Search Results for: Square dance

For many years, as a lead-in to the main convention, CALLERLAB has hosted a 1-1/2 day seminar focusing on how to call square dance parties for non-dancers. CALLERLAB has posted ... Read More

The 18 dances featured in this short book use only four basics. Circle Right/Left, Forward & Back, Arm Turns, Star Right/Left. These four basics are used in big circles, line ... Read More

Report from Jean and Howard Lander about their success in starting up a new club in Peterborough, Ontario. The report contains much interesting information about how they advertised, promoted, and ... Read More

Report from Barbara Blencoe about how her square dance group and activity helped her rehabilitation from a stroke ... Read More

This site is designed to introduce non-dancers to the general world of square, round, and contra dancing. It includes demonstration videos, pointers to resources and clubs, and information about how ... Read More

This Dance Resource is a compilation of Beginner Party Dances, Community Dances, Contra Dances, and Traditional Square Dances. Dances are grouped by type and listed in HTML code for easy ... Read More

This site provides a comprehensive list of upcoming special events as well as regular dances in a geographical area. You can search for dances by area, by level, or time ... Read More

The Promoting Square Dancing category contains articles containing information pertaining to the promotion of the square dance activity in general, as opposed to promotion of a specific event or club ... Read More

Report from Dave Harry describing how combining a "no experience necessary" floor with a Mainstream dance introduced 15 squares of non-dancers to our activity ... Read More

Report from Bill and Marge Webb, Brecksville Squares. They report information of actions the club took to increase the number of new dancers in the club. Very helpful information for ... Read More

This report was received from Robert Hurst with a report from Don Wood regarding a New Dancer class in Washington state. The report indicates that good advertising, hard work, and ... Read More

The ALPS program that I have been using for the last several years is not original to me. It is an adaptation of a number of different concepts such as ... Read More

An account of how Broken Wheel Squares revitalized their club by using theme nights and rejigging how they communicated and organized ... Read More

The Belles and Beaus of Pomeroy, Ohio had a new dancer group of 7 couples and 3 singles in 2002. Their success in recruiting was attributed to two activities. Several ... Read More

We have enjoyed thirty-seven new dancers (students) for lessons this year ….. thirty-seven! Our lesson nights have ten to eleven squares, and yes, they are a bit noisy with all ... Read More

This is a report from Eddie Harry with information about the 25th Anniversary of the Square Dance as the official State Dance of Washington. (10-01-2004) ... Read More

One of our members runs a local bed and breakfast which happens to be an old farm (Victorian farmhouse and a big old barn). At his suggestion, we’ve started having ... Read More

This report is from the Hubs Square dance Club in Geauga County, Ohio and their caller, Ray Miller. It concerns the Hubs and their accelerated square dance class for the ... Read More

The Dancers category contains articles with information for dancers or regarding dancers. This includes topics such as recruiting, training, and retention of dancers, information about starting and operating clubs, holding ... Read More

The Square Benders are currently one of the larger clubs in the Milwaukee, WI area with 22 couples and 13 singles. Their 2002-2003 new dancer group has 5 couples and ... Read More

This collection points to material useful for doing single party nights or other dances aimed at people with no prior dance training. These dances are intended to be stand-alone events ... Read More

For many years the legendary Marshall Flippo spent half the year at Kirkwood Lodge, perhaps the most famous square dance resort ever. In this interview with Marshall's son John, he ... Read More

This story describes the encouraging results of a cooperative dancer recruitment campaign sponsored by the Metropolitan Chicago Association of Square Dancers (MCASD). Over several years this campaign has driven a ... Read More

Don Beck has been calling since 1964 and is widely known for his expertise in the mental image system of calling. However, he is also knowledgeable in a wide variety ... Read More

The internet provides myriad opportunities to promote dances, clubs, and our square dance activity in general. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube are some of the more popular ones. But how ... Read More

USDA News is the National square dance Newsletter of the United Square Dancers Of America and is published quarterly ... Read More

As square dancers, we know that food unites. Breaking bread together is one of the oldest forms of community interaction. It provides a valuable time and place to socially connect ... Read More

Useful links to other square dance information ... Read More

In late 2021 the Social Connections Committee ran a contest to solicit ideas to promote social connections and bonding in the square dance activity. The responses often included many valuable ... Read More

In late 2021 the Social Connections Committee ran a contest to solicit ideas to promote social connections and bonding in the square dance activity. The responses often included many valuable ... Read More

In late 2021 the Social Connections Committee ran a contest to solicit ideas to promote social connections and bonding in the square dance activity. The responses often included many valuable ... Read More

Dave and Bonnie Harry of Lynnwood, WA tell the story of how a program called First Friday Fun Fests, sponsored by their Whirlybird Square Dance Club, has worked to attract ... Read More

The Mainstream Caller’s Notebook is collection of choreographic ideas designed to help you provide more entertaining dances at the mainstream level. The material is meant to be most useful anytime ... Read More

