Border City SquaresApril Showers

Presidents' Corner                                                                             May 2002

Beginning Cha

It is not too late to begin learning round dance cha cha. Corinne Renauld will be teaching these lessons from 9:00 to 10:00 at the Horse Pond Fish and game club starting on May 6th right after our cycle 2 square dance lessons. No previous round dancing experience is required.

Class Completion

We are delighted to welcome nine new mainstream dancers into our club along with four mainstream dancers who are coming to us from other clubs. In addition, congratulations go to Tammy Dorris and Kathi Butt who completed the class a second time, this time to learn the man’s part. For further details on our completion celebration, see the Class Chair’s article.

Welcome to the BCS Board

At our annual meeting on April 29th, the members present voted to continue Ed and Corinne Renauld as our caller and cuer and elected the new board members for the 2002-2003 dance season. Your new board members are shown in the table below.

President Amy Bollenbach
Vice President Debbie Coit
Secretary Cecilia Kendig and Paula Finamore
Treasurer Kathi Butt
Club Chair Cheryl Palucchi and Anne-Marie Boucher
Banner Chair Harli Thoene
Publicity Chair Skip & Penny Guild

The membership also agreed to recognize a new non-voting position: Club Historian. Tammy Dorris, who has done an outstanding job of reintroducing a club scrap book/photo album and preparing club information for the Square Dance Foundation Museum, will continue in this role as our official historian.

HELP! There is one very important position missing from the new board. No one has yet been willing to take on the responsibilities of Class Chair. This is a very serious problem, and one that must be addressed. The class represents our life blood. Every club I know of that has stopped holding classes has either folded completely or is having serious problems remaining active. The class not only provides new dancers to replace people who leave the area or stop dancing, it also provides a focal point for our members to socialize and keep up with their skills. We recognize that the class chair has one of the biggest and most demanding jobs on the board, and we know it cannot be done without the support of many club members who serve as angels and who assist with setup, cleanup, and leadership to class dances. However, our club has repeatedly demonstrated this kind of teamwork, and I am confident that it will continue in the future.

Although I cannot guarantee success, we are working with Stan to arrange a place to store class supplies, and this should relieve the class chair from having to store and transport the supplies each week. It will also simplify setting up a team to assist the class chair, since it would not be necessary to pass on the supplies each week.

The bottom line is that we desperately need a class chair. You will not have to work alone, but you should be an active dancer, willing to coordinate a team of other BCS members to see that our new class has a positive first experience with square dancing. Please help!

44th New England Square and Round Dance Convention

The convention has come and gone, and it was great fun for the many BCS members who were able to attend. According to the feedback we received after the dance, there were over 1,300 dancers present. If some of the halls were overcrowded, that did not spoil the fun, and having lots of dancers is hardly something to complain about!

 

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The 28 BCS members who attended the convention included Tony Andrade, Bob Baker, Amy and Katherine Bollenbach, Anne-Marie Boucher, Nancy Bryan, Kathi Butt, Debbie Coit, Diane Des Rochers, Eugene and Della Doherty, Tammy Dorris, Jonas Green, Chris Howard, Eric Magrath, Joe Maheu, Joe McClintock, Della Nabydoski, Cheryl Palucchi, Ed, Corinne, and Alice Renauld, Margery Shank, Harli Thoene, Bill and Vivian Thompson, and Steve and Lori Wurtzler. It was great to see you all there!

Presidents: Chris & Norma Howard

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Club Chair Report Skip & Penny Guild

On Saturday March 13th we had 10+ squares at our BCS Plus Dance. The 3 Clubs raiding/retrieving banners were Heel and Toe, Wolf Rockers, & Turkey Town Trotters. Frank Lescrinier from California called an interesting and challenging dance. It was fun dancing to a new caller.

Hostess and Host were Margery Shank and Chris Howard. The theme was April Showers. Club members who helped set up for the dance were Priscilla Griffin & Amy Bollenbach. Debbie Coit hosted our caller Frank Lescrinier. He came by during the afternoon with Debbie to check out the hall. Thank you again to all club members who bring food each month, you help make our dances a success. Also for all those who stayed to help clean up after the dance, it is much appreciated.

