When "Dancing for Busy People"
was being written, the problem was not only what to include in the over
400 dances printed in the book, but also what to leave out in order to have
a book of a reasonable size. Since the book was published, many people have
also sent in numerous new ideas. This page will be your gateway to what
will eventually be a collection of several hundred dances that generally
fit within the basics described on the "Definitions" page.
The rest of this page gives a short description of each of the dance forms
used in "Dancing for Busy People" and/or published at this website.
The amount of explaination will be very brief, for now, and most likely
will be expanded as I get feedback from the people visiting this site. To
access the individual pages showing the dances, use the buttons immediately
below.
What's Here
Dance of the Month
Teaching a college class has it's rewards. The following dance was an assignment
for the Square Dance/Folk Dance class at Metro State in Denver, Colorado.
I furnished the core idea and it was up to the students to construct the
rest of the dance and match the movements to the mood of the music.
The Wanderer
Cal Campbel & the Metro State Class
Formation: Four men facing four ladies.
Record: LS - 185
Prompts
Intro - - - -, Head couple Separate to the foot
1-8 - - - -, - - Weave the line
9-16 - - - -, - - All Swing
17-24 - - - -, Forward & Back
25-32 - - - -, With the couple across Star Right
33-40 - - - -, - - Star Left
41-48 - - - -, Arch & Sashay through the tunnel
49-56 - - - -, Lines go Forward & Back
57-64 - - - -, New head couple Separate to the foot.
Description
1-8 Couple nearest the prompter face the prompter
and Separate to walk down the outside of their line to the foot of the set.
9-16 Come in to the center of the set and weave out between
3 & 4 and then weave in between 2 & 3
17-24 All Swing your partner
25-32 Lines of four Forward & Back
33-40 With the pair across Star Right
41-48 Same 4 Star Left
49-56 Couples 2,3 and 4 form a tunnel with 2 hand arches
and the top couple Sashay or slide through the tunnel to the foot of the
set
57-64 Lines of four go Forward & Back.
Pattern or Team Dancing
There are several common threads that tie square dancing, quadrilles, contra
dancing, trios, Sicilian circles, mescolanzas, round dance mixers, and even
line (solo) dances together. The most obvious is the use of a standard set
of terminology among the various dance forms.
Another common thread is the enjoyment of dancing in cooperation with other
people. Being part of a team. The number of people on each team goes from
three in trios to as many people as are on the floor in line (solo) dancing,
but the end goal is to be a successful part of a team effort.
Pattern dancing is important part of that. Someone sets the pattern or steps
of the dance. In square dancing the pattern is determined by the caller
and varies constantly. In the prompted dance forms, the choreography is
usually preset and named and does not vary during each dance. In round dance
mixers and line dance mixers the emphasis may be more on footwork, but the
pattern is still there.
The end goal to to have fun dancing together. The idea behind 'community
dancing' is that the dancer needs to have very little training to have all
this fun. To accomplish this we use only a small set of descriptive terms
and then use the same terms in a large variety of ways. The real fun becomes
the patterns that are formed as we dance, the music that is enjoyed, and
the pleasure of dancing together.
Square Dancing
Square dancing is recognized world wide as an American dance form. Americans
didn't invent it, but we seem to be the nationality that has given it the
greatest modern recognition. The name 'square dancing' comes from the formation
of eight people, composed of four couples that dance in a box or square
formation with a couple occupying each of the four sides.
Directions to the dancers in this square a given by a caller. The dancers
do not know what directions the caller is going to give. They have to listen
to the commands and then attempt to follow the pattern or choreography.
The success of the square depends heavily on all eight people in the square
cooperating with each other.
Square dances are generally split into tips composed of a patter call and
a singing call. The patter portion of the tip is usually done to music with
a strong background beat and a very weak tune line. The caller generally
chants the calls and, within reason, can speed up or slow down as needed.
The length of the string of commands can vary greatly depending on the skill
of the dancers and the caller.
The second part of the 'tip' is usually a singing call. In this part, a
dance is choreographed to a specific tune that is usually 64 beats in length.
The caller sings the directions.
Quadrilles
Quadrilles are also danced from the square formation of four couples but,
quadrilles preceded square dancing by several hundred years. They are prompted
rather than called. This means the choreography for each named quadrille
is preplanned and the dancers usually know what the dance pattern will be.
In prompted dances, the instructions or commands for each section of the
dance are given just prior to the start of each eight beat musical phrase.
This enables the dancers to relate the movements directly to the music.
This adds another dimension of enjoyment.
Contra Dances
Contra dancing is a very old form of dancing. It has roots extending back
well over 400 years. Of all the dance forms referenced at this web site,
contra dances probably have the most variety available in choreography and
music.
Contra dance derive their generic name from the typical formation of people
facing their partners in opposing long lines. From there it gets a lot more
complex. Their are eight root combinations of how people can be arranged.
"Dancing for Busy People" describes dances for four of these combinations.
For further explanation, there are several references listed in the "Library".
One of the best is "Contra Dancing"
by Don Armstrong.
Trios
Trios are dances done is groups of three. Usually lines of three people
facing the same direction. Some dances are done with all of the lines of
three facing the same direction in a big circle around around the hall.
Each threesome is like the spoke of a wagon wheel extending toward the center
of the hall.
Some dances are done with each threesomes facing another group of three
to form sets of six. In this arrangement one threesome would be facing counterclockwise
around the big circle and the opposing threesome would be facing clockwise
around the big circle.
Trios are very useful in dance groups where their are more of one gender
than the other. The choreographic description of most dances tends to identify
centers and ends of each line, rather than males or females.
Sicilian Circles
A Sicilian circle is formed by couples facing couples like spokes of a wheel
in a large circle around the hall. They require a large group of people
to be danced comfortably. At least 24 couples are needed to keep the radius
of the circle large enough to permit couples to quickly identify the next
couple in the big ring.
Dances in a Sicilian circle formations can be called in the same style as
squares or prompted like contra dancing. In fact in square dancing they
are often referred to as 'mini-squares'
Mescolanzas
Mescolanzas are danced in lines composed of two couples facing another line
of two couples. The dance starts with one line with their back to the prompter
and the other half of the set facing the prompter. Sets are lined up the
length of the hall so each individual line of four can progress to face
another line of four at the end of each time through the routine. Mescolanzas
are prompted.
Round Dance Mixers
Mixers are dances where partners are exchanged several times during each
dance. Couples dance in a large circle facing counterclockwise around the
hall. They can be danced to anything from marches and two-steps to waltz
tunes.
No-Partner Dances
No-partner dances are just that. You can get out onto the floor and have
a ball by yourself. No partner is necessary, but here is still a standard
pattern to be followed for each dance.
No partner dances can be done in lines or loose grouping of people starting
out facing the same direction. They can also be done in large circle. Many
international folk dances fall in this category.
The no-partner dances featured on this web site generally can be taught
in 3-5 minutes. After all, busy people usually don't have much more time
to learn a dance than that.
One of the best collections of solo dances is "Easy
Level Solo Dances, The Bob Howell Collection"
Other Dance Formations
There are many other people combinations and/or formations that can use
the same terminology. These will featured from time to time.
