Girls' Night Out

We did it!
The 'debut' performance of Girls' Night Out was on Sat in Salem at the Square Dance Center. Since it was a holiday weekend, we expected maybe 2 or 3 squares - no . . . . more than 70 folks, enough for 6 squares throughout the dance!! Yikes! (we heard that quite a few folks decided to come just to hear us!) Since it was a 'callers & cuers co-op' dance, like a jam session, folks signed in at the door, & went on stage in that order. The host for the evening decided to put us up just before the break - so not 'till after 9, & the dance began at 7:30. So lots of time to dance, & try to forget being nervous!

Our outfits were so cute, they HAD to like us, don't you think? We actually did well, & received lots of nice comments! & we got to hear a lot of those at the break (it was a 50s/60s & 70s dance, so root beer floats were the special treat!)

We sang & called our 'theme song' - 'Girls' Night Out' & 'Dizzy' (I'm so dizzy, my head is spinning, like a whirlpool it never ends; cause it's YOU, you're making me spin, you're making me DIZZY!' (complete with 'dizzy' choreography)
The only 'glitch' was that the sound system, though set up for 4 cords & mics, didn't work quite right, so Jackie & I (in the middle) were hard to hear. Sandy & Char (the ends) have had lots of experience, project well, & their mics worked fine . . . so some trouble shooting in order before we perform again.

It was really fun. I have made several drapes for my music stand, white for weddings,a brocade plaid for other events, now one in blue denim for GNO. We rehearsed again tonight, & began working on a few new songs. Sandy is listing us in a SQ D magazine, so we have to learn enough music for a dance! It's fun to do some of the slower, sweeter songs - 'Any Dream Will Do' & 'Rainbow Rider' are two current favorites. We tried 'Devil Went Down to Georgia' which is fun, too!
Sandy & Char can 'carry' doing several individual 'tips' (set of two dances) & Sandy & Jackie 'cue' (choreograph the round dance) & Char's done some of that - dances alternate between two 'called' dances & two that are 'cued' We're doing 2-step in this photo - Char with her husband Bill, me with Sandy's Al.
We'll be calling a tip at the end of June, during one of Sandy's dances (the caller has the prerogative of inviting a guest caller to do a 'tip.'

We have several advantages - being unique - there are several guys' groups, but no other girls' groups; we have good timing; & those cute outfits . . . . .

Getting Closer

Next weekend Girls' Night Out will make it's debut, at the caller's & Cuer's co-op dance in Salem! Yikes!! The other three gals sang a few weeks ago at another Salem dance - I wasn't there, & one of our friends said 'it wasn't really GNO without you!' Aww . . .
Am I nervous? YES!

So we've been rehearsing weekly, & selected the two songs for our 'tip' (plus a couple more, if they ask us back up) & making our outfits! Jackie found some cute pink fabric with little girls kicking up their heels - & we each picked up a denim shirt (thrift store-ing!), & are putting on yolks & lace. Jackie finished hers & working on Sandy's this weekend - mine is also in process.

I took it along to work on this afternoon at the ballet studio (yes, that's an intriguing contrast!) during rehearsal for the spring Dance Concert. Several girls asked me if it was for one of the pieces - & everyone thought it was cute. I was in 2 pieces - a Tai Chi number, & playing the harp for an improv piece followed by 'reverance' - the curtsies! So sweet!
I went across the street for Mexican dinner, as the studio provided sandwiches (not GF :)

Friday I went to Washington with my son & his family to attend my cousin Lori's memorial service. It was a LOVELY service - & 6 of the 8 first cousins that are left were able to attend. My son Josh is good friends with Lori's daughters, so we went over to the family gathering after the service.

Here I am with my cousin Louann - Lori was her older sister. Family resemblance is strong, isn't it? As an only child, the family dance is something I am a bit in awe of. I don't spend a lot of time with these cousins, but love them dearly! Lori & Letha (my Aunt) had early August birthdays, & began having 'family reunion' BD parties in the 70s.

Our Uncle Ray was the last of the 5 Aunts & Uncles to pass - at 92!


I had fun asking cousins if they'd square danced! I knew Lori's folks Letha & Lonny did, & my Aunt Irel & her husband Ed; but which of my cousins??
I was intrigued to see how many said 'oh, yes - ... & I did!' Cousin Leonard (in the middle here, between Doris & me) & his wife danced till she broke her leg while she was pregnant, & spent the pregnancy in a cast!

