Wednesday Nights 7PM — Monroe Hall — 1400 W. College Ave.

Class Information

The Singles and Pairs started a new beginners' square dance class on Saturday afternoons in February of 2023.

Under "Calls Covered," below, we will post the schedule covered by our class. The calls which have been taught in the class, week by week, will be listed, with the most recent week at the top of the list. Each call, where available, is linked to the Taminations animation for that call on the Tam Twirlers Square Dance Club's website.

Information For Class Members

Information for Angels

Angels are club members who help during the class

Calls Covered

Each week, the calls covered in the class session will be posted in this section. Wherever possible, each call will be linked to an animation (or TAMination) on the website of the Marin County Tam Twirlers square dance club. You can see how the call works by clicking on the link.
(Many thanks to Brad Christie of the Tam Twirlers for his extensive work on the TAMinations, and for making them available to be linked from other websites!)

If you want to look ahead, our caller's lesson plan for the first 12 weeks is available here.
(Plan is subject to change depending on how receptive the class is on a given night, phase of the moon, etc.)

The most recent class session will always be at the top of the list.

Class Started February, 2023
2023-11-08 (Session 32)	Dixie Grand Spin Chain And Exchange The Gears
2023-11-01 (Session 31)	Chase Right Cut The Diamond
2023-10-25 (Session 30)	Grand Swing Thru Single Circle To A Wave
2023-10-11 (Session 29)	Flip The Diamond Relay The Deucey
2023-10-04 (Session 28)	Explode And...(anything) Explode The Wave Diamonds, Diamond Circulate
2023-09-27 (Session 27)	Follow Your Neighbor Crossfire
2023-09-13 (Session 26)	Track 2 (anything) And Roll Triple Scoot
2023-09-06 (Session 25)	Spin Chain The Gears Trade The Wave
2023-08-30 (Session 24)	Teacup Chain (Head Ladies Center, Side Ladies Right) Extend (from waves, 3/4 tag, etc.)
2023-08-23 (Session 23)	Load The Boat Linear Cycle
2023-08-16 (Session 22)	(Anything and) Spread Peel The Top Grand Teacup Chain (All 4 Ladies Right)
2023-08-09 (Session 21)	Fan The Top Peel Off Coordinate
2023-08-02 (Session 20)	Ping Pong Circulate Acey Deucey Grand Teacup Chain (All 4 Ladies Center) (Listed as "All Ladies Center, Teacup Chain" in Taminations)
2023-07-26 (Session 19)	Review completed Mainstream calls
2023-07-19 (Session 18)	Dixie Style To An Ocean Wave Spin Chain Thru (CALLERLAB Mainstream program completed)
2023-07-12 (Session 17)	Walk And Dodge Spin The Top All 8 Spin The Top
2023-06-28 (Session 16)	Slip The Clutch Eight Chain Thru / Eight Chain n Pass To The Center
2023-06-14 (Session 15)	Allemande Thar / Allemande Left to an Allemande Thar / Wrong Way Thar Shoot The Star Cloverleaf Turn Thru
2023-06-07 (Session 14)	Walk Around Corner / Left Hand Lady, See Saw the Taw/Partner Do Paso Some styling techniques, including Ladies' skirtwork (esp. on Courtesy Turns and Ladies Chains) Buzz-step swing Alterntive promenade styling, including "Skirt-Skater" Waist-swing Do Sa Do (or "hi-di-ho")
2023-05-31	Review and dance SSD calls. No new calls taught.
	Class changes to Wednesday nights, 7:00 to 8:40
2023-05-20 (Session 13)	Recycle CALLERLAB SSD list completed.
2023-05-06 (Session 12)	Tag The Line / Half Tag Scoot Back
2023-04-29 (Session 11)	Box the Gnat Fold (Boys/Girls/ends/centers) Cross Fold (ends/centers) Hinge (Single Hinge) Half Sashay Split/Box Circulate (in Taminations, scroll down to 'Split Circulate')
2023-04-22 (Session 10)	Ferris Wheel Trade By Touch 1/4 -and- Left Touch 1/4 Single File (Column) Circulate (on Taminations, scroll down to 'column' at end of circulates) Facing Couples Rule (Swing Thru from facing couples)
2023-04-15 (Session 9)	Zoom Cross Run (in Taminations, scroll down to 'Centers Cross Run') Cast Off 3/4 (waves, lines facing out) Centers In
2023-04-08 (Session 8)	Partner Trade (on Taminations, scroll down Trade list to 'Partner Trade from couples facing out') Pass the Ocean Extend (from 1/4 tag) Circle to a Line
2023-04-01 (Session 7)	Alamo Ring / Alamo Style Swing Thru / Left Swing Thru Step to a Wave / DoSaDo to a Wave Boys/Girls Run (from center to end) Boys/Girls/All 8 Circulate from Right-hand Ocean Waves
2023-03-25 (Session 6)	Wheel & Deal (lines facing out) First Couple Go Left/Right, Next Couple Go Right/Left, To A Line Separate around two, swing at home around two to a line around one, come into the middle around one to a line around one, face down the middle Split the Outside Couple Lead Right / Left
2023-03-18 (Session 5)	Couples Circulate (note: scroll down the list of applications on the left!) Flutterwheel / Reverse Flutterwheel Sweep 1/4 Wheel & Deal (2-faced lines)
2023-03-011 (Session 4)	Square Thru (1, 2, 3, 4 hands) Veer Left/Right (from facing couples) Trade (Girls/Boys in 2-faced line) Chain Down The Line (note: look down the list of applications on the left!)
2023-03-04 (Session 3)	Rollaway California Twirl Dive Thru Slide Thru Square Thru (1 hand only)
2023-02-25 (Session 2)	Face In/Out/Right/Left Double Pass Thru Bend the Line (Lines facing out) Star Thru Right & Left Thru Grand Square Star Promenade Backtrack (Girls, from Star Promenade and Single-File Promenade)
2023-02-18 (Session 1)	Dancer Naming / Square Identification Circle Left/Right Allemande Left/Right (Arm Turns) DoSaDo Swing Promenade (Couples, outside, full and 1/2) Forward & Back Right & Left Grand Pass Thru U-Turn Back Wheel Around Courtesy Turn 2 Ladies Chain / 4 Ladies Chain (across and 3/4) Ladies In, Men Sashay Right / Left-Hand Stars Face In/Out/Right/Left

