Calling in Los Angeles

[cjsmith]

I am mostly pleased with my calling during this past weekend. The dancers clearly enjoyed it, the level was appropriate with just the right amount of challenge, and I'm slowly getting better at using the music.

I did do one thing which is well-supported by common usage but which is technically not legal. I'm kicking myself a bit for that. I am sure only one person on the floor noticed at all, but still I want to keep very high standards for that sort of thing. The dancers deserve it. It's time for me to re-read the definitions!

And I am happy with my ability to tailor the level to the floor, to come up with workshop material, and to call just a little bit better to the music. That's all good.

When I first started learning to call I had no idea I would still be doing it more than fourteen years later. If someone told me I'd be internationally known for it I'd have thought "escapee from the funny farm". As it turns out both these things are true, and I'm still learning!

Comments

[zipperbear]

I did do one thing which is well-supported by common usage but which is technically not legal. I'm kicking myself a bit for that. I am sure only one person on the floor noticed at all, but still I want to keep very high standards for that sort of thing. The dancers deserve it. It's time for me to re-read the definitions!

What did you do? If common usage supports it, then perhaps the definition is wrong, and needs to be changed. Never kick yourself for doing something you think is right, and don't judge rightness based on groundless authority. The doctrine of Callerlabial Infallibility will only bring you sadness and confusion.

Also, even if you think it's wrong, you can call it anyway (e.g., Dave Wilson's "Pass the Ocean, And Roll, as if you could"). The way of the world is to make laws, but follow customs. Rules are made to be broken, and all that. You're a professional, and you're being paid to make these decisions of style and correctness.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I called "Pass and Roll, And Roll" expecting the people who flipped over at the end to roll. To me the feel of the ending portion of that call (for the outfacers) is like the feel of a Scoot Back. It's defined as a Right Roll, though, and after that they can't roll.

I definitely agree that at times definitions need to be changed to reflect usage. I also think that in this case, the dancers didn't bat an eye (except the person who brought it to my attention). They weren't bothered. However, I'm also enough of a prescriptivist that at least I want to KNOW when I'm going against Callerlab. That's what I'm really kicking myself for: not knowing. I don't want to become lazy.

Here's one for the Square Dance Guru. From tidal one-faced, 1/2 of Here Comes the Judge. Do the resulting 3x1 triangles line up on the centerline, giving triple boxes, or is 1/2 Here Comes the Judge a space invader, giving triple columns of six?

[zipperbear]

Guru says: The non-Judge dancers turn to face the vacated spot, and step forward (in a single smooth motion). There's nothing to induce additional square-breathing. Correct ending formation is triple columns of 6 (but Sd incorrectly makes triple boxes).

Based on the examples of Crossfire and Roll, or Drop In and Roll, it seems that "being Extended to" is a null part, and doesn't affect Rolling ability. One dancer is moving forward, making a wave, while the other dancer is just being aligned-to-grid without actually moving. It's like the motion of Cross Concentric, which exchanges Centers and Outsides without counting as part of a call; it's considered a distortion of the space.

Similarly, on the call Right Roll to a Wave, it's like Phantom Grand Working As Belles, 1/2 Zoom. Clearly, you can Roll after 1/2 Zoom, and the physical motion is the same for Right Roll to a Wave, so you should still be able to Roll. Equivalently, the Leads can U-Turn to their Right, while the Trailers Step to a Wave, forcing the original Leads into Waves, without affecting their Rolling direction.

Alternative interpretation: If the caller says Roll, somebody has to do it, and it can't be the dancer who was moving directly forward. Ergo, these calls (Drop In, Right Roll, Crossfire) require "Roll as if you could" (or perhaps they're all bogus, even though they're commonly used).

In the case of Pass and Roll, the last part for the Centers is Pass Thru, while the last part for the Outsides is Right Roll to a Wave to meet the Centers. It's possible to interpret this as two levels of indirect motion: The Outsides Right Roll, forcing the Centers to do an extra part ("be Right-Rolled to"), which forces the Outsides into a space ("be Extended to") without changing their ability to Roll.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

What determines when there is square breathing and when there is not? From that same starting formation, I would expect Ends Fold or Ends Bend to have no breathing and Bend the Line or Hinge to have breathing. I would expect most calls to re-center the formation. Naively perhaps, I have always assumed that the default was to breathe, and only in a call with certain properties would the breathing be omitted -- for example, calls where some of the people don't move at all. Why does 1/2 Here Comes the Judge not breathe?

Based on the examples of Crossfire and Roll, or Drop In and Roll, it seems that "being Extended to" is a null part, and doesn't affect Rolling ability.

I see what you mean.