At the virtual Annual General Meeting held in March 2021 Mike Seastrom delivered an inspiring keynote address focusing on the importance of making sociability a more prominent element of our ... Read More

The Metropolitan Chicago Association of Square Dancers (MCASD) hosts a "toolbox" page that lists a variety of items that are useful for promoting square dancing and recruiting new dancers. They ... Read More

During the pandemic a long series of online seminars called the Corona Learning Assistance Seminar Series (C.L.A.S.S) was presented. One of them, delivered by Jeremy Butler, explained the planning and ... Read More

During the pandemic a number of Zoom discussion groups emerged dealing with a variety of square dance topics. One was aimed at new callers and was hosted by Don Beck ... Read More

Those who are considering use of the Social Square Dance (SSD) system usually have many questions about how it works, the best way to implement it, and the issues they ... Read More

This paper by Paul Hartman appeared in American Square Dance magazine in 1974. It describes how square dancing evolved to become what we now call Modern Western Square Dancing during ... Read More

The Milestone is one of CALLERLAB's most prestigious awards. To be eligible for the Milestone one must have worked in an uncharted field of square dancing and effected positive change ... Read More

Useful links to other square dance information ... Read More

The United Square Dancers of America published this open letter with guidance on handling dances during and after the COVID-19 pandemic ... Read More

Ed Foote is a well known caller who has been calling since 1965. He was a founding father of Challenge dancing and served as Chairman of the CALLERLAB Challenge Committee ... Read More

Lee Kopman created more calls used in contemporary square dance than any other individual, some 350 or more. In 1980, he appeared on the Phil Donahue Show and presented this ... Read More

This summary article aggregates a great deal of material on the use of modules in square dance choreography. Modules provide a powerful mechanism for creating and presenting square dance choreography ... Read More

Yak Stak is a venerable name in square dance speaker equipment. It was recently acquired by Scott Bennett who has put out a modernized version with an even better sound ... Read More

This article describes the steps the Johnny Appleseed Square Dance Club went through to build a successful class ... Read More

At the Northern New Jersey Square Dance Association annual convention in 2018, Betsy and Roy Gotta delivered individual keynote addresses. Together, these presentations provide a wealth of insights and suggestions ... Read More

Callarama is a “checker mover” program to help callers work out choreography by showing animated figures moving in response to calls entered by the caller. Callarama has defined the standard ... Read More

Jerry Junck reports on an observation from a club on Vancouver Island. Their format involved having a round between tips and they noticed that new dancers had difficulty getting into ... Read More

The Choreographic Applications Committee has created this resource site to assist those who are teaching square dancers. Its intent is to collect in one place all the information about each ... Read More

Hilton Audio is a primary site for purchasing specialized sound equipment related to square dance calling ... Read More

This 178 page book presents a Step By Step Process For Calling And Teaching Modern Western Square Dances. if you've ever thought you might like to be a square dance ... Read More

This table contains links to the interviews that Bob Brundage did with a wide variety of notable people in the square dance community. These interviews represent a huge project for ... Read More

The IAGSDC is an umbrella organization for square dance clubs around the world that serve the LGBTQ community. Their History Wiki presents a wide range of historical information about LGBTQ ... Read More

This book was compiled and edited by Paul Moore. It describes the life and career of Bob Osgood, one of the founding fathers of MWSD and through that lens provides ... Read More

Kip Garvey presents the principles of calling current day square dance for readers interested in understanding underlying concepts and technique with emphasis on the technical aspects of choreography. This deep ... Read More

Check out this article in today's Chicago Tribune. Our club reached out to a local shopping mall with lots of empty storefronts. The management company was very interested in bringing ... Read More

As square dance callers, we communicate with dancers using several mediums, but primarily auditory. Dancers react to our verbal commands. Due to the increasing age of dancers, statistics indicate that ... Read More

IDEA: Advertising square dance lessons by placing a sign on a lawn or a poster on a telephone pole is not new. But this new twist shows how with a ... Read More

For the 2014-15 square dance season, the Red Deer Square Dance Club decided to try something new and untested for introducing New Dancers to square dancing. Instead of the usual ... Read More

This 28 minute video was produced by Dave Wilkinson in cooperation with the Sage Swingers in Maine. It does a great job of describing a little square dance history, explaining ... Read More

This book covers all the bases starting with the new caller just learning how to call and on through the old hands looking for ways to expand their collection of ... Read More

This book is an excellent resource for someone planning a party night or beginner dance. “Dancing for Busy People” is a collection of over 400 dances using easy to teach ... Read More

This music site contains a huge collection of the offerings of many of the square dance music producers and permits online purchase and download. The site also has a number ... Read More

Most of the producers of Square Dance Music have joined together to provide this combined website for music specifically produced for use in square dancing. It is an all-inclusive site ... Read More

Out of Sight is a book that teaches square dance callers how to manage choreography using a mental image system ... Read More

What?...a Saturday morning square dance class? Why not! People take walks, run, ride a bike, walk the dog, or go to a gym for exercise on Saturdays. Why not learn ... Read More

So in the fall of 2003 the club decided to try a different approach. We had heard about the accelerated lesson program at the 52nd National Square Dance Convention® and ... Read More

The Boomerangs is a club that is not a club. We are not a dancing club; rather we are a teaching council with multitiered classes. We exist for one purpose, ... Read More

Hard work and perseverance has paid off for the 49’ersSquare Dance Club of South Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There are 24 new dancers in their 2002-03 class. Their promotional efforts started in ... Read More

In the various square dance magazines and web sites you can read how square dance clubs and national organizations have plans for advertising square dancing, for “improving” our public image, ... Read More

During the early 1990’s, the Valley Trailers Square Dance Club of Northridge, California had lost much of its membership from earlier years. The club had also fallen on bad times ... Read More

There is some good news for square dance clubs that want to grow. A solid solution is available to help any club willing to be smart and progressive. But the ... Read More

The Kittyhawk Squares are a social club that square dances and not a square dance club that socializes. We have an excellent home dance location: The Lathrem Senior Center of ... Read More

This article describes several experimental approaches to teaching new dancers known to be in use at the time of writing. All of these systems are aimed at the recruiting of ... Read More

IDEA: Many universities and colleges have exchange student programs or foreign student programs where young people come from other countries to advance their education. Often these students are interested in ... Read More

IDEA: Many gas stations have advertising on top of their pumps. In many cases this space is for sale and could be used to advertise square dance lessons or events ... Read More

The Transitionary Implementation Phase of the Program Policy (TIPPP) is the official name of the CALLERLAB project colloquially called "The Proposal". This webpage collects information on this project, its steps ... Read More

The CALLERLAB Music Producers Starter Playlist offers new callers a chance to buy new music at a discount ... Read More

A pointer to an archive of past DIRECTION newsletter editions ... Read More

In 2011 Clark Baker and Don Beck delivered this presentation on the history of call evolution at the CALLERLAB convention in Las Vegas ... Read More

Type Document Author Darren Gallina (darrengallina at gmail dot com) Date 2024-07-28 Links MS Word Document Description Darren Gallina is a caller in California who has a rich experience in ... Read More

Type Document Author Bill Ackerman and Rob French Date 2021-04-15 Links Document PDF Description This 132-page document by Bill Ackerman and Rob French provides an analysis and extension of Don ... Read More

This article contains a table that lists many items commonly recommended to student callers by their coaches. Live links are provided where materials or information about them is available online ... Read More

The Call Sheet is the professional journal of the Gay Callers Association ... Read More

Caller training handouts: a collection of handouts used in caller training presentations on various topics ... Read More

Type Document Author Allan Hurst (allanhurst at gmail dot com) Date 2023-09-30 Links Intro Night PDF Description When Allan Hurst was faced with the prospect of doing an Intro night ... Read More

This collection lists educational audio recordings about Leadership from past CALLERLAB conventions ... Read More

This item contains a collection of pointers to educational recordings about voice topics (mostly audio) from CALLERLAB conventions ... Read More

As part of CALLERLAB’s effort to encourage Social Connections, a section containing information about Games, Gimmicks, Interacting Squares and other related ideas has been added to the CALLERLAB Online Teaching ... Read More

This is a collection of nearly 300 evenings of modern square dancing, recorded live at the events. Most of the files come from the 1950s through the 1980s. The collection ... Read More

Type Presentation Event Narrated Slideset Date 2022-03-27 Presenters Daryl Clendenin (yloroc@comcast.net) Links Download: For The Newbie Caller (Narrated Slide Set) View/Download: For The Newbie Caller (PDF) Download: Mental Image For ... Read More

The KnowledgeBase currently contains 359 articles grouped into 3 categories and described with 45 different information tags. The graphs below depict KnowledgeBase traffic for the years indicated. "Views Per Month" ... Read More

Looking for ideas on how to make an event a bit different or introduce some "out of the square"-type fun? These educational recordings discuss the use of games and/or gimmicks ... Read More

Tim Marriner was a CALLERLAB Accredited Caller Coach who created and published a large quantity of caller educational material over the years. Tim generously made this wealth of informative articles ... Read More

Obsolete URL! You used an obsolete URL to access the CALLERLAB Square Dance KnowledgeBase. The URL http://callerlabknowledge.org will expire shortly. Update all bookmarks and links to point instead to https://knowledge.callerlab.org ... Read More

This article contains a register of documents and materials CALLERLAB has published for external distribution and usage ... Read More

This collection contains pointers to a variety of ready-made promotional materials, such as posters, flyers, and brochures. Some are generic, some are more specific to a club or dance. Some ... Read More

The following education session recordings from past CALLERLAB conventions deal with Singing Calls. Topics such as musical presentation, singing with others, and singing call choreography, etc. The selections included here ... Read More