A individual donation was recently given to Rochester Area Federation (RAF) to start a fund for our callers to assist them with their loss of income during this pandemic.

Even though it is a very generous and wonderful idea, there is no provision in the RAF bylaws to administer it. All donations received by RAF must be deposited in the dancer recruitment & promotion fund.

There have been several conversations among the RAF leadership this past week, trying to figure the best way to proceed. Presently, neither the RAF nor the Caller’s Co-operative of Rochester (CCR) are in a position to fairly administer a donation fund for callers and cuers.

At this time, we are returning the donation and directing anyone interested in donating to their callers, to please do it on an individual basis. You may want to check with your club leadership first, to see if anything is being planned at the club level for your callers.

Please Take Care & Stay Safe,

Debbie & Jeff

Vice-Presidents RAF

Hi Everyone,

We hope you all are well & safe. Even though it’s been a long time since we have danced together, we have great news. The Rochester Area Federation has been busy scheduling the Free Summer Dances and a special October DORish dance, replacing the canceled DOR dance in May.

We are proud to announce we have 52 graduating class members from eight clubs this year. We hope each of the graduates are encouraged to join us on the dance floor ASAP.

The RAF dances being planned are new-graduate-friendly. Our callers are prepared to assist the new graduates as they return to the dance floor. The callers are well aware the classes were at varying stages of completion when all dancing was shut down in mid-March due to the coronavirus.

We have Free Summer Dances planned and a special Saturday afternoon DORish Dance planned in October.

Free Summer Dances

We have three Free Summer Dances scheduled, emphasizing the Mainstream calls, at the Henrietta Fire Hall at 3129 East Henrietta Rd on the following Friday nights starting at 7pm:
• June 26, 2020
• July 17, 2020
• August 7, 2020

Gary Bubel will be calling and Alice Bubel will be cueing, and arrangements for Guest callers are in progress.

DORish Dance

Date: Saturday Oct. 3, 2020.
Time: Dancing will be from 1–5 p.m.
Location: Perinton Recreation Center (PRC) same as previous DOR dances
Two dance halls: A Mainstream Hall, and a Plus/Round Dancing Hall with a wood floor
Three callers: Mike Callahan, Dave Eno, Gil Porter
Two cuers: Jim Gotta, Mark Throne
Dance Ticket Prices: $10 at the door

We’ll have the refreshment room set up with water and hot beverages. We are requesting dancers bring snacks to share. There will be no dinner available at this dance.

We will be having our annual basket raffle. The baskets will be displayed in the small room adjacent to the refreshment room. The annual basket raffle is a key fundraiser for Rochester Area Federation (RAF). It is the main source of funding for the promotion of square & round dancing in the Rochester region.

There will be an RAF program including honoring our 2020 graduates, presenting the 2020 Daphne-Norma Leadership Award, and with drawings for the 50-50 and basket raffles.

(Important: Please let your club leaders know, a week in advance, if you plan to attend this dance. We are not asking for advance reservations, but we will poll clubs on September 28 for an estimate of expected attendance.)

Distance Dancing

We extend a special Thank You to the members and clubs who are actively promoting virtual gatherings. During this time of being sheltered in place, it is a safe fun way to stay connected.

Thanks to Gil Porter, Brenda Bixby and Peter Emmel for arranging the weekly Wednesday night virtual square dances: Pandemic Squares. We have enjoyed it while discovering dancing with ghosts (or phantoms) is more challenging than you would think. It is the closest we will be getting to a dance floor in the up coming weeks and appreciate the opportunity to dance very much.

We also know of several clubs that are getting together frequently or weekly on Zoom. We all appreciate everyone’s efforts to help our square dance members stay connected. It is so much fun to see each other and know that our square dance friends are doing well.

Please be assured, for all upcoming dances, the RAF will be following the current established CDC and Monroe County safety protocols.

Debbie & Jeff Blood, Vice Presidents RAF and Co-Chairs DOR

One of my favorite sources of information Rochester’s Square Dancing history is Sally Baechle. She and her husband, Walt, started square dancing in the early seventies, and over the succeeding decades they became leaders and promoters at all levels.

She recently loaned me a copy of the official program from DOR 1973. Yes, in those days DOR had a printed program! It had a cover and 12 internal pages, half of which were devoted to dance information and half were ads.

DOR 1973 was held at RIT, in the athletics building. Sally doesn’t recall how many dancers attended, but the schedule shows three gyms and the ice rink and lists four national callers (John Hendron, Kip Garvey, Bob Brundage and Bud Redmond) along with two national cuers (Phil and Norma Roberts).

