Thank you for pointing that out, Bob. I agree with you completely on
avoiding conflicting use of terminology. I've been hearing a local
caller use the term "slip the clutch" in that one circle dance for 20+
years, and not being a modern square dancer it never crossed my mind
that there was a conflict. I can see how he may have been confused, but
I will certainly not use it myself in the future.
On 12/4/2011 8:33 AM, Bob Peterson wrote:
Recently someone posted a dance sequence and rather then hijack that thread I'm
starting a new one.
Right hand turn, Left hand turn
Two hand turn, No hand turn (do-si-do)
Balance and swing
Promenade and slip the clutch (ladies turn right and meet the next gent)
Outside of modern square dancing you can define slip the clutch any way you like, of
course, but within MSD, a slip the clutch requires both dancers in the couple to already
be facing in opposite directions. What would be borrowed here from MSD is a "ladies
rollback while the gents move forward".
What's good here is the definition for this rare contra call is included.
What's bad is this exactly not the definition in squares. I know slip the
clutch sounds cooler and is shorter to say.
Its likely this was misobserved, misremembered or a coincidence of invention.
It could even be a very old definition that diverged in the two dance styles.
It's still going to (mildly) confuse the handful of people who dance both
contras and MSD-they'll either mess up or hesitate. I can dance a contra to
whatever words the caller wants to use as the caller defines it, but if this
were undefined and sprung on me, say in a medley, I'd do something the contra
caller did not intend. So again I'm glad the definition is included in the
choreography.
(Here's and easy reference to the rollback and slip the clutch calls from MSD:
http://www.mit.edu/~tech-squares/lessons/lesson6.html. There are more precise
definitions at the callerlab site.)
What do you think?
\bob
_______________________________________________
Callers mailing list
[email protected]
http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
