Caller (dance)
A caller is a person who prompts dance figures in such dances as line dance, square dance, and contra dance. The caller might be one of the participating dancers, though in modern country dance this is rare. In round dance a person who performs this function is called a cuer. Their role is fundamentally the same as a caller, in that they tell dancers what to do in a given dance, though they differ on several smaller points. In northern New England contra dancing, the caller is also known as the prompter. Comparing callers and cuers Callers and cuers serve slightly different functions in different types of dance. Improvisation in modern Western square dance calling distinguishes it from the calling in many other types of dance. Callers in many dance types are expected to sing and to be entertaining, but round dance cuers do not sing and are expected to be as unobtrusive as possible. Standardized dances such as round dance, modern western square dance, and Salsa Rueda consi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dance Figure
Dance moves or dance steps (more complex dance moves are called dance patterns, dance figures, dance movements, or dance variations) are usually isolated, defined, and organized so that beginning dancers can learn and use them independently of each other. However, more complex movements are influenced by musicality and lyrical relevance to express emotions or refer to a message. Dance moves tend to emphasize the concepts of lead and follow and connection. In most cases, dance moves by themselves are independent of musicality, which is the appropriateness of a move to the music (for a notable exception, see Bharatanatyam). Generally, they are memorized in sets of eight counts. Also there are two different movements: concrete and abstract. These two movements show time, space, relationship, quality and focus. For example, relationship could describe the movement of two or more different dancers. The names of moves may be somewhat arbitrary and vary from person to person and city to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Promenade (dance Move)
{{hatnote, For other uses, see Promenade position in ballroom dance, and Promenade (other)#Dance. Promenade is a basic dance move in a number of dances such as English Country Dance, contra dance, and square dance. The name comes from the French word for "walk", and is a good basic description of the dance action. Dance position and handholds When executing the move, partners stand side-by-side in a promenade position, and act as a single unit. Customarily the man (or gent) stands to the left of the lady, his right hip touching or almost touching her left hip. Note that ''this'' promenade position is not the same as that promenade position defined in ballroom dances. They might take any of a number of different promenade handholds. These are generally determined by the specific dance or local dance traditions. Some of these different handholds are: * Basic promenade or Skirt Skater's handhold: The lady extends her left hand horizontally, palm down, across the front ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Traditional Square Dance
Traditional square dance is a generic American term for any style of American square dance other than modern western square dance, modern Western. The term can mean (1) any of the American regional styles (broadly, Northeastern, Southeastern, and Western) that existed before around 1950, when modern Western style began to develop out of a blend of those regional styles, or (2) any style (other than modern Western) that has survived, or been revived, since around 1950. Traditional square dance can be distinguished from modern western square dance by the following characteristics: #A limited number of basic movements, or “calls,” enabling the average dancer to join the group by assimilation rather than by taking a series of lessons. #Dance figures (sequences of basic movements) that are called in a set order and repeated, rather than improvised by the caller (dancing), caller. (In Southeastern style the caller chooses figures from a repertoire of a dozen or two and can call them ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Modern Western Square Dance
Modern western square dance (also called western square dance, contemporary western square dance, modern American square dance or modern square dance) is one of two American types of square dancing, along with traditional square dance. As a dance form, modern western square dance grew out of traditional square dance in the American West. The term ''western square dance'', for some, is synonymous with "cowboy dance" or traditional western square dance. Therefore, this article uses the term "modern western square dance" to describe the contemporary non-historical dance which grew out of the traditional dance. Modern western square dance was the official dance of the United States from 1982 to 1993. Modern western square dance, like traditional square dance, is directed by a '' caller''. In modern western square dance the caller strings together a sequence of individual '' square dance calls'' to make a figure or sequence. These calls are the building blocks of the choreography ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hand Sign
Manual communication systems use articulation of the hands (hand signs, gestures, etc.) to mediate a message between persons. Being expressed manually, they are received visually and sometimes tactually. When it is the primary form of communication, it may be enhanced by body language and facial expressions. Manual communication is employed in sign languages and manually coded languages, though sign languages also possess non-manual elements. Other systems of manual communication have been developed for specific purposes, typically in situations where speech is not practical (such as loud environments) or permitted, or where secrecy is desired. Examples * Charades * Diving signals — hand communication methods while scuba diving * Flag semaphores — telegraphy systems using hand-held flags, other objects, or the hands themselves * Finger counting ** Chinese number gestures ** Open outcry hand signaling * Fingerspelling or manual alphabets * Gang signals — signs used to ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Country Dance
