Below are some brief descriptions of the sessions we are offering throughout the weekend to help you make decisions about where to find dancing most in sync with your personal preferences. Whichever hall(s) you frequent, enjoy your weekend!
New Dancer SSD Welcome Party on Friday evening and other "SSD Dancing with Plus Star Tip" sessions throughout the weekend
(all in Gym A)
These sessions are meant to be accessible to our newest dancers in the area, those of you who have learned SSD as a stand-alone program, have learned all the SSD calls but have not yet completed the Plus curriculum, or have completed a Plus class but feel somewhat uncertain about dancing full Plus. We hope all of you will enjoy the SSD tips in these sessions. For those in the third group, please try your hand at some relatively straightforward Plus star tips. We also welcome to these sessions Plus dancers angeling their SSD friends and any returning Plus dancers who haven't danced Plus in a while — please feel free to enjoy the SSD program and those Plus tips as well.Full Plus Dancing
(all in Gym B)
On Friday and Saturday evenings and other sesssions throughout the weekend. Experienced Plus dancers who want a more rigorous Plus experience will find it in these sessions.Advanced and Challenge Dancing
(Cafeteria and Dance Studio)
Available at various times throughout the weekend.Plus High Energy
(Friday 8 pm and Saturday 2 pm in Gym B)
Alternating Plus and A-2 High Energy
(Sunday 2:30 pm in Gym B)
These sessions are meant for dancers who like to move! The material will not be difficult, but it will be quick and flowing without stopping to salvage a square that for whatever reason can't keep up the pace.Plus TNP (Take No Prisoners)
(Saturday 1 pm in Gym B)
A-2 TNP
(Saturday 3 pm in the Cafeteria)
C-1 TNP
(Saturday 4 pm in the Dance Studio)
Alternating Plus and A-2 TNP
(Sunday 1:30 pm in Gym B)
These sessions are intended for dancers who can dance the named program well enough that they enjoy an extra challenge. The callers will make use of the calls from more than just the usual positions, without extra cuing or explanations. You won't be expected to know any calls not included in the main list, but you will be expected to know those calls well! You can expect the caller to keep calling as long as any square is able to dance, rather than stopping to fix things or letting people who have become confused catch up. Square recovery skills (in case of a temporary breakdown during a sequence) would come in handy to keep you dancing. If you are confident of your dancing ability, give it a try! And, if you are considering learning the next program, by trying TNP for your current dance program you can test yourself to help you decide if you are ready to move to the next program.Exploring Plus Calls
(Saturday 1 pm and 3 pm in Gym A)
These sessions are fully accessible to SSD dancers — any calls beyond SSD will be taught in the session and the second of these sessions does not depend on any additional knowledge from the first session. However, because the Exploring Plus Calls sessions will focus on a very limited number of Plus calls, those calls will be explored in some depth and, as a result, Plus dancers may also find these sesssions interesting and helpful.Plus APD/DBD (All Position Dancing/Dancing by Definition) Workshop
(Saturday 3 pm in Gym B)
A-2 Workshop
(Saturday 1 pm in the Cafeteria)
C-1 Workshop
(Saturday 1 pm in the Dance Studio)
These sessions are designed to help you understand some calls or concepts better and show you examples of ways calls can be used that you may not already have seen. The caller will assume you are already familiar with the basic usage of all the calls of the named program, and will build on that knowledge.Intro to Rounds
(Saturday Noon in Gym B)
Intro to Advanced
(Saturday Noon in the Cafeteria)
Intro to C-1
(Saturday Noon in the Dance Studio)
These sessions will give you a taste of the programs mentioned. Maybe you are considering learning that program, maybe not. Either way you can learn something you may find interesting or useful. Each square dance intro session assumes you already dance the preceding program — Plus in the case of the Intro to Advanced, and A-2 for Intro to C-1. Intro to Round Dancing assumes no previous experience with the round dance genre.Intro to Challenge Concepts for Plus Dancers
(Saturday 2 pm in the Dance Studio)
You may have heard about Challenge dancing. Of course it includes more calls. But the biggest thing that makes Challenge dancing different is the use of "concepts" — instructions that the caller uses to modify calls that the dancers already know. These can direct dancers to group themselves differently, to work with imaginary dancers, or to change the way a call works in many other ways. If you'd like to see for yourself how this works — or if you've seen it but didn't understand what it was about — this is your chance to find out! This session will not assume knowledge of any calls beyond the Plus list.Intro to Hexagons for Plus Dancers
(Saturday 4 pm in Gym B)
Andy Allemao is a master of the hexagon — using square dance moves but with six couples rather than four squared up in a hexagonal (six-sided) formation. He even calls weekly for a hexagon club in southern California! This session assumes knowledge of the Plus program but the way the calls are executed in the hexagon "square" can result in some mind-bending results! Come give it a try!Old Timey Stuff
(Saturday 2 pm in Gym A)
Back in the day, before "Modern Western Square Dancing", our activity was very different — and this session will give you a taste of some of the interesting choreography that dancers enjoyed in the olden days. Any moves not on the SSD list that you need to know for this session will be taught here.SSD Singing calls
(Saturday Noon in Gym A)
This session is designed to provide an easy lunchtime activity. Join us for the entire session or drop in for a singing call or two. Squares will be reforming often. Each caller has been asked to give a one-minute-or-less intro as to why the singing call they have chosen to perform has meaning for them.