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Don’t cry over broken squares...fix them!
by Allan Hurst - allanh[at]myrealbox.com – Last updated 11/25/99
Converted to HTML with minor
revisions 8/4/03
“...but nobody talks about it.”
It’s
one of the ultimate cultural taboos in square dancing: don’t talk about
broken-down squares. It doesn’t matter
if you’re a caller or a dancer; there seems to be some unwritten rule that it’s
bad manners to discuss how squares break down and how to fix them. If you’re a dancer ... have you ever watched
another square on the dance floor break down, and saw them recover, and then
wonder how they did it? This article
gives dancers some basic tools to use in recovering a crashed square. Although this article is targeted at
dancers, callers may want to consider teaching or reviewing some of these
techniques.
In
the real world, all squares break down sooner or later. (If you’re a dancer
whose squares never, ever break down, you probably only dance with 7
phantoms.) Perhaps you’re new to
dancing a given level, and haven’t yet developed confidence. Perhaps there are a few “nightmare calls”
that you just can’t get the hang of yet.
In any event, for whatever reason, broken squares always happen, at
every dance, at every class, and at every level.
In
general, some of these concepts aren’t taught until Advanced or higher levels,
because some dancers may rely on these tools more than learning the dance
level. Please keep in mind, these
tools are intended for use by dancers only in conjunction with already knowing
their current dance level well. If
dancers don’t know their calls, none of these recovery techniques will help.
For
the purposes of discussion, let’s assume a broken square is the result of two
(or more) dancers swapping places by accident in a tip in which the caller is
using fairly straightforward, symmetric choreography. (Sorry, asymmetric choreo fans!)
More than one way
to recover
There
are several techniques available for recovering a “crashed” square. We’ll go through them in approximate order
of simplicity, from easiest to most complex.
Remember,
the point of all of these methods is to allow the square to keep on dancing,
even if a dancer has to scurry back into their correct home position at the end
of the sequence.
Callerlab Recovery
Callerlab’s
suggested method of recovery is for everyone in the broken square to return to
their home (starting) positions, and the heads slide right to form lines facing
side walls. The caller will either pick
up the facing lines (often using the hint, “Lines forward and back”) and keep
going, or resolve the sequence quickly, in which case the heads just slide back
to their starting position.
If
any of the techniques in this article don’t work for you, use this method as
your fallback. It’s quick, it’s easy,
it’s standard, and any experienced caller will recognize what’s going on
immediately. (Note: If you’re a caller or
a club coordinator, Callerlab once published a one-page sheet illustrating this
technique. I’ve seen it in several
caller school and “newer caller” kits.
It may be useful to obtain and distribute copies of the sheet to your
students.)
“Half-Broken” Square Recovery
If
only one-half of your square is broken (for example, during a “spin the top”
involving both sides of the square), here’s a good “just keep moving”
strategy. If you’re in the broken half
of the square, make up a formation that looks like the unbroken half of the
square, even if everybody’s not matched up correctly.
For
example, if the unbroken half is in a right-hand wave with boys on the end, in
your half of the square, make a right-hand wave with boys on the end. It doesn’t matter if the right boy is on the
right end. The objective at this point
is to keep your square moving to the end of the sequence!
If
you’re in the unbroken half of the square, and the other people are having a
hard time recovering, you might want to quietly tell the other people
what formation you’re in, and where the boys and girls are. For example, “Psst! Make a right-hand wave
with boys on the end!”
Caller Directed Square Recovery
Often,
a caller will notice something’s not right in one or more squares, and will cue
the dancers so they know what formation they should be in. For example...
“You’ve got right-hand waves, boys on the end...”
“Centers - who are facing! ...”
“We’ve got standard lines, up to the middle and
back...”
In
such cases, if you’re lost, and the caller cues you to what formation you
should be in, just get into that formation, whether or not you’re in the
correct place for successful resolution.
Those
are the basic methods for resolving broken squares, and require a fairly
minimal amount of practice. However,
these methods just keep the square moving...you still have to scurry back into
the correct place at the end of the sequence.
How do you actually FIX the square mid-sequence? Let’s move onto some more advanced methods
and find out.
Symmetry and Image Dancers
In
his book, “The Extemporaneous Caller,” Bill Davis defines the concept of “Image
Dancers,” which are dancers who are diametrically opposite across the set from
each other, and at the same distance from the flagpole center of the
square. Image dancers will always be
the same dance genders. (E.G., two
girls or two boys.) Many people refer
to image dancers as “mirror dancers” or “mirror opposites.” [See Figure 1]
Figure 1. Every dancer has an "image dancer" opposite them in the square. If a dance sequence uses symmetric choreo, each person's image dancer will always be in a corresponding position on the opposite side of the square, relative to the flagpole center of the square.
Assuming
all called choreography in a given sequence is symmetric in nature, all image
dancers will always remain symmetric, and at the same distance from the
flagpole center of the square. It
doesn’t matter what the formation is. [See Figure 2]
Figure 2. A symmetric formation remains so, no matter how it is "sliced" through the flagpole center of the square. Each pair of image dancers in this square is at the same distance and facing the same direction relative to the center of the square. For example, Boys #4 and #2.
A
formation is considered symmetric if both of the following conditions
apply:
(A) A line from any dancer through the
flagpole center of the square intersects a dancer at the same distance from the
center on the other side.
(B) Any two image dancers are facing the same
direction (e.g., clockwise, counterclockwise, in, out, etc.) relative to the
flagpole center of the square.
Here
are examples of symmetric formations with in-sequence and out-of-sequence
dancers:
Figure 3a. This
formation is symmetric, and the dancers are in sequence. Note that Girl
#1 and Girl #3 are in "matching" positions on opposite sides of the
formation. This square can be successfully resolved using standard
choreography.
Figure 3b. While this
formation is symmetric, the dancers are out of sequence. Girl #1 and
Girl #3 are no longer in "matching" positions. This square cannot be successfully
resolved using standard choreography.
Using your Image Dancer to recover
Now
that you know what an image dancer is, you can easily use this concept to
recover your part of a broken square.
If
you’re dancing in a square, and suddenly don’t know where you should go, or are
uncertain that you ended up in the correct spot, just look across the flagpole
center of the square. Is that your
image dancer? If so, you’re probably OK
(unless both of you made the same mistake, in which case there’s nothing more
you can do). If it’s not your image
dancer, move into the position in your half of the square that corresponds to
your image dancer.
Speaking
frankly, this method will only work if you have an image dancer that you know
dances at least as well as you do. If
you think your image dancer is weaker than you, this method probably won’t
work.
Using your Mirror Dancer to recover