His sister Arlene & her husband Bob began after retirement, when folks from their church 'persisted' - Bob's new wife (not a dancer!) asked "do gals still wear those (silly) full skirts?"

OH, YES WE DO :)

Other cousins 'grew up' dancing with their folks - or remembered spending the evenings out in the car, while mom & dad were in dancing! (those were the days!) Since my mom was on crutches, my folks didn't dance (I think my dad was glad of the 'excuse') but enjoyed the music.

There were some sweet photos that included my mom in her 20s, with the young cousins (she didn't marry& have a 'chick of her own' till her late 30s!) She taught several of them to swim in the pond at the farm, & loved spending time with them. Lori was 14 when I was born, & her daughters are ~ 10 years older than my kids.

One more week . . . . .

Littlest Purple People Eater

This weekend, our Square Dance club has a float in the anual 'Alien Days Parade,' an Oregon clasic (& the second largest UFO fest in the country! "The festival began as a way to honor the famous 1950 Trent sighting in which two local citizens witnessed and photographed a UFO, said to be some of the most credible images of UFOs to date. Read a detailed history of the Trent sightings." A friend of my 94 year old mother-in law also saw the UFO/ strange object in the sky that day in 1950, & a sis-in law later lived on the Trent farm for awhile.

My daughter & I usually attend the parade with the girls, & have talked about how fun it would be to dress up & participate - this year I will! Here's my 5 year old granddaughter 'posing' (is that how aliens stand?) in my 'one eyed, one horne (flying) Purple People Eater' hood, & freshly 'sparkled (glitter infused puff paint) purple T-shirt.

Our caller has been working on the calls for THE song, & has a cordless mike; we'll be dancing on the float! Judging is at 11 AM, with the parade at 1 - & prospects are that the warm, sunny weather is here for several days - always appreciated for a parade.

My gal friends & I meet weekly, to practice our singing calls. They actually did a couple at a dance last weekend - I hadn't gone, but the other three were all there. My challenge is singing in a lower register, as it's easier for the guys to understand the calls if they're not too high pitched!
I've been a soprano all my life - now to CONSISTENTLY sing alto - yikes! But it's happening. & I can get through a whole call, singing all the moves! (which has also been work!) I've borrowed a mike, & practice with that at home & our rehersals.

My daughter is getting closer to moving across town! This AM I finally got to see inside the house, as the family was having an Estate Sale, & the kids wanted some of the furniture. I found a couple of stainless steel pans,

Had to take a break to clip some GRASS in my back yard!! My daughter says I should get rid of all the grass, & turn it into a BIG garden!! Nice idea - working on it! & delighted to see my Spitzenberg apple branch (on a 3 way tree) is FULL of thumb sized apples!! 'Rumourred to be' Thomas Jefferson's favorite apple, it 'doesn't bear heavily' - but it is absolutely delicious!

What are you up to this fine weekend?

Calling all dancers

So here's a new development.

Last fall I decided to take Square Dance lessons at our local Grange, which you can read about here. I began taking the lessons so I could attend our dances, 1st & 3rd Saturdays, & have a chance to do Round Dance, which alternates with the 'squares.'
I'd attended one dance before taking lessons, got hauled into a square ("It's easy - you can do it" . . . then they called out: "NEW DANCER - NEW DANCER" when it got too complicated, & Leonard came down with his cordless mike, & moved through the square behind me, guiding me through it - whew!!)
It does get easier each time I attend a dance, but I'm still not great at it! & it surprises other dancers when they find out that I 'round dance,' (which I am pretty good at!) Many dancers begin with the squares, & later study round ('choreographed ballroom').

You'll remember that my college roommate, Charlotte, began calling shortly after begining to square dance, back in the 80s while I was donning leotards & point shoes. She took a break for the last few years, while finishing up her PhD; & recently, she decided to begin calling again!! YEA! I've tagged along to dances with other folks from the club, or with our 'cuer' Jackie & her husband, getting to one or two dances most weeks through Feb & March - Char & Bill have been at several of them.

