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   Border City Squares  

President's Corner                                                      February 2001

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EDSARDA Meeting Report

"Adult Education / Parks & Recreation Department Square Dance Classes – Are they the wave of the future?" was the topic of the Eastern District Square And Round Dance Association (EDSARDA) program on January 7^th. The goal is to come up with an economic way to offer square dance lessons.

Two members of the Square Wheelers in Acton, MA explained how their club now offers square dance lessons via their area’s Community Education department. Everett Mackin, a square dance caller from Rhode Island, explained how he now offers square dance lessons via his city’s Parks & Recreation department.

In both cases, the fee for attending the 10 to 12 week square dance course is determined by the department and not the club. The fee includes the caller’s fee and is collected by the department when the enrollment form is submitted. The club does not collect money nor pay for the caller, the hall, or the janitor (as many clubs are now required to do when they use city school facilities). The department in Acton set the fees for the 12-week course to $82 per couple or $52 per individual. In RI, the department set the fee at $25 per person for the 10 lessons/weeks. The department in Acton determined the break-even point to be 9 dancers but only 6 new dancers actually attended the first session that started in September and ended in December. The fees are non-refundable so others may have paid the city department but then were not able to attend the course.

The time and place for the weekly lessons is also determined by the department but with consideration for when the "teacher" (caller) is available. Matt Auger, the square dance caller for the Square Wheelers, attended the initial meeting with the Acton Boxborough Community Education department so his fee and availability could be discussed. The Square Wheelers were already using a city school on a weeknight so the hall and day of week were an easy decision for the department. The time period was also determined by the time period for other courses offered by the department and were closely related to the semesters at the local colleges.

"Teacher’s assistants" is the accepted term for what square dancers term as "angels" - dancers who fill in squares as needed. Teacher’s assistants do not pay to attend the course. They wear the club badge, casual attire and fill in squares where needed. The Square Wheelers also explained how there is still a need for a Class Chairperson(s) or host. The Square Wheelers representatives still set up the hall, the water, some refreshments, and even offer a split-the-pot/pot-of-gold drawing.

The department handles the advertisement for the classes. The club provides the description of the course that is printed in the department’s booklets along with the fee set by the department. The square dance courses were just another entry in the booklets these departments publish and mail to local residents. The club still prints the flyers and advertises as in the past. One thing the club needed to do ahead of time was determine that they wanted to start a class. There is a lead-time involved in printing and mailing the booklets so a decision is needed far in advance.

The courses were titled an "Introduction to Square Dancing" because the graduates do not learn all 71 movements (calls) in the Mainstream Program. Everett stated that the new dancers that he had taught between September and December had learned about 40 calls. He is offering two courses in January. The "Introduction to Square Dancing" course will be offered again plus an advanced basics course (which will complete the Mainstream program calls) will be offered.

Square dance caller John Thompson was not present but sent a letter with information explaining how he made a similar arrangement with a city department in South Paris Maine. He is offering square dance courses with help from the Swinging Bears square dance club. Many square dancers are aware that the Tech Squares of MIT have been part of the MIT curriculum for many years. The square dance course that they offer is 13 weeks long and covers all of the movements/calls through the Plus Program. Their web site (see the Links tab on the BCS web site) shows the calls covered each week and includes the handouts that explain the movements covered each week.

The square dance course in Acton started again on January 16^th when the college semester began. The Square Wheelers told the dancers from their first class to sign up and pay for the first course again. They plan to have alternating tips so the newest dancers can learn the basics and the basic dancers can finish learning the Mainstream calls.

The New Hampshire Community Technical College at Nashua publishes a booklet each season that includes non-credit courses such as dance classes. This booklet would be a great place spread the word about square dancing. The Spring 2001 booklet shows it covers the January 16 through May 11 period with many of the dance classes ending April 24. The problems this identifies are: (1) the need to plan class starts far enough in advance to be included in the booklets and (2) to plan class starts based on college semester start dates. Another problem is with the location. Border City Squares would like to continue to offer square dance courses at our current location. Assuming the NHCC determines that they will collect the course fee and pay the caller, they may want to use their own facilities and not pay for the hall. The courses could still be on Monday nights and at the present times but may be not the same location.

