FAQs
Definitions
 | Miscellaneous Questions |  |
#1 Dancer |   |
On your site for A1 I have seen "#1 dancer". What does that mean? | |
1/4 and 3/4 Box | |
In your C1 & C2 S/D manual, I came across a reference to both
a 1/4 & 3/4 box setup (triple cross pp196). These
are formations which I cannot find explicitly described either in
your text or any other, such as Clark Baker's S/D Handbook.
Could you provide any source for these
formations, and some reasoning as to their naming.
Any info you can provide would be most
appreciated. | |
The name of these formations derives from a 1/4 Tag formation, the formation obtained from a Squared Set after Heads Pass The Ocean.
A 1/4 Tag is a Wave between Outside Couples Facing In.
A 3/4 Tag is a Wave between Outside Couples Facing Out.
A 1/4 Box is a Box between Outside Couples Facing In. (e.g., From a Squared Set after Heads Touch 1/4).
A 3/4 Box is a Box between Outside Couples Facing Out.
A 1/4 Line is a (Two-Faced) Line between Outside Couples Facing In. (e.g., From a Squared Set after Heads As Couples Touch 1/4).
A 3/4 Line is a (Two-Faced) Line between Outside Couples Facing Out.
And, a 1/4 Diamond is a Diamond between Outside Couples Facing In.
And so on, and so on...
Clump | |
What is a "clump"? | |
Usually,
XX++
XX++
++XX
++XX
Assuming 'X' represents a dancer, this formation is referred to as a clump.
Occasionally, a clump can also be:
XX++++XX
XX++++XX
or
XX++XX
XX++XX
etc.
Delimiters in calls/concepts requiring more than one argument | |
How do you phrase it when calling Hinge By?
Hinge By x BY...By etc. -- or Hinge By x AND...And etc?
What about Interlace? Interlace a WITH b or Interlace a AND b? | |
For Interlace, I use "With".
As long as we're on the subject...
SANDWICH a AROUND b
CHECKPOINT a BY b
REVERSE CHECKPOINT a BY b
TRACE a BY b
OWN THE a BY b
SLANT a BY b
TOUCH AND GO a BY b
TOUCH BY a BY b
TOUCH TONE a BY b
VEER AND TURN a BY b
ROLLING RIPPLE a BY b (BY c)
INTERRUPT a AFTER/BEFORE b WITH c
a REPLACE b WITH c
ANCHOR THE a FOR (A) b
DRAG THE a FOR (A) b
IGNORE THE a FOR (A) b
PREFER THE a FOR (A) b
Facing Stars | |
In variations involving a "diamond-type" star (on unusual Motivates, Chain Reactions, etc.), which shoulders
should people pass when turning the star?
If I am the one hinged in, in turning the star 1/4 I prefer to keep outboard of those that did the Jaywalk so as to keep clear of those who will be finishing with the Cast Off 3/4. What do you feel is the correct way to dance the call in terms of the diamond-star traffic flow? | |
Formation: 1/4 <anything> | |
I had an argument with someone who is studying to be a caller. I said that when you have a two faced line in the center and a couple facing in on the ends, that is called a quarter tag formation. He said that it is only a quarter tag formation if there is a wave in the center, not any other type of line.
Also, what if you have a wave or some sort of a line in the center and miniwaves at the ends. That is not a quarter tag nor is it a three quarter tag formation. What is it called? | |
A 1/4 Tag with a 2FL and In-Facing Couples is a "1/4 Line". If there is a Diamond in the middle, it is a "1/4 Diamond".
If the outsides are Out-Facing Couples, we have a "3/4 Tag", "3/4 Line", or "3/4 Diamond".
If the outsides are in a Mini-Wave, we have a "Generalized 1/4 Tag, Line, or Diamond".
That's all folks!
Here Comes The Judge / Sock It To Me | |
I am a Japanese sqaure-dancer and unfortunately a non-native speaker of English.
I have a quaestion for you.
There are some calls whose literal meaning does not convey what to do. For instance,
on "sock it to me", I was wondering what the word "sock" means. ON this call, the leftmost
dancer initiates an outroll circulate while the rightmost one on "here comes the judege".
I wonder if there is a good clue to remembering "left" on "sock it to me".
Thank you for your kind reply. | |
The word "sock" has two meanings in American English:
1) A garment for the foot and lower part of the leg
靴下
2) A hard blow or punch
拳パンチ
This call has a very curious history. It was developed during the time
that a particular television show was popular (Laugh-In). Laugh-In was
a comedy show and contained many different skits that became a part
of American culture. One of these skits used a "tag-line" (a catchphrase
or slogan, or the punchline of a joke) of "Sock It To Me" and this meant
that something was about to happen to the person who said it, like maybe
they get hit with a bucket of water, or fall through a trap-door, or knocked
on the head with a soft rubber or inflated hammer. (This is the 拳パンチ
usage of the word "sock"). Another popular skit used the tag-line of
"Here Comes The Judge". So these two calls were developed and named
after this popular television show.
