a really good job with the teaching, too. I think I can learn a few things from him. I loved that after dancing each square, those 8 people did a group hug and together said, "Thank you!" At the end of the evening, all the dancers and the caller made a large circle and gave thanks. That was sweet. 

It's a new day dawning. Operation cross-over has begun.          
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A sense of belonging

9/28/2014

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I can't wait to show Katlin the new name tags we're using in class. Katlin draws pictures for me every week. (Often she brings me flowers.) She's got a big, generous heart. The background for this website and the name tags is one of Katlin's drawings. It's a picture of all the dancers in class. I love that girls have curly hair and boys have straight hair. I love that everyone wears a dress. It's one of my favorite pictures. I can't for Katlin to see her new name tag.  

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The Universe has a sense of humor

9/28/2014

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The same week our dear Louise embarks on her trip to New Mexico, we welcomed a lovely new dancer to class - Anne. She's new in town... moved to our community to start a new job... she moved here from New Mexico. Thank you, Universe. 
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Louise

9/8/2014

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Louise has been a dancer in my class for the past four years. She has attended regular classes, advanced dance classes, she's gone on group road trips to dance in other towns, been a regular at the local folklore society's monthly dance party, and participated in public demonstration dancing ("does anyone really know where Macedonia is?"). She has reliably interjected warmth, good questions and laughter in class. It's hard to believe that Louise is leaving our community -- taking off in her RV and heading south. 

There are folk dance communities all over the place. However, the town where Louise is going doesn't have a regular folk dance series. Yet. I'm hoping Louise will make that different. 

If you are traveling, there are online resources to find dancing. A quick Google search connected us to dancers within an hour of Louise's destination. An email brought multiple immediate responses from people who were so willing to share information about their dances and nearby dances. Open, welcoming people! Lucky people - who will get to dance with our Louise. 
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It's like throwing a party and wondering if anyone will show up...

9/4/2014

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Pouring through old schedules and integrating new material... listening to lots and lots of sound clips... I'm excited to get ready for a new semester of dance class.  

Next week is the first class of fall 2014 dance class. Summer has been a challenge to have a class - folks are away, folks are busy. But school is back in session and we're jumping into fall.

Truth be known, I obsess over what material to include in each semester. I want it to be well balanced - slow and fast, material from a variety of locations, lines AND circles AND couples' dances. I spent a lot of time making these decisions. If I spent as much time promoting the class as I did preparing for it, maybe we'd have a better turn out for the party.        
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And then there were four...

9/1/2014

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KUDOS to Cultural Ecology, local folk dance band who performed for a recent three-week dance series with Orco Arts Guild kids! They sure keep the dancers moving -- and now we have Marty on percussion! Thanks Gail, Tom, Sharon and Marty! 
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