Dancing started at 2pm and lasted until midnight, with a two-hour dinner break. As now, there was dancing during the dinner break—in this case with local callers. The program lists Ken Boss, Stan Levandoski, Ed Butenhof, Chip Kellogg, Jerry Carmen and Chuck Prister. (See the obituary of Chuck’s wife, Gerry, in this issue.) All of these callers are pictured in the program, along with other Callers Co-Op members—notably including Mike Callahan, Jerry and Betty Carmen, and Bob Ellis.

I’ve included the schedule pages from the program with this article, but I encourage you to take a look at the complete Program in a more readable (PDF) format by following this link: http://squaredancingrochester.org/png/202006-DOR-Program.pdf

One interesting page you’ll find in the full program gives the history of Dance-O-Rama up to the 1973 edition. The first DOR took place in 1959, at Cutler Union on University Avenue. I think it’s fascinating to look through this window to the past and imagine all the folks who came before us and enjoyed the friendships of square dancing.

It’s especially motivating to see the names of the many who invested their time in helping organize events like DOR. For each of those listed as DOR organizers, there were many more who contributed by organizing club dances and recruiting new dancers. Thank you, Sally Baechle for sharing these memories and reminding us of the legacy we have inherited!

Submitted by Peter Emmel

(The following story about Henry Ford—yes, the automobile magnate from Michigan—appeared in the March, 2020, issue of American Square Dancing. It was in the  “Moore Thoughts” column by Paul Moore, and is reproduced here with permission.)

In 1923, Henry Ford visited the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where he participated in the regular dance program of gavotte, the schottische, minuet, and the Virginia Reel led by Benjamin B. Lovett. Ford enjoyed the program so much he offered Lovett a regular job to teach dancing and to train new leaders in Dearborn, Michigan. Lovett turned down the offer because he was contracted to the Wayside Inn. Ford, who had a personal fortune of twenty billion dollars (in 1920’s dollars), simply bought the Wayside Inn and Lovett’s contract. The contract was rewritten for Lovett to come to Dearborn for two months—he stayed for twenty-six years. During the depression of the 1930s, Lovett was paid $12,000 per year, plus a new Lincoln every year, a home, most of his meals and all of his transportation costs. Ford and Lovett used the situation to promote American Square Dancing. Two hundred dancing instructors were invited to Dearborn to learn how to dance and to call the Virginia Reel. Lovett was also instructed to start a program for Dearborn public school children. The dances that Lovett taught were regularly printed in newspapers nation-wide. Every Sunday, Lovett would travel to Chicago to call live on the radio the dances that had been printed in newspapers the previous week—with separate broadcasts to account for eastern and western time zones. [see Editor’s note below]

Benjamin Lovett became so busy that he had to train new dance teachers. He developed a minimum staff of twelve to fourteen dance instructors to help him with his ever-increasing workload. The program kept expanding due to the generosity of Mr. Ford. Any school district that wanted a dance program merely had to contact Benjamin Lovett, Mr. Ford would write a check from his personal account, and Lovett or one of his instructors would be sent to that school. Lovett, again sponsored by Henry Ford, was responsible for bringing square dancing and ballroom dancing to thirty-four institutions of higher learning, among them Radcliffe College, Stevens College, Temple University, University of Michigan, University of North Carolina and the University of Georgia—with no charge to these universities.

Because square dancing took more space than ballroom dancing, Ford built a dance hall in Greenfield Village, site of the Henry Ford museum. It was beautifully decorated with chandeliers and had a hardwood floor that would hold approximately forty squares of dancers. Ford even hired one man, full-time, to polish the floor daily, whether the floor had been used or not.

In 1926, Henry Ford published an excellent book on American Square Dancing entitled  “Good Morning.” The title page states:  “After a sleep of twenty-five years, old fashioned dancing is being revived by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford.” In the archives of the Henry Ford Museum, several written accounts of former executives report that Mr. Ford invited all of his executives to take lessons in early American Square Dancing. He was quick to tell them that he wanted them to take these lessons of their own free will, and not be under any pressure. However, an invitation from Mr. Ford was tantamount to a command from royalty.

Benjamin Lovett was a strong leader in early American Square Dancing. He was the personification of a gentleman. Regardless of the fact that most of his dancers were people of great wealth and position, he told them what they were to wear and what they were not to wear.

He insisted that the ladies wear formal dresses and corsages. Men were told that they were to wear dark suits. The ladies were instructed that they never were to cross their legs at the knees, but only at the ankles. And no one could cross directly across the dance floor except Mr. Ford.

When Ford passed away, Lovett could no longer afford the promotion of square dancing. In 1949 he announced his retirement and he left Michigan, never to be seen there again. He died in Massachusetts in 1951.

Editor’s note:

According to Wikipedia, the National Barn Dance was broadcast by WLS-AM in Chicago, Illinois, starting in 1924. It was one of the first American country music radio programs, and a direct precursor of Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry. After 44 years, the show aired its final Barn Dance in 1968.