Class Resources

Here are some additional materials which may be of help to class members:

Printed Materials

Basic, Mainstream and Plus handbooks

These booklets were originally published by the Sets In Order American Square Dance Society, and were later updated by American Square Dance magazine after SIO faded away. They contain: (1) the written definition/description for each call, (2) diagrams showing the movement of each dancer through the call, and (3) photographs of actual dancers performing the call. Very helpful for visual learners.

Our caller generally has copies of these available at his cost after the first few weeks of class. They can also be ordered from the website www.hiltonaudio.com. This website is a well-respected provider of supplies for callers. They are a reputable organization, and it is safe to order from them online.

Definitions and Call Lists

The official written definitions of the Basic/Mainstream and Plus calls can be downloaded for free from the Dance Programs area of the CALLERLAB website. The same areas will have listings of the calls in each program, without definitions.

(Note: the full CALLERLAB definitions can be dry and very technical! For the Basic/Mainstream program, there is also an "Abbreviated Definitions" document which is more readable.)

Videos

The Saddlebrooke Squares of Tucson, AZ have made a series of instructional videos available for free viewing on the Internet. They've been criticized for not completely following the official CALLERLAB definitions, but they may still be of help to some people. They can be found at videosquaredancelessons.com/lessons/ and can also be ordered on DVD.

More recently, a group called the Traveling Hoedowners has introduced a set of instructional DVDs. These can be purchased from (and samples viewed at) their website.

Online Call Animations

The Tam Twirlers' TAMinations were mentioned above, and our list of calls taught each week has links to their website, www.tamtwirlers.org. A Taminations app is also available for iPhones and Android devices, from the Apple app store and the Google Play store.

If you have a computer that does not support the TAMinations for some reason, there are a number of other websites on the Internet which provide alternative animations of dancers executing calls. Probably the best-known such collection is Noriko Takahashi's GIF animations from Japan. They should work on any computer, as just about all web browsers support animated GIF images: