I think Alan's got the right idea -- call 'em simply "revival" squares.
It's got a positive, non-jargony feel to it and gets at some of the key
ideas mentioned in this thread by Tony, Fred, and others.
David Kirchner
St. Paul, MN
________________________________________________________________________
> 1j. Re: Is there an emerging SD style? Has it a name?
> Posted by: "Winston, Alan P." winston(a)slac.stanford.edu
> Date: Thu Aug 11, 2016 3:48 pm ((PDT))
>
> I'm just going to spit-ball some names, without much belief that
> these'll become popular:
>
> Syncretist squares (combines from multiple traditions)
>
> Eclectic squares (similarly in crossing boundaries)
>
> Walk-right-in squares ('cause I really want to say "no-lesson squares"
> but defining things by the absence of aspects of other things is bad news)
>
> New Tradition Squares (because it's coming back to tradition but
> without the mustiness; if "Modern" weren't already in use we'd want it,
> "Post-Modern" would just be confusing)
>
> Community Fun Squares
>
> Old-Time Revival Squares (following the degree to which the interest in
> old-timey music among youth seems to have preceded and precipitated the
> square dance movement)
>
> Party Squares
>
> -- Alan
>
>
>
Hi, everyone... I invite your help in clarifying my thoughts.
I believe that there may well be an eclectic style of square dance emerging that bids fair to become the "great American folk dance" that Lloyd Shaw envisioned in the 1930s. Shaw thought it would be his beloved "cowboy" dance, which he correctly theorized was a blend of the quadrille (across the set) and visiting-couple (around the set) traditions, even though he erred on the origins of those two strains, especially the latter. For a while it looked as if Shaw's prediction was accurate: the "cowboy" dance evolved into the recreational square dance of the early 1950s, with events available at every level from beginning to advanced, and callers devising interesting new figures using the existing basic movements.
But after the fad years, organized square dancing became increasingly ingrown, with more and more lessons required to join a club. New "basics" were invented; most older figures were discarded. Except for a couple of common chorus calls, modern squares bore no resemblance to Shaw's original vision. Leaders who rejected the new material tended to retreat into their respective corners (no pun intended) and teach the traditional figures of their own region. There was little communication or cooperation between modern and traditional leaders; at times there was outright friction. Many who participated in the post-1970 contra dance revival looked at any type of squares with scorn, partly due (I think) to the internecine squabbling (though largely due to people's unpleasant experiences with squares in school or with the modern club scene).
In the past few decades, however, relations have thawed between the traditional and modern camps, and to some extent between the contra and traditional square worlds. Square callers of all types are borrowing moves and figures from each other's repertoires; leading contra callers are including more squares in their programs. In addition, a new square dance network is forming; it has its origins in the old-time music scene, and is independent of both the modern square dance and the contra network.
I think I see a new style of square dance developing that draws the best features from all the broadly defined styles of the past.
>From Southern Mountain and traditional Western styles:
The exuberance, fast tempo, and circular "swoopy" figures
The colorful patter (influenced during the 1920s and '30s by radio barn dance programs and recordings)
>From New England/Northeastern style:
The close connection between the dance and its music
The squared-off grid-type figures (elegant when done well)
>From early modern square dancing (c. 1945-1955):
The move toward all-active choreography
The emphasis on doing as much as possible with existing basics
The bringing together of singing and patter styles
The free-wheeling allemande breaks
>From later modern square dancing (c. 1955 on):
The playfulness of callers' improvising and dancers' matching wits with the caller
The kaleidoscopic/origami-like shifting of set shapes and facing direction/orientation
Callers are being influenced by styles other than their own, whether they know it or not, in delivery technique and in choice of material. Most callers now feel it's OK to learn from books and recordings - and even in the case of survival (as opposed to revival) callers who learned from live role models, it's likely that those role models were influenced by sources outside their local tradition.
Now: Is there an appropriate name for this developing eclectic style? A name that will distinguish it from its predecessors?
I've heard a couple of names used or suggested. I don't think any of them is particularly apropos, and one is downright misleading. Rather than repeat them here, I'd like to hear from you: Have you heard a name used that you like (or don't like)? Can you think of a name that might work?
I'm writing a book on squares from the working caller's perspective, which will cover philosophy, delivery, and material. (There will be more material than in my contra text, because I believe present-day callers have more trouble finding and choosing good squares than good contras.) If I find a name for this emerging style, I'll use it; otherwise I'll simply describe the style and offer it as my take on the current state of the art. Thanks for any help you can provide.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
There had been ballet, minuet, mazurka, and others before. But the kind of house or barn raising event (barn dance) where neighbors came together and cut up was just called dancing. The term square dance was descriptive of a category of all the group dances done in four sided formations such as cotillion, quadrille, lancers, and southern big set. The term SD appears in the 1840s when play party games were done by the young. It came into widespread usage by the 1870s when there was a famous race horse by that name. Rhyming patter calling was in place by the 1890s.