Transcribed by Peter Emmel

The coronavirus pandemic has forced most of us apart and indoors, but that doesn’t mean we have to stop dancing!

In normal times, dancing is good exercise and it keeps us in touch with our friends. Now, in the isolation of  “social distancing” we need those things more than ever.

A few adventuresome callers and dancers are filling this unexpected gap by harnessing video conferencing technology. One of these pioneers—the Pandemic Squares—was organized by Brenda Bixby, with Gil Porter calling. They dance at 8pm on Wednesdays. Contact Brenda at brendabixby152@gmail.com for login information.

Early  “Zoom Dances” are identifying what works and what doesn’t. In this edition of the Tip Sheet, we’ll list some of the key Dos and Don’ts.

First a few basics. What we are talking about is a type of internet application (app) that runs on any internet device, be it a computer, laptop, tablet or smart phone. It uses the camera and the microphone in your device to bring your live image and voice to the screens of all the others who are participating in the same session.

Images from the other participants are simultaneously displayed in a grid array on your screen, and audio from their microphones plays through your speakers. So, you can all see and hear one another at the same time.

In distance dancing, a caller in the same session plays music and calls tips, while the other participants listen and dance in front of their devices, usually in pairs or singles. To keep ambient sounds of dancers from disrupting the music and calls, the  “host” mutes all but the caller’s audio during each tip, then un-mutes everyone for conversation between tips.

This is a great way to keep dancing in these housebound times, but it poses special challenges for the caller and for dancers. For one thing, the caller doesn’t get the feedback of seeing squares of dancers on the floor. Also, the dancers have to interact with imaginary “ghost” dancers for most of the calls.

This is more fun than you might think, and even if you are skeptical, there’s no harm in trying it. Keep in mind that  “dancing is friendship set to music,” and remember that the alternative to this is to sit at home in isolation!

One good aspect of dancing this way is that ghosts don’t roll their eyes and make you feel bad it if you break down their square—at least I’ve yet to hear one complain!

Following are a few tips to help you get up to speed on this new mode of dancing.

Do:

• Take some time in advance of the session to set up your device and dance area so that you are happy with the view seen by the camera. (Use an app like FaceTime to see your image and adjust the aiming.)

• Set your internet device in a place where you can dance in front of it on a hard floor. You’ll need, at minimum, an area of about 6 feet square, with its front edge about 4 feet in front of your device.

• Set your device on a countertop or a table, maybe on a box or a cushion, to get it about waist high, and aim the camera slightly (but not too far) above horizontal.

• Mute your microphone. Sounds you make while dancing can interfere with the caller’s audio and the music. The caller might ask for comments after each tune. Then you can un-mute to ask questions & talk with friends. (The host often takes care of this.)

• Imagine there is one ghost couple in their normal place opposite you or beside you, or wherever they should be for the configuration you are in. For example, in an Ocean Wave with you and your partner facing the same way, you will be holding hands with a ghost between you facing the opposite way—and one of you will be holding a different ghost with their other hand as well. (See accompanying diagrams for typical configurations.)

• Note that, since most moves will be do-able as a box of four, you can do this with only one ghost couple, i.e., you don’t have to imagine three other couples. Callers will (hopefully) avoid full-square calls such as Grand Square, Load the Boat and Relay the Deucey.

Don’t:

• Don’t worry about getting everything right. This is new to everybody and all are learning how to dance with ghosts. Also, most folks are so focused on their own dancing that they are not watching you, so nobody knows if you are doing what the caller is calling or doing your own variations on it.

Submitted by Peter Emmel

Just before the cusp of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown, Cloverleaf Squares held an event for their fiftieth anniversary. 530 invitations were mailed out. 130 people registered to attend, and 126 signed up for dinner. Nancy Tompkins headed the planning committee to find a venue, arrange for the menu, and manage the mailing list. People were looking forward to the dance and reunion. But there began to be a concern about the possibility of spreading or receiving the virus. Happy with the health safety commitment of the venue, the Diplomat Banquet Center, Cloverleaf Squares decided to hold the dance after all.

And what a ball did they have! Current and former members gathered for dinner and a dance. Although Mike Callahan was not able to fly during this time, Dave Eno took his place as the dance caller. Linda Liberti was already in the area from Arizona and was able to lead them in round dancing. In attendance were former members such as Bob Sponable, our 1970 club president, and Ann Crowley-Hash, an original class member.

Take a look at all of their pictures on the Cloverleafs’ website at http://www.cloverleafsquares.org/Pictures.htm. You will see old friends, Rochester area dancers, and new dancers. There are pictures of dancing, and eating, and visiting. Their anniversary dance and dinner was a hit. Is it time to plan for their 100th anniversary?

