[email protected] Ringgold GA 30736 706-935-5605 Copy 675 Pages 27 Volume 57 - Number 5 January 2008
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January 2008 “Our Only Excuse For Existence Is To Be Of Service” Northeast Square Dancer www.squaredance.ws 782 Jays Way [email protected] Ringgold GA 30736 706-935-5605 Copy 675 Pages 27 Volume 57 - Number 5 January 2008 Publishers and Editors Ed & Pat Juaire Contributing Editors Ralph & Joan Collipi Bob Howell Paul Moore Ed Foote Birgit Maguire Ken Ritucci Louise Harrop Jim Mayo Tom Rudebock 4 By Line - Ken Ritucci 27 Cartoon 8 Comment - Jim Mayo 16 Country Kitchen - Louise Harrop 26 Dances 3 From the Editor’s - Ed & Pat Juaire 5 Let’s Dance - Bob Howell 14 Moore on Contra - Paul Moore 17 NSD News Riverside Squares Square Dance Foundation of New England Swinging Squares 9 RD Of the Month - Birgit Maguire 7 RD Music Review - Ralph & Joan Collipi 10 SD Music Review - Tom Rudebock 27 Workshops DEADLINE for AD and NEWS COPY The Northeast Square Dancer Magazine is published for the by PEJ Enterprises, all rights reserved. MARCH ISSUE The Northeast Square Dancer, New England Square JANUARY 10 Dance Caller and associated logos are copyrighted. Northeast Square Dancer, January 2008 2 FRom the editors ED & PAT JUAIRE As this issue becomes available, we are about seven days before Christmas and naturally, fourteen days before the New Year. Each New Year brings about new challenges, resolutions which all too often seem to fade by February or March and the dreaded unknown. For our square and round dance community, just like most social clubs and activi- ties, the continued demise appears to be impossible to reverse. Fewer and fewer people care to become involved with social activities. We’ve discussed this before so there is no point in going over the details again and again. There are just so many other activi- ties available, the competition for available free time is immense. And we must face it, dancing is not high on the list, unless you somehow manage to get on “Dancing with the Stars.” So with that behind us, let’s give thanks for those who do come into our hobby and let them dance. Do not burden them with “club functions” until they have at least had a couple of years dancing fi rst, unless of course they volunteer to help. Let’s enjoy what we have and make the most of it. This year will be the 50th New England Square and Round Dance Convention. We recognize it now not what it origi- nally was which is true of most things. But is was square dancing then and it is still square dancing today. If you have not registered yet, now is the time to put it on your calendar and do it. Check the web site www.nesrdc.org to get the registration form. To the clubs who work hard and continue to recruit and bring in new dancers, keep it up. We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthful New Year. Promotion of Square Dancing is Everybody’s Job and Responsibility. Contact Jerry Maurice to fi nd out what you can do: 603-463-7633 or [email protected] Littleton SDC – Thursday nights Mainstream & Plus Workshop @ 6:30 pm 325 Union Street, Littleton, NH Seven Hills Promenaders – Wednesday nights APD/DBD Plus Workshop @ 7:00 pm 10 Dupont Street, Worcester, MA Al Rouff 9 Carleton Street France Rouff Lawrence, MA 01843 Calling Up To Advance LINE DANCE LEADER 978-975-2619 / [email protected] Seven Hills Promenaders Dancing at 10 Dupont Street, Worcester, MA DBD Plus Dance the Fourth Saturday of Every Month - Early A-1 at 7 pm, Plus at 8 pm. See web site for callers, cuers, link to fl yers, link to sound clips: www.sevenhills.ws Northeast Square Dancer, January 2008 3 bY LINE KEN RITUCCI HAPPY NEW YEAR A new year is upon us, fi lled with upcoming events. Don’t forget the New England Convention in April, it will be the 50th anniversary and the committee is working hard to put on a spectacular event. If you haven’t signed up yet, please do so because every- one counts and it is important for the committee to “get an idea” of how the registration numbers are tracking. I am currently reading a fascinating book, Rumors Of Another World by Philip Yancey and he mentions about the types of sicknesses we are experiencing in the world today. Yancey says that in India, the top ten health concerns would consist of infectious diseases: malaria, polio, dysentery, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, even leprosy. Here in the United States, after having conquered