Tony, maybe what you seek is something to describe the social nature rather than the formation. To me it will always be for amusement, never serious. It is social, as at a wedding reception. It is simple enough that experience is not a handicap. Access means for the disabled, though. It has been around forever and always will be.
A new organizer boasted once that they were going to do the square dance better than it had ever been done. No idea what they were intending. But I think that's where the train goes off track. I want to do it as well as it was ever done!
Fred Feild, no longer living in your area
-------- Original message --------
From: "Tee Huffaker tee.huffaker(a)gmail.com [trad-dance-callers]" <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>
Date: 08/11/2016 1:10 PM (GMT-06:00)
To: trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] Re: Is there an emerging SD style? Has it a name?
So what does one who wants to dance at these events look for? Well - I look for words like fun first, high energy, old-timey music, southern squares, Appalachian, subversive squares.
So, I laughed when you asked for a name - harking back to Larry Jennings - I would call them Zesty Squares with old-timey music.
On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 1:27 PM, Rich Sbardella richsbardella(a)gmail.com<mailto:richsbardella@gmail.com> [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com<mailto:trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:
Hello folks,
I really like calling it "square dancing" because it is kind of open ended, and eclectic.
As a MWSD caller who is calling many contras and more traditional square dances, when I tell dancers and organizers that my roots are in Club or MWSD circles, the most common response is "What is that?".
Also, when I started calling MWSD in CT, 25 years ago, I once counted 60 CT MWSD dances in a month. I just counted the dances in CT in September 2016 and they total 7. That is a very steep decline. In addition to the number of dances, the number of dancers at each evening has declined. As the numbers declined, the average age increased. I do not believe that MWSD will disappear in my lifetime, but I know that is is a very small market, with all but a few clubs declining.
As this decline has occurred, much of the public, has lost the sense that Square Dance denotes MWSD, and has accepted the more open, eclectic style of square dance. I imagine that this will increase in the "Post Modern Square Dance" world, and for that reason, the name "square dance" is more practical. It allows each caller, and each dance community, to evolve locally, and independently, in any, and, or, all traditions.
Rich Sbardella
Stafford, CT
On Thu, Aug 11, 2016 at 9:04 AM, Tony Parkes tony(a)hands4.com<mailto:tony@hands4.com> [trad-dance-callers] <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com<mailto:trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com>> wrote:
John Freeman wrote:
<< How about we just call it “square dancing” and not worry about a made up generic name.>>
Sherri Nevins wrote:
<<… I think a fresh term could be very helpful.>>
Great! This is exactly the kind of exchange I was hoping to encourage.
My heart says we should just call it “square dancing,” whereas my head says that if one is going to discuss something, it can help to define one’s terms. The main problem with calling it “square dancing” is that a sizable number, perhaps a majority, of modern “western” square dance people have appropriated that name for themselves. Over and over again I hear them refer to themselves as “square dancers” and their activity as “square dancing,” usually with a little extra emphasis on “square,” whereas they refer to any other kind of SD as “traditional dance” or “heritage dance” (never with the word “square”) or as part of “contra.” I’d ignore this if we weren’t trying to foster improved dialogue between the camps.
(Historical note: In 1969, Bob Osgood of “Sets in Order” and some of his colleagues attempted to create a form of SD that would appeal to many more people than the then-current version of modern “western,” which required 30 or more lessons to learn. After much discussion, they came up with a list of calls that essentially re-created traditional SD – knowing full well that that was what they were doing. There were 50 calls, with a suggested class length of 10 lessons; the only non-traditional calls were Allemande Thar, Square Thru, and Star Thru. The next step was to agree on a name. Reportedly there was much wrangling; I’d love to know what names were proposed and rejected. According to Osgood, the committee finally decided that the “new” program should be referred to simply as “square dancing,” presumably with the hope that more complex programs would then need qualifying adjectives. It didn’t work out in quite the way they had hoped: they released it as “the Basic Program of American Square Dancing,” and everyone since then has referred to it as “Basic.” It didn’t find its audience, either: instead of capturing a multitude of people who wouldn’t otherwise have touched SD, it was used only as a stepping stone to “higher” levels. Few if any clubs worldwide dance solely the Basic program.)
