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"Rip Van Winkle"... "When the Sleeper Wakes"... There are numerous stories about the reaction of someone who misses the incremental evolution of events and is confronted with seemingly instantaneous drastic changes. That is how I felt when my wife (Su) and I returned to square dancing after being totally uninvolved for twenty-five years. Most of my feelings about square dancing are positive as I enjoy the dancing and social aspects of the square dance environment. However, some of the changes I've noticed point out some serious problems that need to be addressed. The first observation was that the average age of square dancers has increased. When we left square dancing, the club we last danced with had a limit to the age of new members of 30 years. Needless to say, that provision was removed many years ago. The second observation was that the square dance community is shrinking. From about 35 square dance clubs in the San Diego Square Dance Association 25 years ago, member square dance clubs now number less than a dozen. The Palomar Association and the Back Country Square Dance Association have fewer than that combined. The Fiesta and the Round-Ups used to have full halls... now the number of squares easily fits in the middle of the floor. Another observation concerns the lack of flair among many dancers; fewer twirls... more short cuts. I can see where, as the average age of the dancers has increased, fewer of the gals have the energy or ability to spin and whirl, but still, calls like "Circle to a Line" or "Star Through" are routinely shortened to a touch as the dancers travel to position. It often appears that the experienced and skilled dancers often take the easy way, not necessarily to catch up if they are behind, or with a wink as they "cheat," but almost as a matter of pride to see how little energy can be expended to get through the tip. And I was saddened to find that even the "Curlyque" has been dropped in favor of the simpler "Touch a Quarter." It also seems like the western flavor of square dancing has diminished. The country music doesn't dominate as it did in the past. One rarely hears the loud 'yahoos' and 'yee haws' that used to emanate from dancers pretending to be cowboys. My most disconcerting observation was the realization that I could not square dance anymore. I was never a top square dancer, but I was fairly good. Being totally lost was a new experience. Not only had I forgotten the calls I used to know, but there were a lot of new calls... many of them relatively complex, counter intuitive, or similar enough to other calls to cause confusion. When Su and I learned to dance, beginning square dance classes were usually less than 6 months. When a class graduated, most dancers moved into regular square dancing with minimal time needed to transition from the class environment to dancing with most clubs, at the Round-ups, at the Fiesta, etc. Now, despite the classes often lasting 8 or 9 months, it seems like there is a huge gap between the level of the new graduate and most club dancing. Su and I had danced a lot before we dropped out of square dancing 25 years ago and that experience helped us as we returned to dancing. For new graduates without the benefit of our experience, the transition from class level to plus level dancing is difficult and intimidating. There are no mainstream clubs that I know of in San Diego. Square dancing is more structured now. Virtually all of the clubs in San Diego dance at a plus or higher level. Obviously, if a club does not offer plus level, the dancers that have achieved plus level will dance elsewhere in order to utilize and enjoy the skills they worked so hard to achieve. The effect this has on dancing in general is unfortunate. The strongest dancers are lured away from the lower levels and the marginal dancers have strong incentive to rise to a level that is too challenging for them. The dancers left at the lower levels consistently dance without the benefit of having strong dancers in the mix. Since so many people, at all levels, are dancing at the edge of their ability, it doesn't take much to break down a square. This has a direct effect on the fun of dancing. Keeping a square together during a brisk and clever tip brings about a feeling of satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. But when there is a situation where many in a square are dancing at the edge of their ability, there is little room for flourish, banter, or just goofing around. Even the strong dancers don't "mess around'" out of consideration that, by so doing, they may disrupt the concentration of the struggling dancers. I miss the dancing we had 25 years ago where, as often as not, someone would weave the ring behind their partner... go the wrong way in a right and left grand... change places with their partner for a call or two... where kick allemandes were the rule, not the exception... where you could twirl and still have time to catch up if you took too long. I miss the laughter and the hoots and hollers that often would accompany such antics. And, since the dancing wasn't such a challenge, instead of disappointment there was laughter and good natured teasing when a square did break down. Yeah, I still do see these things, but only in the few squares that have the top dancers in them. While composing my thoughts, I came across a couple of articles that reflected what I was thinking and addressed the situation from different perspectives. The first was an article by Lee Schmidt where he points out that there are a disproportionate number of dancers at the advanced levels by saying: "I believe the Square Dance Pyramid has become inverted and is in grave danger of toppling." The second was an article by John Brant about why he feels dancing in Germany is more fun than dancing in America. He's not bashing us, he just points out that "German callers don't rush new dancers to Plus. German dancers can dance many places to good Mainstream calling." Comparing the Wrangler roster from a few short years ago to the current one, it is apparent that the club is losing members at an alarming rate. There is only a trickle of new members from the classes. Obviously, from my preceding comments, my suggestions revolve around promoting Mainstream Dancing. It would be foolhardy to suggest that the Wranglers downgrade their Friday night dances from the Plus level. There would be an exodus of the strong dancers as they seek to dance with Plus clubs. What I propose is to expand the class night activity so it extends into a weekly Mainstream dance and to revise the class so that its main focus is to teach Mainstream only. The major problems I see are that it will put a strain on the caller, require additional effort on the part of the membership, and it will outgrow the facility where the classes are currently held. My concept is that the Thursday class would start as early as possible (perhaps 6:30) and end at 8:00. The Mainstream Dance would then officially start at 8:00 and last until 10:00. There would be no rounds and the breaks would be short. If the quick succession of the tips was too fast for some dancers, they could sit out a tip. Without having to wait through the tip and two sets of rounds, it would not be a long and boring interval. Of course we are hoping the caller can survive this ordeal week in and week out. Also without rounds, the hours I suggested could be curtailed and still give the dancers a full night of square dancing. The first tip of the Mainstream dance at 8:00 would be at class level and the class would be encouraged to attend. There should be enough experienced dancers to allow the caller to call the tip at a good (and fun) pace. I don't know how practical it is, but I envision the tips progressively getting more challenging during the first hour allowing those of different abilities the opportunity to dance up to the limit of their ability. The second hour would be called at pace fast and challenging enough to accommodate experienced Mainstream dancers. There might even be a plus tip at the end of the night similar in concept to the Advanced tips often called at the Plus dances. With the class terminating at the completion of Mainstream instruction, the Wranglers can offer starting classes twice a year. As dancers graduate, they become dues paying members and, since the Wranglers will be offering the Thursday Mainstream dances, they will have a place to dance every week. I believe that most graduates will wish to progress to the Plus level. Currently, on Mondays, the Whirlaways are offering a two tiered lesson plan with Mainstream instruction early followed by Plus instruction. The graduation of the Wrangler students could be coordinated with the Whirlaway schedule and the new graduates would be encouraged to take the Whiraway Plus class. In return, students that are graduating from the Whirlaways' Mainstream class would be encouraged to attend the Wrangler Mainstream dances on Thursdays where they can enjoy the fruits of their learning. With a fun place to dance Mainstream, many people can come to dance who ordinarily wouldn't. Not only would a Mainstream dance night provide a fun place for our graduates to dance but for other clubs' students that have completed the Mainstream calls in their class, for older dancers no longer comfortable with the challenge of Plus movements, for returning dancers (there are more of us in that category than I would have guessed), and for singles. For these and others, the Wranglers Mainstream dances would be the obvious choice (and right now it would be about the only choice) that would allow them to experience the joy of club dancing. |