On Saturday May 11th at 8-10:30 PM, join us for our next BCS dance at the Infant Jesus Church, on Allds Street. This will be a MS with 2 Plus Tips. Jim Schell will be calling and Sandi Simmons will be cueing. Dave and Mary Raymond will be hosting the dance. The theme is "Spring Flowers". Raids/retrievals at this dance will be Heel & Toe, Firesiders, Single Squares and Concord Coach. Setup time will be at the usual 12:30 PM Saturday for anyone who is willing to help.

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Class Chair Report Bill and Anne Parke

CONGRATULATIONS to all our new dancers! You have worked very hard and have learned a great deal in a short period of time. You traveled to quite a few clubs in the last eight months and danced to a variety of callers. Your perseverance has finally paid off – you are now able to go to any Mainstream dance and join in the fun.

On Monday, April 22, we held our Completion Celebration. Three cheers to new club members: Nancy Bryan, Diane DesRochers, Eugene Doherty, C. Paula Finamore, Margaret Green, Cecilia Kendig, Rita Lamarche and Carol & Chip Parker. During the year we also added new class members who had danced before but joined the class as a refresher. They were Melli Annamali, Carol & Ray Kibbee and Joe McClintock. Welcome to all the new members with their shiny new blue badges. Congratulations also to Amy Bollenbach and Kathi Butt, who took the 8-month class to learn to dance in the "man’s" position.

Square dancing involves a community of people who enjoy this healthy, fun activity. Phil and Sandy Pierce from Heel and Toe joined us for our celebration, as representatives of this larger community. They assisted in the candlelight ceremony, and the awarding of badges. This was truly symbolic of the friendship and support between clubs.

To start off the ceremonial part of the program, Chris greeted the new class and talked about square dancing. Next guest representatives Phil and Sandy from Heel & Toe lit the first candle for the candlelight ceremony. Border City’s elected officers completed the other 3 corners of the square, and all club members filled in the 4 sides of the square. Then Bill and Anne passed out badges and new-dancer packets to all of those completing lessons.

Ed helped both class and club dancers understand just how vulnerable we can be, even if we have danced for years. First he called a tip in which everyone had to dance without hands. Though the moves looked and felt strange, most dancers were successful at this. Then, Anne and Bill got out the blindfolds, for everyone this year. Ed began (and ended) this segment with "sides face, grand square". Ed is still trying to figure out what to call the formations (yes, a different one for each square) that resulted when he had all dancers stop, about half way through the movement. But I think all dancers will remember the importance of sight and touch in dancing. We’re also more likely to appreciate the skill of blind dancers we may meet and how hard they must work to be able to join us.

Remember, you aren’t through learning! While you’ve been introduced to all of the Mainstream calls, you probably don’t feel that you’ve mastered them yet (we haven’t met a new dancer yet who "knows it all"). Now is the time to get out and dance – to practice those calls till they become second nature to you. Continue to seek out different clubs, callers, and fellow dancers. You will learn something new from each one, and you’ll make lots of friends along the way. Don’t worry about taking advanced lessons just yet; first become proficient at Mainstream. Come on Mondays and angel the Phase 2 (January) class; plan to join us in the fall as well. This also will reinforce your skills, as well as help new dancers to feel welcome. Above all, have FUN!!

Many thanks to all of the class and club members who have brought "goodies" and helped with the various chores of running a class. We would especially like to recognize the work done by the class members which resulted in two of the most successful dances this year. You did a great job planning the decorations and setting up and hosting our two class level dances. Welcome to Border City Squares!

See you in a square.

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Banner Chair Report Wayne & Priscilla Griffin

March 30th Saturday Retrieval to Wolf Rockers Mainstream/Plus Dance - Among the 6 squares dancing to caller Jim Schell and cuer Lila Heath were: Debbie Coit, Dave & Mary Raymond, Skip & Penny Guild, Cheryl Palucchi, Kathi Butt, Bill & Viv Thompson, Harli Thoene, Eric Magrath, Tammy Dorris, Amy Bollenbach, Joe McClintock, Ed Jette (also a Wolf Rocker member) and Diane DesRoches (also a Montachusetts Twirlers member). Tag-team dancing and a 5 couple square kept things lively. Thank you to Harli, Skip and Penny for filling in for us.

