[Callers] Grand Square in a contra?

[Bob Green via Callers]

I would reiterate Dave's comment. The dance really only has one
challenge...but it is a doozy.. Remembering whether you are a head or a
side on each interrelation of the grand square is a challenge, partly
because you have to recall  2 things...Am I a head or  a side & do I
separate or approach.

Great weekend, thanks Luke!

On Wed, Jul 6, 2016 at 9:46 PM, David Harding via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi Luke, thanks for a great weekend.  I'm piping up as a dancer who had
> hoped that you would call a grand square in a contra formation after the
> discussion here.  Tonight I find myself in an analytical frame of mind,
> thinking about where we stumbled, in the hope that you (and others) will
> keep calling this dance and have great success with it.
>
> I'm from Illinois, but a regular at the two Wisconsin weekends
> (IndepenDance and Squirrel Moon).  The programs tend to be dominated by
> contras, but with enough squares so most dancers are familiar with the
> basic concepts.  I haven't been keeping count, but it feels as though most
> weekends include one dance with a grand square, and I felt that there were
> sufficient dancers on Sunday who knew the grand square figure that we
> should have been fine.
>
> Personally, I struggled to remember which direction to start as we
> flip-flopped from side to side.  I think a lot of us were disoriented that
> way.  Even in a square dance with rotating partners, one role usually stays
> home and can anchor the orientation.
>
> Part of my problem was not (yet) having internalized my identity as part
> of a right or left couple in a four-facing-four.  I don't need to think any
> more when I'm addressed as a gent (or lady), as a middle or inside or
> outside.  I know when I'm a head or a side.  I know where to find my corner
> wherever I am at the moment.  But I don't recall dancing a four-facing-four
> where the right couples did something different from the left couples.
>
> My two cents in the interest of continuous improvement.
>
> -Dave Harding
>
> On 7/5/2016 12:15 PM, Luke Donforth via Callers wrote:
>
> Thanks John, that does seem like a fun bit to incorporate.
>
> I ran the Fox Hollow Foibles dance with the Grand Square happening on the
> diagonal at IndepenDance in Wisconsin. Folks seemed to have fun with it,
> but it was certainly challenging (my sense is that community doesn't do
> many squares; Grand or otherwise).
>
> On Fri, Jul 1, 2016 at 5:20 PM, John Sweeney via Callers <
> callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> Of course contra dancers like swinging, so you could try incorporating
>> this version into a contra dance:
>>
>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfqC8uVfCUo
>>
>>
>>
>> In “Cowboy Dances” (1939) there was also a version with half a two-hand
>> turn (but they called it a swing!) every time you met someone.
>>
>>
>>
>> Happy dancing,
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>> John Sweeney, Dancer, England john at modernjive.com 01233 625 362
>> http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
> --
> Luke Donforth
> Luke.Donforth at gmail.com <Luke.Donev at gmail.com>
>
>
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