Photos by Anne Marie Ingrassia and Carl Webster

Submitted by Carl Webster

At its April 2 meeting, the Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dance Clubs (RAF) elected its officers for the coming season (July 1, 2020, thru June 30, 2021):

Presidents—Debbie Blood and Jeff Blood

Vice Presidents—Ann Granger and Sue Sepkowski

Secretaries—(open—seeking willing volunteer—couple or single)

Treasurers—(continuing) Rick LaDonna and Donna LaDonna

Promotion Coordinators—(continuing) Amy Aeckerle and Kris Aeckerle

Thank you to those out-going officers who served for the past year, Jim Gotta (President 3 yrs) and Gary & Lorraine Granath (Secretaries 2 yrs), and to those who have stepped up, or re-upped, for the coming year. We look forward to “interesting” times, as the entire dancing community—dancers, clubs and callers—learns to navigate the challenging terrain of the coronavirus pandemic. These folks will be looking to facilitate the return to dancing in our area as safely and as soon as possible. (Please read Jim Gotta’s “President’s Corner” message in the Federation section of this website.)

In addition to electing its 2020–21 officers, the RAF board carried out a mandated periodic review of its By-Laws. A final vote on adoption of revisions was tabled until the next meeting, on September 9, in order to incorporate final details. Besides clarifying operational and organizational features, the By-Law revision reinforces the RAF’s dual purpose:

• to promote and maintain interest in western-style round & square dancing in the Rochester area, and
• to foster a collaborative spirit among affiliated square dance and round dance clubs.

Every RAF club is urged to send a representative to every RAF meeting. Meetings are held nine times each year, in-person at Bill Grays of Henrietta, or lately online via call-in or Zoom video. The accompanying photo is from the May 12 Zoom meeting.

These meetings address the following areas of RAF responsibility:

• Marketing and coordinating promotional activities with RAF clubs
• Arrangements for RAF events, including Dance O Rama and other multi-club events
• Grants and reimbursements for your club’s dancer recruiting and retention efforts
• Dancer insurance for every member club
• Any issues with the RAF website (schedules and listings) or the Promenader (news, photos and articles)

RAF officers are all dancers, just like you. If your club is not represented at these meetings, please consider volunteering to become your club’s RAF representative!

Submitted by Peter Emmel

In these times of forced separation, many area dancers are “getting together” via internet video. Three that I know of are pictured here. They are the combined Belles ’N’ Beaus and Silver Squares (Mondays at 6:30pm), the Village Squares (Wednesdays at 7pm) and the Pandemic Squares (Wednesdays at 8pm).

The first two of these are social gatherings, to say hello and catch up with square dancing friends. Joining is easy from a smart phone, tablet or computer. You can also call in from any phone, but a few have had trouble with passwords by phone.

The Pandemic Squares, organized by Brenda Bixby, with caller Gil Porter, includes actual dancing! Yes, we can dance “together” while we are all in our own homes. The Zoom video conference platform makes this relatively easy—well, I mean the connection is easy. The dancing takes some getting used to—and some imagination.

Elsewhere in this issue you’ll find a “Distance Dancing” installment of the Tip Sheet. The challenge for dancers is to imagine the “ghost” (or “phantom”) dancers in your set. A set consists of two couples in a box of four. In our COVID stay-at-home state, that means we each have to imagine the other couple—or if we are dancing solo, we also have to imagine our partner.

The best thing is that phantoms don’t complain when we screw up! (Scroll to the Tip Sheet for guidance on getting started dancing with ghosts.)

Another way that dancers are getting together is by taking coordinated walks in area parks. Don Felice and others have organized walks in Highland Park and Durand Eastman, and maybe others. With appropriate protection (i.e. masks and distancing) there’s no reason that these can’t be safe and enjoyable—especially now that the weather seems have finally turned the corner to spring.

If you would like to be included in any of these activities, send email identifying which event(s) you are interested in to promenader@rochester.rr.com and we will forward to the appropriate organizer.

Submitted by Peter Emmel

Remember that insurance for graduates covers only nine months of class lessons—originally September (2019) thru May (2020). However, that was before COVID took over and dancing was interrupted in March, cutting off 3 months of classes.

When dancing resumes, if you decide to do any make-up classes—during the summer, or fall, or whenever dancing resumes—these “graduates” can remain covered, but ONLY IF you apply for an extension by sending me the following three dates:

• the date of your first class (Fall, 2019), and
• the date of your last class before the pause and
• the date you are resuming classes.

For most clubs, this will allow you three additional months of coverage—i.e. for the summer—and it will give clubs a chance to see if dancers continue.

The fee for insuring each new club dancer is the same—$4.80 per person with a check made out to USDA and mailed to me. My address is 350 Fishell Road, Rush, N.Y. 14543.

To request an extension of coverage, please email me the above information and I will notify USDA for each club.

Carol Ann Stahl, insurance coordinator (stahlsinrush@rochester.rr.com)