April 7th Sunday Retrieval to Pepperell Squares Mainstream/Plus Dance - First, thank you to our car pool drivers, Debbie and Chris. The ride was just under 2 hours so we arrived in time to dance the first tip. There were 11 squares mostly due to having 8 clubs retrieving banners. Clubs attending for banners were BCS, Firesiders, Happy's Angels North, Heel & Toe, Jesters, Nubble Lighthouse Keepers, Seacoast, and Shaker Valley. The Pepperell Squares only hold 2 dances per year so they have many chances to raid other clubs. Two of the retrieving clubs also raided the Pepperell Squares banners because they had 16 or more dancers. Our 8 supporters were Chris, Debbie, Wayne, Priscilla, Cheryl Palucchi, Harli, Tammy, and Eric. Nancy Bryan was there with the Heel & Toe club and Alice was there with her Shaker Valley Squares club. Ray Hilton did the "Alice, who the heck is Alice" singing call dance and Alice was in our square. Ray and 'Happy' Harry Trott alternated calling tips. Sally Lennox and Lila Heath took turns cueing the rounds. There was plenty of food during the break and 5 PM came all too quick. There was plenty of daylight for the ride home.

April 13th Saturday BCS Plus Dance - "April Showers" was the theme but it was a 'coast to coast' dance with Frank Lescrinier from southern California and Pat & Don Brann from Maine. The Turkey Town Trotters (18) retrieved their banner. The Heel & Toe SDC (9) and Wolf Rockers (11) raided our banners. Besides the 38 banner visitors, there were 16 guests and 18 members (72 dancers). Frank told us he was a grocer. His unique rendition of the "Love Me Hunny Dew" signing call dance included limes, cantaloupe, beets, sweetpeas, and other produce.

April 20th Saturday Retrieval to Heel & Toe Mainstream with Plus tips and A1 tips Dance - Wow, 17 squares of dancers were at this "April Showers" dance. Seven clubs attended for banners. The Baldwin Apple Squares surprised everyone when they put on umbrella hats just before marching down for their banner. Retrieving our banner were Chris, Wayne & Priscilla, Dave & Mary, Kathi, Roberta, Bill & Viv, Preston, Harli, Amy, Katherine, Tammy, Diane, Joe Maheu, and Cheryl Pecor.

May 3rd Friday Raid to Litchfield Swingers 30th Anniversary (Mainstream/Plus) Dance – Johnny Wedge called a smooth and interesting dance, as usual. Marilyn Rivenburg cued to a floor full of round dancers. BCS accounted for 3 of the 16 squares of dancers. Three other clubs marched up for banners including the Heel and Toe SDC with 4 squares of dancers! The dinner before the dance was a success and attended by many dancers. Three members of the Litchfield Swingers were recognized for being founding members. Our 24 raiders were: Chris, Debbie, Dave & Mary, Cheryl Palucchi, Wayne & Priscilla, Kathi, Bill & Viv, Roberta, Hal, Preston, Tammy, Amy, Katherine, Harli, Anne-Marie, Diane, Cecilia, C. Paula, Eric, Joe Maheu, and Joe McClintock. Hank marched down with us too.

Upcoming Dances:

May 11th Saturday BCS Mainstream with 2 Plus tips Dance - Our Spring Flowers dance features caller Jim Schell and cuer Sandi Simmons. The Single Squares, Concord Coach, and the Firesiders SDC are scheduled to retrieve their banners. The Heel & Toe SDC plans to raid our banner.

May 17th Friday Retrieval to Winnipesaukee Squares Alternating Mainstream & Plus tips Dance - Patty Green & no rounds. They brought 7 dancers to our February dance so we hope we can get a square of our members out on a Friday night to this distant dance.

May 18th Saturday Retrieval to Heel & Toe Mainstream with Fast Track & Plus tips Dance - Steve Xeller & Peg Sutton are featured at their "Beach Party".