Clubs offering square dance courses only once a year (in September) is one of the problems identified with square dance lessons. The Multi-Cycle Program tries to address this issue by offering course starts every 8 to 13 weeks. The BCS offered one course start in September and a second in January. We will not being starting a new/third course in May. The next course or class start will be in September.

One final note, EDSARDA is one of the organizations that make the New England Square and Round Dance Convention possible. Please register soon. If you can’t attend the entire convention in April, remember there is also a one-day fee of $15 for Friday or Saturday.

Wayne and Priscilla Griffin
EDSARDA Representatives & Vice Presidents

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Club Chair Report

Anyone who thinks class dances are boring definitely should have been at our class dance on January 13^th! Ed and Corinne Renauld certainly know how to keep everyone happy. The theme for the dance was "Pajama Party," and most of our members showed up in some form of sleepwear with two of our members wearing red, button down BVDs. We had about 10 squares present, and for most tips there were at least 8 squares on the floor. We had the largest turnout from our own club – 39 dancers – that I can remember seeing in years. We also had 9 members from the Skirts ‘N’ Flirts who were retrieving their banner, 14 dancers from Heel and Toe who were there for a raid, and many club and class members from other clubs in the area.

In addition to being a great dance, we also had one of the best food tables I have seen at our dances for quite some time. Not only was there plenty of food for everyone, but there was an amazing variety. Thanks so much to everyone, especially the class members, who made this dance such a success. And thanks to the many club and class dancers who helped with the setup. These people included: Bill & Viv Thompson, Sue & Bill Leuci, Amy & Katherine Bollenbach, Jim Hawkins, Jim McClaron, Joyce & Mike Peterson, Mary Raymond, Debbie Coit, and Margery Shank. As always there were many people who stayed after the dance to help with clean up, and we are very grateful for their help.

Our next dance, on February 10^th will be a Mainstream dance with two Plus tips. The theme for the dance is "Famous Lovers." Norm Poisson will be calling and Marilyn Rivenburg will be cueing. Norm loves to call unusual patterns, so this is bound to be a great dance regardless of what level you normally dance at.

Litchfield Swingers and the Turkey Town Trotters are both expected to retrieve banners at this dance. Mary Raymond and Cheryl Palucchi will be hosting this dance, and we would greatly appreciate your help with setup at the church hall at 12:30.

Chris and Norma Howard
Club Chairpersons

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Class Chair Report

Hi Everyone,

Our class sure has been busy. And just to let you know how busy they have been, here is a list of clubs they have danced at: WMSARDA Festival in Chicopee, Pine Tree Riots, Acton Squares, Firesiders, Cloudbusters, Concord Coach, Happy Time Squares, Litchfield Swingers, Border City Squares and Heel & Toe. This is very impressive – Congratulations to all of you.

Since our last newsletter some of the class attended Heel & Toe’s New Years Eve party. We heard that they had a very good time. On January 5^th the class attended the Litchfield Swinger’s class dance. Attending from our Border City Squares class were Katherine Bollenbach, Amy Bollenbach, Bill & Susan Leuci, Diane Troyer. Other club members and friends attending were Dave & Mary Raymond, Chris Howard, Wayne Griffin, Bill & Vivian Thompson and Dennis Marandos. Ted Lizotte called and did a great job.

On Jan 13 the class hosted the Border City Class dance at Infant Jesus Church. The theme was Pajama Party and the class decided to decorate with Teddy bears and other furry friends. They were on the stage and hanging from the ceiling. The class did an outstanding job. We arrived at 12:30 to set up & decorate. The turnout to help was as follows: Bill & Susan Leuci, Katherine Bollenbach, Amy Bollenbach, Jim Hawkins and Jim McClarin. Jim is a new member of our new January class. Also the clubs regular helpers were present which included Chris Howard, Margery Shank, Dave & Mary Raymond, Mike & Joyce Peterson.