A few weeks ago I called Char to see if they were going to a dance at the 'Square Dance Center' in Salem, & they were. Then she sprang her idea - that she wanted to put together a woman's 'singing group' to SING (& call) at square dances. Sounded rather harmless - would I like to be one of the gals?? Sure, why not! (thinking she & Sandy, already callers, would focus on the 'calling' part . . . )

At the dance, she talked to Jackie, & invited her as well. Now 'cuers' choreograph the ballroom 'round' dances - partners move down the line of dance in a circle, just like regular ballroom, and are given the moves just before executing them. Cuers 'speak' the moves, rather than singing them - so while Jackie has a rep of cues, she's as new to calling as I am - & it's a whole new world! (callers generally alternate between 'patter' - which sounds like an auctioneer, & 'singing' calls, where they sing the instructions, & parts of the verse of the song)

Monday, having sent numerous e-mails back & forth, we met at Sandy's house in Albany (like Char, she's been calling for a number of years), & surrounded by her computer, mikes, amps, (& lots of square dance outfits) . . . began to listen to music, & tried to both sing the lyrics AND alternate calling the tip!!
YIKES - I said "Yes" to THIS?? . . .
For THREE HOURS we sang & tried to make sense of it!
And when we left, they told us they thought it went pretty well (kind words . . . .

As new as I am to square dance, I'm even more a neophyte when it comes to trying to 'call!' The eventual goal is for us to rotate singing the call between the four of us. . . . um, what's the pattern??
While Sandy has over 400 songs on her computer, Char's are still on vinyl, & she's slowly entering them into her computer (Jackie knows how to do that) We hauled out Sandy's old turntable, & switched the mike cords to sing along with several of the records.

So today Jackie & I met for an hour, listening to & singing along with the songs Sandy recorded for us, with the calls written out. Jackie had an e-mail from Sandy clarifying the pattern flow, so that now makes more sense. (I followed some of this from dancing it, & being aware of patterns in music & dance, but hadn't broken it down as precisely as this!)

- first there's an 'opening,' where you dance with your partner
then the figure, where you do a pattern with your partner, & move to your corner (the guy to your left), then a second 'figure' (usually the same pattern) moving to the fellow 'across' from where you began.
Next, the 'break' where you dance with that 'opposite' guy - (this may be the same as the opening, or a separate sequence)
Now two more 'figure' patterns, moving to the next two dancers;
& finally the 'ending' when you're back with your original partner.

So a, b, b, c, b, b, d (a, c & d can all be the same - or slightly different; & you can vary the b parts a bit)
In our 'Plus' lessons, Leonard will often give the number of beats that each of the more complicated patterns should last, & I had 'gotten' the general pattern of moving counter clockwise around the square, dancing with each guy in turn (if I don't get lost somewhere in the pattern!) He often refers to 'Caller Lab' for the precise wording; this org. standardizes calls, & give a lot of support to the callers. (I've begun spending time on this site as well.)

So we worked on talking/singing the call pattern & verses on most of the songs - & came out pretty well on most of them! Sandy also made copies of Char's cue cards for us- with several call patterns in 'shorthand'
sq -- square through
p -- pass through
sw /prom swing & promenade
T by Trade by
S F G Sq Sides Face, grand square (this is a longer pattern, so a chance to sing the words of the song you're using)

Then there are all the 'cute' ways to say it: 'swing your pretty girl, & promenade home . . . '
'all the dishwashers promenade inside that old ring, come back & swing your own'

I've spent a bit of time on a favorite site that has animations of the patterns. I know that Char & our caller, Leonard, both took lessons in calling when they began - we sure could use some! For the time being, I'll pay more attention to the patterns when I'm sitting out at the dances this weekend (Milwaukie Sat PM, & Lebanon Sun afternoon)
Dance is supposed to be one of the things that helps us stay young . . . did I think when I began learning Square Dance last fall that I'd be learning to call in the spring??

I pulled a fairy card (Magical Messages from the Fairies / Doreen Virtue) & got Travel (well - that's for sure!!) "An upcoming trip proves to be life-changing in positive ways. You'll soon be traveling to an important destination where you'll learn & grow through new experiences & discoveries. Ask the fairies to help you with the finances & details; most of all, enjoy yourself on your journeys!" (I did sign up for a dance camp weekend at the end of April, Leonard & Jackie will be calling/cueing Fri, & different folks on Sat; & our hostess promised to as the food folks about GF options)

I'll keep you posted!
What projects are on your plate this spring?