May 24th Friday Raid to Square Wheelers Alternating Mainstream & Plus tips Dance - Matt Auger & Phil Gatchell are featured.

June 1st Saturday Raid to Concord Coach Alternating Mainstream & Plus tips Dance - Jim Lee of Canada & Phil Gatchell are featured. The theme is "Grinder Night" with early A1 tips from 7 to 8 PM.

After our June dance, there are 2 banner retrievals to finish out the schedule.

May and June Raids/Retrievals:

Date

Club

Location

Level

We Are

Caller

Cuer

05-17-02

Winnipesaukee Squares

Laconia, NH

M/P

Retrieving

Patty Green

No Rounds

05-18-02

Heel & Toe

Manchester, NH

M+FP

Retrieving

Steve Xeller

Peg Sutton

05-24-02

Square Wheelers

West Acton, MA

M/P

Raiding

Matt Auger

Phil Gatchell

06-01-02

Concord Coach

Concord, NH

M/P

Raiding

Jim Lee (Canada)

Phil Gatchell

06-15-02

Bradford Country Squares

Bradford, NH

P

Retrieving

Dona Prudhomme

Vera Prudhomme

06-22-02

Wolf Rockers

Mason, NH

M/P

Retrieving

Everett Mackin

Leo Boudreau

Club Banners We Have:                                             Clubs With Our Banners:

Date

Club

Retrieval Date

 

Date

Club

Retrieval Date

12-14-01

Single Squares

05-11-02

 

02-09-02

Winnipesaukee Squares

05-17-02

12-15-01

Concord Coach

05-11-02

 

03-09-02

Bradford Country Squares

06-15-02

03-02-02

Firesiders

05-11-02

 

04-13-02

Wolf Rockers

06-22-02

05-03-02

Litchfield Swingers

06-08-02

 

04-13-02

Heel & Toe

04-20-02

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Border City Squares Calendar May 2002

SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT
5-May 6-May
Note Times 7:00-9:00 PM
JAN CLASS MS PHASE 2
Note Times 9:00-10:00 PM
NEW CHA CHA ROUND DANCE CLASS
Week 1
7-May 8-May 9-May 10-May

11-May BORDER CITY
8-10:30 PM
MS & 2 PLUS TIPS
At Infant Jesus Church
Theme is
"Spring Flowers"
Caller
Jim Schell
Cuer
Sandi Simmons

12-May

Mother's Day

13-May
Note Times 7:00-9:00 PM
JAN CLASS MS PHASE 2
Note Times 9:00-10:00 PM
NEW CHA CHA ROUND DANCE CLASS
Week 2
14-May 15-May 16-May 17-May Retrieval to Winnipesaukee Squares
MS/Plus
Caller Patty Greene
No rounds
18-May
Retrieval to Heel & Toe
Manchester, NH
MS & Plus & Fast Track
Caller Steve Xeller
Cuer Peg Sutton
19-May 20-May
Note Times 7:00-9:00 PM
JAN CLASS MS PHASE 2
Note Times 9:00-10:00 PM
NEW CHA CHA ROUND DANCE CLASS
Week 3
21-May 22-May 23-May 24-May Raid to
Square Wheelers
MS/Plus
Caller Mike PetitBon
Cuer Phil Gatchell
25-May
26-May 27-May

Memorial Day
NO classes tonight

28-May 29-May 30-May 31-May 1-June MS/Plus
Raid to Concord Coach
(Grinder Windup)
Caller
Jim Lee of Canada
Cuer Phil Gatchell
2-June 3-June
Note Times 7:00-9:00 PM
JAN CLASS MS PHASE 2
Note Times 9:00-10:00 PM
NEW CHA CHA ROUND DANCE CLASS
Week 4
4-June 5-June 6-June 7-June

8-June BORDER CITY
8-10:30 PM
MS & 2 PLUS TIPS
At Infant Jesus Church
Theme is
"Salad Night"
Caller
Jim Wass (from Maryland)
Cuer
Beverly Boudreau

Due fors for 2002-2003{|{|{|{|{|{|{|{|{|{|{|{
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