Square dance
Square dance is a type of American folk dance. It consists of a series of movements, prompted by calls. The calls are put together by a caller (who leads, but does not participate in, the dance), to form a dance.
There are two different types of square dance: traditional square dance (sometimes called "contras and squares", and most prevalent in New England, with Appalachia being a close second), and modern American square dance (sometimes called "Western square dancing"). Western square dancing is typically hosted by Square Dance Clubs, which sometimes have clever names like "Lazy Eights" (there are eight dancers in a square dance formation).
Traditional square dance uses about 40 or 50 calls, and every dance is explained before you dance it.
Some examples of traditional square dance steps are:
- Do-si-do: facing forward, walk all the way around the other dancer
- Swing: taking ballroom position, skip around a central axis
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Modern American square dance uses several hundred calls, divided into nine levels. The dance is choreographed by the caller on the spot. This means that you must know the calls that belong to your level. The level taught in introductory classes ("mainstream plus") can take a half year of once-a-week classes to learn.
A "call" means the name of a dance step, the phrase used by a caller to tell the dancers to dance it, and the dance step itself. It mirrors the ambiguity of the word "dance", which may mean a dance event, the dancing of an individual to the playing of one piece of music, or dancing in general.
Square dance steps may take a very short time or a very long time to execute. Many of the traditional calls overlap those of Western square dancing, but they may be performed differently. For example, the "Allemande Right" is traditionally performed by grasping right hands with the other dancer, leaning backwards slightly, and walking around a central axis. In Western dance the grip is modified so that each dancer grips the arm of the other, and there is less leaning. These modifications makes it easier to enter and exit the step, and thus easier to incorporate into a long sequence of calls.
The music of the two forms also differ. In traditional square dance the music is folkdance music: Irish jigs and reels for the most part, as well as folk music from Quebec (Canada), England, Scotland, and other countries. In modern American square dance it is mainly country music, and the beat is somewhat faster.
Another name for a square dance is a quadrille. Quadrilles originated in upper-class England.
A good homepage for modern American square dance is http://www.dosado.com/