If no one suggests a name that’s acceptable to everyone, I’m OK with that. But it would be handy to have one or two words to identify this emerging style in discussion, to distinguish it from the various traditional styles that contributed to it and from M “W” SD.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
Tony, I'm thrilled at your analysis. I could hope for nothing more than a
kind of square dancing that incorporates the best of our several forms of
heritage. You've done an outstanding job of describing the characteristics
of those in positive terms. I don't have a suggestion for a name but I'll
look forward eagerly to reading your book.
Jim Mayo
In a message dated 8/11/2016 12:45:01 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com writes:
Great letter, Tony! I rarely have time to look at, let alone respond to,
postings on this list - but I saw this and really enjoyed it. I share your
positive, optimistic view of the evolving attitudes towards square dancing,
and I think a fresh term could be very helpful.
Zesty squares? Convergent squares? hmmm.....
On Wed, Aug 10, 2016 at 5:12 PM, Tony Parkes _tony(a)hands4.com_
(mailto:tony@hands4.com) [trad-dance-callers] <_trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com_
(mailto:trad-dance-callers@yahoogroups.com) > wrote:
Hi, everyone… I invite your help in clarifying my thoughts.
I believe that there may well be an eclectic style of square dance
emerging that bids fair to become the “great American folk dance” that Lloyd Shaw
envisioned in the 1930s. Shaw thought it would be his beloved “cowboy”
dance, which he correctly theorized was a blend of the quadrille (across the
set) and visiting-couple (around the set) traditions, even though he erred
on the origins of those two strains, especially the latter. For a while it
looked as if Shaw’s prediction was accurate: the “cowboy” dance evolved
into the recreational square dance of the early 1950s, with events available
at every level from beginning to advanced, and callers devising interesting
new figures using the existing basic movements.
But after the fad years, organized square dancing became increasingly
ingrown, with more and more lessons required to join a club. New “basics” were
invented; most older figures were discarded. Except for a couple of common
chorus calls, modern squares bore no resemblance to Shaw’s original
vision. Leaders who rejected the new material tended to retreat into their
respective corners (no pun intended) and teach the traditional figures of their
own region. There was little communication or cooperation between modern and
traditional leaders; at times there was outright friction. Many who
participated in the post-1970 contra dance revival looked at any type of squares
with scorn, partly due (I think) to the internecine squabbling (though
largely due to people’s unpleasant experiences with squares in school or with
the modern club scene).
In the past few decades, however, relations have thawed between the
traditional and modern camps, and to some extent between the contra and
traditional square worlds. Square callers of all types are borrowing moves and
figures from each other’s repertoires; leading contra callers are including more
squares in their programs. In addition, a new square dance network is
forming; it has its origins in the old-time music scene, and is independent of
both the modern square dance and the contra network.
I think I see a new style of square dance developing that draws the best
features from all the broadly defined styles of the past.
From Southern Mountain and traditional Western styles:
The exuberance, fast tempo, and circular “swoopy” figures
The colorful patter (influenced during the 1920s and ’30s by radio barn
dance programs and recordings)
>From New England/Northeastern style:
The close connection between the dance and its music
The squared-off grid-type figures (elegant when done well)
>From early modern square dancing (c. 1945–1955):
The move toward all-active choreography
The emphasis on doing as much as possible with existing basics
The bringing together of singing and patter styles
The free-wheeling allemande breaks
>From later modern square dancing (c. 1955 on):
The playfulness of callers’ improvising and dancers’ matching wits with
the caller
The kaleidoscopic/origami-like shifting of set shapes and facing
direction/orientation
Callers are being influenced by styles other than their own, whether they
know it or not, in delivery technique and in choice of material. Most
callers now feel it’s OK to learn from books and recordings – and even in the
case of survival (as opposed to revival) callers who learned from live role
models, it’s likely that those role models were influenced by sources
outside their local tradition.
Now: Is there an appropriate name for this developing eclectic style? A
name that will distinguish it from its predecessors?
I’ve heard a couple of names used or suggested. I don’t think any of them
is particularly apropos, and one is downright misleading. Rather than
repeat them here, I’d like to hear from you: Have you heard a name used that
you like (or don’t like)? Can you think of a name that might work?
I’m writing a book on squares from the working caller’s perspective,
which will cover philosophy, delivery, and material. (There will be more
material than in my contra text, because I believe present-day callers have more
trouble finding and choosing good squares than good contras.) If I find a
name for this emerging style, I’ll use it; otherwise I’ll simply describe
the style and offer it as my take on the current state of the art. Thanks
for any help you can provide.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