On January 20^th the class attended the Heel & Toe Class dance called by John Courtois, Attending from Border City were Bill & Susan Leuci, Katherine Bollenbach, Amy Bollenbach, Jim McClarin, and Diane Troyer. Other club members and friends attending were Dave & Mary Raymond, Bill & Vivian Thompson and Dennis Marandos. The class had also planned to attend the NSSARDA sponsored class dance on January 21^st but Mother Nature caused this dance to be canceled. There is one more class dance in January; it is at the Pine Tree Riots in Weare with Patty Greene calling. At this time Bill and Susan Leuci and Diane Troyer plan to attend this dance.

New Class starting

On January 8^th we started our second class for this year. So far this class is comprised of eight new dancers, but we plan to keep enrollment open through Jan 28^th. We will introduce this new class to you next month once we have a final count.

February Class Dances

Below is a table with all of the February class dances, Viv and I would recommend attending the following dances;

1. Feb 10^th, the FireSiders with Jim Mayo calling, he was the original caller for Border City in 1958 when the club was founded.
2. Feb 17^th Concord Coach with George McGibbon,
3. Feb 18^th Monadnock Squares, Many callers
4. Feb 24^th Wolf Rockers, with Charlie McLeod
5. Mar 2^nd Litchfield Swingers, with Ralph Peacock

Class Chairpersons
Viv & Bill Thompson

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Banner Chair Report

Where on earth are the Firesiders? On Saturday, January 6^th, they changed venues for their dance at the 11^th hour. But it definitely takes more than that to deter our determined and dedicated dancers. Border City fielded more than two whole squares on this evening. The force consisted of Wayne & Priscilla Griffin, Roberta Blais, Hal Kelley, Bruce Williams, Della Crawford, Jonas Green & Tammy Dorris, Laurie Brown (welcome back!), Chris & Norma Howard, Della Nabydoski & Tony Andrade, Dave & Mary Raymond, Skip & Penny Guild, and Alice Renauld (all the way from Maine). Much to the delight of some dancers, Ed Renauld called a Plus dance that challenged even the seasoned dancers.

At our pajama party with Ed and Corinne on January 13^th the Skirts ‘N’ Flirts retrieved their banner with 9 dancers, while Heel & Toe raided with 14 dancers. The ironic thing was that Heel & Toe’s banner chairperson forgot to tell his club that they were on a raid that evening. They still added almost 2 squares to our shindig!

Our next club dance on Saturday, February 10^th, will feature Norm Poisson and Marilyn Rivenburg. This is going to be a Mainstream dance with a few Plus tips. The two retrieving clubs planning to attend are the Litchfield Swingers and the Turkey Town Trotters. We’d love to see you there!

Unfortunately, our retrieval with the Square Riggers had to be canceled. It started off with a bad omen when Roberta & I couldn’t get our usual numbers together for this trip. Before old man winter put a wrench into our plans, we had hoped to bring about a square. When Friday afternoon came around, as did the ice and some snow, Roberta polled (on the phone) the would-be brave dancers. It was pretty unanimous: stay home and just reschedule.

So Border City has rescheduled its retrieval with the Square Riggers. Now, we will be returning to get our banner from them on Friday, March 23^rd. Call it fate or whatever: we had that weekend open, since the Square Wheelers pulled out on us after our December dance.

Boatloads of Border City dancers made their way to Pelham Partner’s dance on Saturday, January 27^th. Nineteen in all! This enthusiastic bunch included Cheryl Palucchi, Joe Mahey, Penny & Skip Guild, Bruce Williams, Preston Walsh, Dave & Mary Raymond, Viv & Bill Thompson, Margery Shank, Chris Howard, Tammy "Sleepy" Dorris, Priscilla & Wayne Griffin, Roberta Blais, Hal Kelley, and Steve & Lorri Wurtzler. Hosting clubs must really love seeing all that blue! Great job guys! Caller Ralph Peacock kept us going as we literally slid across the floor all night! "Sleepy" even walked away with the Pot of Gold!

February & Early March Raids/Retrievals:

Last Month’s Raids and Retrievals:

Clubs Raiding / Retrieving at Our January Dance:

Club Banners We Have: Clubs With Our Banners:

Lorri and Steve Wurtzler
Banner Chairs

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