In America, dancers like to remember "Here Comes The Judge" by saying
"The Judge is always RIGHT". This has meaning in America because a judge
is the person that decides the penalty for crime, and the decisions made are
deemed to be correct/right. In America, knowing that "Sock It To Me" is the
opposite of "Here Comes The Judge" (because these two calls are so deeply
related and ingrained in American culture), American dancers do not need
to figure out a way to remember "Sock It To Me". They just know that it
is the opposite of "Here Comes The Judge" (which is RIGHT), so "Sock It
To Me" must be LEFT.
Perhaps for Japanese dancers, who do not have this cultural connection to
the television show, you might be able to remember the difference in this way:
Left vs. Reverse | |
This past weekend, you called Left Dixie Style to a Wave several times. I use this frequently (usually at Plus and above, rarely with poor Mainstreamers :-) ) as REVERSE Dixie Style to a Wave. I correlate the call as Flutterwheel/Reverse Flutterwheel, Dixie Style/Reverse Dixie Style.
Any thoughts on what would be a more correct use? | |
Lacking the technically proper term (i.e., 'Mirror'), I selected the next best term, 'Left'. 'Left' is consistent with 'Left Fan The Top', 'Left Touch 1/4', etc. I mean, would you ever say 'Reverse Touch 1/4'???
'Reverse' has problems in that it has no precise meaning. 'Reverse' can mean any of the following: Mirror, In Reverse Order, Rewind, Leaders do the Trailers part and vice-versa, and a few other usages (e.g., Reverse The Diamond [Centers Trade the Wave as Others U-Turn Back, converts R-H Diamonds to L-H Diamonds and vice-versa]).
Anyway, I cued the call as "Boys Lead Left Dixie Style to a Wave, Left Pull By then Right Touch 1/4 with the Girl, swing the Girl into the Center" (or something to that effect), so it was, in my most humble opinion, unambiguous what I wanted.
New calls | |
Is there any good place where new calls can be found? | |
I allow people to submit new ideas to my Experimental Calls and Concepts database at http://www.ceder.net/experimentals/view.php
Partners in Ocean Wave | |
Who is your partner in an Ocean Wave? | |
From any general line (one-faced, two-faced, 3&1, or a WAVE), Partners are generally defined as the Ends and Adjacent Centers. This holds true for calls such as PARTNER HINGE, PARTNER TRADE, and PARTNER TAG.
This is the "Formation"-relative Partner, who may or may not be your original Partner, and could even be dancing the same Role (i.e., Boy or Girl).
For the purposes of call such as RIGHT AND LEFT GRAND, and LEFT ALLEMANDE, you need to look at the 8-dancer formation as a "Circle", and the Boy's partner is the lady counter-clockwise around the circular formation.
And, of course, not all callers may subscribe to this, nor understand it. So, bottom line, do what your caller wants. :-)
Same spot crashing with a "Left" call | |
When two dancers "crash" to the same spot, do they always step
to right hands? What if the call is Left <anything>? Thank you. | |
On "Left <anything>", it is not clear what happens. E.g., from Tandem Couples: Left Pitch 1/2 Circulate.
Square Breathing | |
From Parallel Waves e.g. Heads Square Thru + all Swing Thru,
do you train the dancers to close up the formation so that
there is no space between the two waves? | |
At Challenge, I expect dancers to dance this way. If you ever get a chance to watch a C4 floor, you will notice that they close up the spaces after each call. Challenge dancers need to close up the gap or they might breakdown on the next call.
I'm going to start an A1 class in January or February, and I expect to drill the dancers on keeping their squares tight. I will try to train them to close up their formations.
On a recent trip to England, I was impressed when I called Promenade Home. Most squares had all the Boys in a very tight (good looking) Star. The Boys were all sticking their left-elbows up, trying to touch the points to make a Star. I asked them later why their Promenade looked so sharp, and they explained that one of their callers teaches the Boys to touch elbows. The dancers in this particular club were, in jest, trying to over-emphasize the elbows-up part, and in doing so, made some very nice looking tight Stars.
As long as I'm on the 'European-styling' soap box, here's another thing about the European dancers that impressed me:
The dancers can actually do the call Circle To A Line! There is no such thing as 'slide out to a line'. When you call 'Heads Lead Right, Circle To A Line', they do something similar to what I'm about to describe (I don't know exactly how they do it, but someday I intend to find out)
This styling looks very sharp.
Unusual Uses at Challenge | |
There are probably a lot of mainstream calls in which unusual uses don't come up until the challenge level. Are there any generally recognized written resources for resolving questions like the foregoing? | |
Clark Baker is working with Callerlab, trying to write a set of technical definitions.
We're also slowly working on a set of web-based definitions. A few have been completed so far.
Who is a Neighbor? | |
The term "Neighbor" is used in several square dance references, but I can't find a precise definition of "Neighbor".
By inference - one possible definition extracted from "Follow Your Neighbor" is "the Person next to you before you started to a particular move". This would be a good enough definition for my needs. But I'm curious to find out if there is an agreed definition. | |
This notion has definitely fallen out of use today. In my opinion, all challenge dancers/callers, and most advanced dancers/callers are taught that from a Wave, the ends and adjacent dancers are Partners (in the formation). This is necessary for calls such as Partner Tag.
These URLs (old definitions) mention "Neighbors":
