Bronc Wise Week

Bronc Wise called.

1. Square dancing math
   1. Two 1/2 tags does not equal a full tag
   2. Two 1/2 scoot backs does not equal a scoot back
   3. Two hinges does not always equal a trade
   4. Two 1.5 circulate does not equal 3 circulates
2. Hearing instructions for the first time, no matter how good they are is like following gps instructions on a crowded road you have never been on.
3. Bronc is not a caller that gets upset when squares break down. In fact he recommends messing up with exuberance. The American English professor William Strunk echoed a similar sentiment when he said "If you don't know how to pronounce a word, say it loud."
4. However, he also said that a square is less likely to breakdown if dancers undershoot their positons rather than overshoot them
5. He modified a Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears with "Last man jump ship". If you click the link, the last men (which he called the cabooses) are dancers 4 and 8. When they pass each other they trade to exchange sides.
6. Identified the three parts of a Linear Cycle: Hinge, Fold and Pass Thru (which is the C1 call Vertical Tag) and Peel (in the direction of the Hinge).
7. Called Linear Cycle skipping the Hinge. The lead dancers Fold behind the trailing dancers and then do a Pass Thru and the Peel. The trailers wait to begin the Pass Thru until the Fold is completed. The Folders could signal this by tapping the shoulders of the trailers
8. Called Linear Cycle skipping the Peel. Dancers Hinge, Fold and Pass Through and end in a completed double pass thru formation. Noted that if a Peel Off was called next it would be in the opposite direction of the Peel done in a regular Linear Cycle.
9. Stepped through variations of Linear Cycle working on the Peel
   1. From right-hand waves, the Fold creates a zippered version of the square which gives the dancers room to pass right shoulders. The Peel is in the direction of the shoulder pass: sequence diagram.
   2. From left-hand waves, the Fold creates a zippered version of the square which gives the dancers room to pass left shoulders. The Peel is in the direction of the shoulder pass: sequence diagram.
   3. From inverted lines, the Fold does not create a zippered version of the square so the dancers have to pass right shoulders when passing through.. The Peel is in the direction of the shoulder pass, in this case right: sequence diagram.
   4. From right hand waves, called Linear Cycle but the girls Scoot Back. the Fold creates a zippered version of the square which makes it obvious that the girls have to use right hands in the Scoot Back. The boys Peel in the direction of the shoulder pass, in this case right: sequence diagram.
   5. Peel of Linear Cycle is different from Peel Off: sequence diagram.
10. Worked on Fan the Top. Called the end dancers that move up a quarter the isolators comparing them to sheep dogs keeping the center dancers in check.
11. Called Fan the Top from right and left hand diamonds which creates a point-to-point diamond which he called a marquis diamond (google to see a picture of one).
12. Talked about the square breathing. The square exhales when hand holds are reestablished after a move. For example, in the Fan the Top from a right-hand diamond, the center points should reestablish a hand hold
13. Suggested that we use walls to orient ourselves after a move, rather than looking around at other dancers. Looking at the walls maximizes our peripheral vision.
14. Fan the Top on diamonds switches back and forth between a right (left) hand diamond and a point to point diamond.
15. Left Fan the Top from facing couples is tricky because the dancers that cast off after the wave is established cast off by the right not the left!
16. Called Scoot Back from a right hand quarter tag. Noted that when the dancers of the center wave Extend, the dancers end up in the same positions in the new wave as they had in the original wave, i.e. centers stays centers and ends stay ends. If you think in terms of centers and ends you eliminate the complication of thinking about left and right.
17. Called Scoot Back from a left hand quarter tag
18. Did many Rolls including Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears and Roll (everybody Rolls except the cabooses).
19. Worked on (Anything) and Spread. Suggested that it would be smoother if the spreaders anticipated the spread and modified the move before it was finished, for example, look at Acey Deucey and Spread in Taminations.
20. Called Follow Your Neighbor and Half Spread which resulted in an eight chain through formation.
21. Pointed out that the trailer and leaders in a Follow Your Neighbor are essentially both doing a Cast Off 3/4 in the same direction; however, the leaders are doing it with an imaginary dancer.
22. Did a Crossfire from lines facing out. He thinks that it is a 4 dancer call and that the traders should not extend into a wave.
23. Called Coordinate from 3 and 1 lines: sequence diagram
24. Called Coordinate where the tandems are led by a boy rather than a girl: sequence diagram.
25. Used the once difficult Relay the Deucey a breather from the more thought-provoking moves that were being taught.
26. Did a half Run which is just what it sounds like.
27. Called a Left Track 2. This arguably gave the dancers the most trouble possibly because "left" refers to passing left shoulders, not turning left.
28. Called Crossfire from facing diamonds. The points are the folders and end up looking at the ear of the centers after they trade and extend.
29. If Tag the Line is called from a tidal wave it is a 4 dancer call so each of the two component waves of the tidal wave do it separately. Each wave has its own center point that the dancers turn to face before they pass through. If the caller wants the center point to be at the flagpole center of the square he/she has to say "line of 8 Tag the Line"
30. Also called line of 8 Half Tag the Line
31. Right And Left Thru Notice that the flow of the Courtesy Turn is counterclockwise. The man puts his right hand on the woman's back and turns to the left. This would not change if the couples were half-sashayed. All that would be different is that the women would turn the man.
32. The call Left and Right Thru (not in Taminations) would require a Reverse Courtesy Turn which flows clockwise. The woman puts her left hand on the man's back and turns to the right. This would not change if the couples were half-sashayed. All that would be different is that the man would turn the woman to the right. This is an A1 call.
33. Created an unusual formation from which dancers can Left Allemande, Right and Left Grand and Promenade back to their home positions. sequence diagram.
34. Called a Crossfire from a 1/4 tag formation resulting in an I formation. This is not in Taminations. sequence diagram
35. Is it legal to call Crossfire from an ocean wave? It is not in Taminations nor did Bronc cover it. Here is the sequence diagram of what it would look like
36. Tip showing how Bronc taught Spin Chain the Gears: sequence diagram
37. The exchange part of Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears is actually the Challenge call Walk Out to a Wave
38. Comparison of Spin the Top, Spin Chain Thru, Spin Chain the Gears, Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears.
    
    Define a Spin to be "Each End and the adjacent Center dancer turn one half (180 degrees). The new Centers of each ocean wave turn three quarters (270 degrees) to make a new ocean wave across the center of the set."
    
    Define a Chain Thru to be "The Very Centers trade (180 degrees) to reform the center wave. The two outside pairs of dancers of this center wave now turn three quarters (270 degrees) "
    
    

    Call	Spin?	Middle	Chain Thru?
    Spin the Top	Yes	N/A	No, instead ends move forward a quarter
    Spin Chain Thru	Yes	N/A	Yes
    Spin Chain the Gears	Yes	Ends U-turn back, very centers trade, form left hand stars, turn the stars 3/4, outside dancers turn back	Yes
    Spin Chain and Exchange the Gears	Yes	Ends U-turn back, very centers trade, form left hand stars, turns the stars 3/4, very center dancers lead the unfolding of the star to the other end.	No

39. Defined isolate and used it in the definition of Spin the Top.
40. Revealed a free program that helps a caller design move sequences. It will be a boon to this blog.