A country dance is any of a very large number of social dances of a type that originated in the British Isles; it is the repeated execution of a predefined sequence of figures, carefully designed to fit a fixed length of music, performed by a group of people, usually in couples, in one or more sets. The figures involve interaction with your partner and/or with other dancers, usually with a progression so that you dance with everyone in your set. It is common in modern times to have a "caller" who teaches the dance and then calls the figures as you dance. Country dances are done in many different styles. As a musical form written in or time, the contredanse was used by Beethoven and Mozart. Introduced to South America by French immigrants, Country Dance had great influence upon Latin American music as contradanza. The ''Anglais'' (from the French word meaning "English") or ''Angloise'' is another term for the English country dance. A Scottish country dance may be termed an . ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Callerlab
CALLERLAB is the international association of modern western square dance callers, and is the largest square dance association in the United States. After some initial work started in 1971, it was officially established in 1974 by several members of the Square Dance Hall of Fame."The Complete Book of Square Dancing: And Round Dancing", by Betty Casey, 2000, , p. 9 Callers from all over the world, including Saudi Arabia, Japan, Germany, and England, are members of the organization. Functions *Maintains a suggested list of dancing programs, from Mainstream through C-3A. Each program contains a list of standardized square dance calls and concepts, with official definitions. *Provides BMI/ASCAP licensing to its members *Provides liability insurance Liability insurance (also called third-party insurance) is a part of the general insurance system of risk financing to protect the purchaser (the "insured") from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits and similar claims and pro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Partner Dance
Partner dances are dances whose basic choreography involves coordinated dancing of two partners, as opposed to individuals dancing alone or individually in a non-coordinated manner, and as opposed to groups of people dancing simultaneously in a coordinated manner. United States dance history Prior to the 20th century, many ballroom dance and folk dances existed in America. As jazz music developed at the start of the 20th century, Black American communities in tandem developed the Charleston and eventually the Lindy Hop by the end of the 1920s. Many cities had regular local competitions such as the Savoy Ballroom which accelerated the development and popularization of the dance. The dances were introduced to wider public through movies and regular performances such as those done at the Cotton Club in New York. An unusual (for the time) feature of the dance was the inclusion of sections where the dancers would move apart from each other and perform individual steps (known ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Teacher
A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. when showing a colleague how to perform a specific task). In some countries, teaching young people of school age may be carried out in an informal setting, such as within the family (homeschooling), rather than in a formal setting such as a school or college. Some other professions may involve a significant amount of teaching (e.g. youth worker, pastor). In most countries, ''formal'' teaching of students is usually carried out by paid professional teachers. This article focuses on those who are ''employed'', as their main role, to teach others in a ''formal'' education context, such as at a school or other place of ''initial'' formal education or training. Duties and functions A teacher's role may vary among cultures. Teachers may prov ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Square Dance Program
A square dance program or square dance list is a set of defined square dance calls or dance steps which are associated with a level of difficulty. Programs and program lists are managed and universally recognized in modern western square dance. Upper-level dance programs include not only square dance calls, but also square dance concepts. CALLERLAB’s program lists CALLERLAB, the International Association of Square Dance Callers, the largest international square dance association manages the most universally recognized of these programs, and currently manages seven dance program lists. There are four main levels, some of which are divided into sublevels: Mainstream, Plus, Advanced (2 sub-levels), Challenge (5 sublevels, the top two levels of which are not managed). In general, the first three levels are more physically active than the challenge level (often referred to as challenge square dance). Challenge square dance is more cerebral and focuses on problem-solving. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Beat (music)
In music and music theory, the beat is the basic unit of time, the pulse (regularly repeating event), of the ''mensural level'' (or ''beat level''). The beat is often defined as the rhythm listeners would tap their toes to when listening to a piece of music, or the numbers a musician counts while performing, though in practice this may be technically incorrect (often the first multiple level). In popular use, ''beat'' can refer to a variety of related concepts, including pulse, tempo, meter, specific rhythms, and groove. Rhythm in music is characterized by a repeating sequence of stressed and unstressed beats (often called "strong" and "weak") and divided into bars organized by time signature and tempo indications. Beats are related to and distinguished from pulse, rhythm (grouping), and meter: Metric levels faster than the beat level are division levels, and slower levels are multiple levels. Beat has always been an important part of music. Some music genres su ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Right And Left Grand
Right and left grand, also known as grand right and left, is a square dance A square dance is a dance for four couples, or eight dancers in total, arranged in a square, with one couple on each side, facing the middle of the square. Square dances contain elements from numerous traditional dances and were first documente ... move in which all eight dancers in the set, moving in a circular fashion, execute a series of four alternating hand pull-bys (right pull by, left pull by, right pull by, left pull by). Men (or gents) travel counter-clockwise around the ring, and ladies travel clockwise. The result is that all dancers end up half way across the set facing the same person they started with. It is perhaps one of the most well-known calls in square dancing along with the " promenade" or the " dosado". Description Dancers should each be facing their partner at the start of the move. If they are not, they should adjust by turning 90 degrees or less to face them. *Each person ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |