This summer has been the summer of new dancing, something I can't complain about in the slightest.
In Square Dancing, I have begun to learn the Advanced level1. We just finished A1 last week, and presumably in a couple weeks will start A2. Huzzah for us! There are new difficult calls, and some really really interesting concepts that I don't get to enjoy in the regular Tech Squares group, which runs strictly mainstream/plus.
The most useful of these is the "As couples" signifier, which the caller can use to preface any call which is normally done in groups of four or fewer2. The dancers will then perform the call as though each couple were a single person dancing --no problem at all for someone who's spent a lot of time dancing gemini3, and is used to being half a dancer, and a lot of fun as people pivot around each other frantically.
And in Scottish Country Dancing, I spent a week at a delightful dance camp called Pinewoods, where I had four classes in Highland step dancing. Highland is a performance dance, the first kind I've learned (discounting the ballet classes I took when I was six and seven), and involves bouncing. LOTS of bouncing, with very precise footwork, and intricate flailing of the arms.
I'm sure there must be a proper Highland class somewhere in the Boston area, I just need to find the beast, and see if there is time in my tight schedule to participate. I'm already dancing three nights a week, every week, and I'm hopefully about to get a job in the real world, and lose a bunch of time there.
At any rate, it's nice to be back to the beginning level, sometimes. While I love the joy of dancing and knowing just how to go, there is a particularly delicious challenge to learning new things --and a particularly satisfying smugness when you get them right. Perhaps I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for more opportunities to broaden my dance repertoire. You know. In my copious amounts of free time.
1: MWSD levels run thusly: Mainstream; Plus; Advanced: A1, A2; Challenge: C1, C2, C3
2: I assume. Someone can feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
3: Gemini is when two people stand tight together, each with their outside arm available, and behave as one dancer --the left person being the left hand, and the right person being the right hand. I really need to create a glossary. And/or a post talking specifically about this.
2 comments:
I was originally going to say that "As Couples" doesn't have to be limited to 4 person calls, because at higher levels, there are concepts that involve working with phantoms, but then I realized that it still wouldn't work with all the concepts I know.
I think the C4 concept "NxM Matrix" in conjunction with "As Couples" might let you do it, but there's not enough of a definition at http://www.ceder.net/def/12matrix.php4 for me to tell for sure.
Oh yeah, C4 exists too. C3 is also divided into C3A and C3B.
Actually, I don't think you need the C4 "NxM" matrix concept; you can do this with lower-level concepts involving phantoms too.
Initially, I was trying to find something along the lines of Split Phantom Lines (C3A), As Couples, Foo, which would still limit you to 4 person calls. If you rearrange the concepts, though, I think you could also do As Couples, Split Phantom Lines, Foo, although that would be kind of weird.
I guess you could also do As Couples, Phantom (C1), Foo, but that would be pretty weird too.
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