If the caller says Roll, somebody has to do it, and it can't be the dancer who was moving directly forward.

I would guess this is the interpretation the floor chose. :-)

In the case of Pass and Roll, the last part for the Centers is Pass Thru, while the last part for the Outsides is Right Roll to a Wave to meet the Centers. It's possible to interpret this as two levels of indirect motion: The Outsides Right Roll, forcing the Centers to do an extra part ("be Right-Rolled to"), which forces the Outsides into a space ("be Extended to") without changing their ability to Roll.

*nod* That's how it FEELS to me. The definition of Right Roll to a Wave ends with a Touch, though, so by the definition there is no ability to Roll. I could easily get myself in trouble by going by feel...

[zipperbear]

only in a call with certain properties would the breathing be omitted -- for example, calls where some of the people don't move at all. Why does 1/2 Here Comes the Judge not breathe?

The other non-breathing case is when some of the people move only in a certain direction. It's exactly analogous to Twist the Line (where the Ends face each other and move forward, then Star Thru). Note that it's still possible to breathe in other starting formations (e.g., either call in Facing Lines).

Any call that changes the center of gravity, by making a lopsided ending formation, should breathe only to make room for real people, not just to maintain alignment.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

The other non-breathing case is when some of the people move only in a certain direction.

I don't yet understand. Bend the Line (from one-faced) has some of the people not changing location at all, only turning, yet we expect that one to breathe. Or do we? I know I do, but then I expect 1/2 Here Comes the Judge to breathe!

Any call that changes the center of gravity, by making a lopsided ending formation, should breathe only to make room for real people, not just to maintain alignment.

By "a lopsided ending formation" do you mean the 3x1 triangle? If there were a call with two people going to the other end of the line and everyone else flipping over -- say the Judge and the adjacent dancer are both boys and I tell them to Couples Twosome, 1/2 Boys Run, would the result then want breathing because it is a box?

[zipperbear]

You say that a one-faced Bend the Line has some people (presumably the Centers) staying in the same place. But that's a very snap-to-matrix way to look at it. Consider doing it in Facing Lines. Then the Centers would back up, while the Ends effectively Partner Tag. A better way to think of it is like a 2-faced line, with Centers backing up, Ends moving forward, as each couple pivots around their handhold.

For lopsided formations, consider the general case of Step and Slide. The Centers can each be facing either direction; they will move to the End spots of a Phantom Column of 6, while the Ends slide in, to take the spots of the original Centers. If the Centers were facing opposite directions, the ending formation is a Z. If the Centers were facing the same direction, the ending formation is a general Box of 4 for the real people, but it's actually a Phantom Column of 6, with lopsided real people. The Ends were moving into existing spots within the formation, while the Centers created new spots, and the vacated original End spots were simply discarded.

For the purposes of square-breathing, it's those original Center spots that are aligned. You can breathe to make room for the spots you created (e.g., Step and Slide starting in Facing Lines), or for the spots you discarded (e.g., Step and Slide starting in Tidal Waves, ending in Z's in Triple Wave footprints, not Z's far apart), but you can't breathe for only the real people (e.g., Step and Slide starting in Tidal 1-Faced Lines, which creates Triple Lines, without breathing backward to make Parallel 2-Faced Lines).

In the case of Here Comes the Judge, one dancer is leaving the 1x4 matrix, looping to the far end, while the other 3 dancers are staying within the original matrix.

Conversely, the call Hinge is always interpreted as a 2-person shape-changer with normal breathing; each dancer is moving along a curved path (regardless of whether they're moving along the same semicircle as in Partner Hinge, or opposite semicircles as in Single Hinge); the new mini-wave always breathes to align with the original handhold. As another example, 1/2 Circulate in Facing Lines or Back-to-Back Lines always creates a Tidal Wave, even though the Back-to-Back case should leave 2 phantoms in the very center, as happens with T-boned Circulates. When dancers collide with right hands, they can breathe inward if necessary to fill the normal spots.

Similarly, 1/2 Run is conventionally a 2-person breather, even though the definition and dance-action have one dancer sliding/moving directly into the vacated spot, while the other dancer moves along a semicircle (which should finish lopsided). I believe this falls under the "Mainstream breathe-for-Fold" hand-waving. Trying to make the "real" ending formation wouldn't be useful, so we just do it like Hinge.

With larger formations, however, it's possible to maintain the offset. Those of use who think Here Comes the Judge is like Step and Slide will do it space-invadingly. Those who think it's like Threesome-by-1 Belles Run might do it breathingly.

A careful reading of the definitions would suggest that the standard interpretation of 1/2 Run is problematic, however, and we shouldn't rely on such a shaky example.