most of those infectious diseases, we have substituted new health problems for old, the majority of them stemming from lifestyle choices. Now, we have to deal with obesity from over eating, alcoholism from over drinking, hypertension and heart disease related from stress, Aids contracted through drug use, lung cancer as- sociated with cigarette smoking. All of these health issues are the result of poor choices. It made me think of how our activity is now (and has been) suffering from other types of problems. While back in the fi fties and sixties we had problems such as turning people away from a dance because there were too many dancers, now we have problems of not being able to get anyone into the activity. As has been discussed over and over, some of the reasons our problems exist are because of our own choices. We cannot blame society on all square dance woes. It is interesting to hear and read many ideas and opinions. Many believe complex choreography has ruined our activity, some believe the higher levels have. I can see where in some cases, this theory has played a part, to a degree. On the fl ip side, I can see where keeping a dancer/club at a relaxed Mainstream or even Basic Program has not helped either. Many dancers do and want something more challenging, be it Plus or Advanced or beyond. There is nothing wrong with that. Dancers leave the lower programs for more be- cause they want to. The more complex choreography should not be looked at as “The Evil Empire.” You cannot keep square dancers in a box. We cannot dictate what a dancer will dance or even where they can dance. But, our skins aren’t as thick as they use to be. We live in a world of “Entitlement.” Everyone has their rights and they are “entitled” to certain things. I hear of callers/dancers/clubs/organi- zations/resorts etc. getting upset at others because an event is planned on the same eve- ning or weekend as someone else’s event if the two venues are 200 hundred miles away. “How dare you compete with me!” As we begin a new year, let’s try to stop pointing fi ngers at each other for the un- healthy condition of our activity. There is a place for all levels, no matter what it is. Can’t we all just get along? To take the idea from Martin Luther King, I look forward someday when blame will not be directed at anyone because dancers will be able to dance what they want and where they want based on their content of their ability and choice and not by the color in which they choose the level of their dance program. Northeast Square Dancer, January 2008 4 let’s dance BOB HOWELL Let’s start the year with a smooth moving couples mixer called the - - - GRAND SASHAY MIXER by Ruth & Frank Laming Formation: Intro, open facing, man’s back to COH Dance: Open, both facing LOD Footwork: Opposite, directions for man unless indicated. Music: Blue Star 1782 Routine: Introduction: 1-4 WAIT; WAIT; APART -.POINT-, -TOGETHER -.TOUCH -; Wait two measures, in open facing position step apart from partner on left, point toward partner with right; step toward partner on right, turning 1/4 left face (woman turns right face) to face LOD in open position, touch left to right. Dance: 1-4 WALK-, 2-; 3-, 4-; CHANGE SIDES-, 2; 3-4-; 2-; 3-, 4-; Walk forward LOD; turning slightly toward partner join man’s L and woman’s R hands, lead woman diagonally across in front of man under woman’s R and man’s L arm; end both facing LOD M on outside in L open position. 5-8 WALK-. 2-; 3-, 4-; CHANGE SIDES-, 2-; 3-, 4- 2-; 3-, 4-; Walk foward LOD; turning slightly toward partner join man’s R and woman’s L hands, lead woman diagonally across in front of man under woman’s L and man’s R arm; end both facing LOD man on inside in open position. 9-12 WALK-, 2-; 3-, FACE -; BACK AWAY-, 2-; 3-, 4-; Walk forward LOD turning on R to face partner (man 1/4 R face, W 14 L face) man’s back to COH; man steps backward toward COH (woman steps backward to wall). 13-16 WALK TO CORNER-, 2-; 3-, 4-; LEFT ALLEMANDE-, 2-; 3-, 4-; Both turn slightly to R walking to corner; join L hands like an allemande walking forward to face original partner, Man facing LOD (woman facing R LOD) 17-20 DO-SA-DO PARTNER-, 2-; 3-, 4-; 5-, 6-; JOIN RIGHT HANDS PULL BY, 8-; Passing R shoulders and moving back to back dance around partner to end facing partner in LOD; join R hands pull by partner and face new partner; Square Dance Foundation of New England, Inc. 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