Chuesday Chatter
April 2008
Hello Everyone. This is just a little Newsletter to welcome
you all to our activity and to our club and to give you some news and insight
into some of the things that are going on around the Centre.
By now everyone should have a
good idea of what square dancing is really all about. For most of you it is a completely new
experience. The concept behind square
dancing is quite a bit different to most other dance forms where you learn and
memorize routines. Fortunately a lot of
the names of the moves give you some idea of what action is required but it
still takes a lot of concentration to get your body to do what the caller is
telling you, especially when you have to sort out the important parts of what’s
being called.
You may find it helpful to
follow your progress on the list that we have made available. We can do more copies at any time. Looking over this list on a regular basis can
help to remember each move and by associating the written name with a move it
can help you memorize and remember it more easily. You can also keep track of the moves you may
have missed or can’t remember and use it to come and talk to me about some
revision.
There are also hand books
available that give you the full definition with diagrams and photos. This can help if you’re able to learn this
way. Ask at the door and look it over
first before you buy ( $ 5.00 each)
Don’t forget to pick up your
badge each week and leave it behind as you go.
If we have misspelt your name or you don’t yet have a badge please let
us know ASAP. Soon we will be
positioning the badges in the rack at the door so it will be easier to find and
every badge will have its own “home”.
We know it’s next to
impossible to make it along every week but we don’t want you to worry. We always go over everything early in the
night so if you miss a night please try to make sure you’re on time or early
the following week. It’s good to try to
be early every week so you have time to come in and relax and start to get in
the right frame of mind to begin on time.
If you know you’re going to
be away for more than one week talk it over with us as
soon as possible and we may be able to make some special arrangements to catch
you up with what you miss. The last
thing we want is for you to feel nervous about coming back. We want this to be an enjoyable experience -
a recreation not imposition.
It could also be possible to
offer “catch up” or revision nights on another night of the week. We also have a dance session on Wednesday
morning at
We are really grateful to the
ladies who dance in the left hand (mans) position. It’s very hard to find partners for everyone
and not successful if we share someone else’s partner and take turns. If you’re lucky enough to dance the right
hand (ladies) position and score a partner please keep in mind that the right
thing to do is learn the mans part next time we start a new beginner
group. Then if you know both parts you
get to dance whenever you want and no one gets stuck in the mans position for
ever. This shows that you’re grateful
for the assistance you’ve received and willing to help out others in the same
position at the same time.
Hands play a more important part
then do our feet. Footwork is not as
important as in many other forms of dance but with our hands we interact with
all others in our square. Sometimes we
learn a lot about others from their hands - how they feel and how a person uses
their hands gives us an impression of that person. When we’re nervous we often tighten our grip
and sometimes people trying to help will use a harder grip than necessary. Be aware that some people have hands that are
quite sensitive and even painful if squeezed or pulled. We encourage you to hold and touch hands
whenever possible to show friendship, but take care and be gentle. Often we don’t really know that our
nervousness could be causing us to hold someone else’s hand with too much
force, so we shouldn’t be offended if someone lets us know we’re not gentle
enough.
Thank you for contributing to
the supper. We have quite a good
reputation for putting on a great supper every week and visitors are really
impressed. Please try to stay to have a
chat and mix at suppertime. It helps us
all get to know each other a bit better. We also
appreciate the help with cleaning up, returning and washing glasses and cups
and putting things away.
Talking about social
gatherings, we have at least one in each season of the year. Our first will be Tuesday 29th
April. Autumn is a good time for Hot
Dogs. Come along at
At the Square Dance Centre we
provide a whole range of activities to keep everyone as busy as you want. We have 4 levels of square dancing from
basics to Advanced as well as Round Dancing and Clogging. You are most welcome to come along to any of
our other dance sessions. It won’t cost
you anything to watch and you can enjoy a tea or coffee and everyone’s
company. Not everyone goes on to learn
all levels of square dance. The level
that is danced around the world is “mainstream” and
you will “graduate” as a mainstream dancer after finishing this basic course
and be welcome at our club dance nights and just about any other club around
We have received many
inquires re Clogging and should these people all turn up for an introductory
session and enjoy it a new Clogging class will commence on a Monday night at
7.30 p.m. Unfortunately
no date for the new round dance class yet, not many inquiries.
Our Square Dance Centre is 23
years old this August. It was built
specifically for our club to dance in as we had trouble finding halls the right
size and with the required availability.
We had great help from many square dancers, the
On a serious note and because of insurance
reasons we must recommend that correct footwear is worn at the dance class
please. Correct footwear is an enclosed
shoe with little or no heel, sorry but scuff type shoes (no toe cover and no
heel cover) are very dangerous. Heels
that are wedged in shape can lead to you slipping .
We hope we’re helping make
square dancing an enjoyable recreation for you.
Naturally this type of activity is not for everyone and we see a large
“drop out” rate early in the course.
This is natural and usually not because it is not fun but because of
various other reasons. Sometimes a
weekly commitment is not possible or desirable.
So, have fun and let us know if you have any problems or if we can make
it more enjoyable.
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CALLER DIRECTOR Tele (07) 5445 1238 or 0417 729
263 Email: NevBev ROUND DANCE / CLOGGING CUER Bev Or 0427 135 442 PRESIDENT Tele (07) 5478 3445 SECRETARY Bev Tele (07) 5445 1238 TREASURER Grace Reinhardt Assistant Treasurer Annette Tele (07) 5445 9181 Tuesday Night Rep Joan Knowles |
WEEKLY PROGRAM AT A GLANCE |
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Sunday |
“A2” &
“A1” |
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Monday |
Intermediate
Rounds Plus
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Tuesday |
Mainstream
Workshop Learning
Mainstream |
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Wednesday |
Learning
Basics Mainstream
Workshop 11.30 am Plus
W’shop Clogging
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Suncoasters
Dance Week-end 1st
& 3rd Saturdays and the Sunday following SPECIAL
SATURDAY DANCE NIGHTS May 31. “Red Hot Night”
Basic/Mainstream/Plus August 30. “Pot Luck” November 29. Golden
Nite |
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SATURDAY Rounds Mainstream |
SUNDAY Advanced Rds “A” as above |
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