At a recent festival, a friend and I had a discussion with
the caller on one of the things he did:
- Starting formation:
- Big Blocks (of the interlocked Blocks type)
- with everybody in "Facing Lines".
The call was 'Big Block Swing Thru'. My friend and I thought that this changes the shape to an 1 by 8 that cannot unambiguously be brought back to the Big Block foot prints.
What do you think?
I think that sort of choreography is illegal and should not be called. This sort of stuff alienates the higher-level dancers.
There are (at least) two things the caller could have wanted:
-
Start working Big Block, but end normal.
If the caller wanted such a thing, he/she should be explicit
as in Big Block Grand Swing Thru To A (Tidal) Wave
(or To a Normal Setup, or Start Big Block,
End Normal...).
-
Reform the Big Block footprints. I'm clueless
about how this would actually be accomplished! This is, however, what the dancers should expect from the Big Block concept.
You must end on one of the Big Block footprints. For
example, from Big Block "Waves", the call could be
Big Block Switch To An Hourglass. Although this call doesn't
physically end in 2x4 formation, it is possible for everyone
to unambiguously find an ending spot in the original eight
Big Block positions.
Along the same lines, I once had the opportunity to dance
to a C1 caller would called things such as In Your Block Swing Thru, and he wanted the dancers to step forward after the Swing Thru to reform the Block positions. Very strange. I wonder
what the caller would want if the call ended in a Two-Faced, 3 And 1, or a One-Faced Line?
Ceder Chest Definition of Big Block