[Callers] Double Grand Square

[John Sweeney]

I had these responses from trad-dance-callers at yahoogroups.com
<mailto:trad-dance-callers at yahoogroups.com> 

 

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Otto Warteman:

I had an exhibition group from 1975-1998 and we did it with 32 dancers, but
with 8 steps and turn and alternating couples turning.

You can have like spokes of a wheel four couples deep where all the heads
are facing the center or as alternating couples face their partner.

You can also do four different contras at the same time where to number one
couple is the furthest out from the center.

 

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Jim Saxe:

There's a dance by Ted Sannella called "Ted's Double Quadrille No. 1" (or
"... #1") that includes a different (and, I think, simpler) version of grand
square for sixteen dancers than the one in the video John cited.  The
starting formation is a square with two couples side-by-side on each side of
(as in Rod's Quads) and the action is simply for each couple to act the part
of an individual in a normal eight-person grand square.  If I recall
correctly, when I danced to Ted's calling at Augusta Dance Week in 1985, he
had partners put our near arms around each other's backs as in a star
promenade, but it might also be done with partners simply holding near
hands.

 

Side couples begin by facing up or down the hall toward the other side
couple in their foursome and backing away, while heads begin by dancing
forward towards the opposite head couple.  On the fourth beat each couple,
turns as a unit 90 degrees to face across the square.  On the next four
beats, the original heads back out toward the side spots, while the original
sides advance toward the head spots, all couples turning on the last beat to
face uo and down.  Etc.

 

A spreadsheet index of Ted's dances linked from

 

     http://davidsmukler.syracusecountrydancers.org/ted-sannella-index/

 

lists the date of composition as 1965.

 

--Jim

 

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            Happy dancing,                          

                   John                                   

                                    

John Sweeney, Dancer, England   john at modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802
940 574                          

http://contrafusion.co.uk/KentCeilidhs.html for Live Music Ceilidhs


http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent


http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive DVDs

 

 

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