Editor’s Page

Welcome to the Summer, 2020 issue of the Promenader—a quarterly publication of the Rochester Area Federation of Round and Square Dance Clubs. (squaredancingrochester.org)

In this issue

The “Photos & Features” section of this issue includes article on the Cloverleaf Squares’ 50th Anniversary Dance, held mid-March—the last major dancing event before COVID took over. Other articles in this issue look back to earlier times—Dance-O-Rama 1973, and further back to the 1920s, when a resurgence of square dancing instigated by none other than Henry Ford brought it “out of the barn and into the ballroom!”

In an unexpected twist, this issue introduces “distance dancing” where dancers and caller are only together on one another’s video screens. We present two clubs who are gathering weekly by Zoom video, and one new club—“the Pandemic Squares” who are dancing by video.

The Tip Sheet in this issue provides advice and graphics to help “distance dancers” visualize the “ghost” dancers in their “virtual” square. This is the key to dancing at home, when the rest of the real dancers are on our video screen.

The summer Promenader also includes RAF business. We thank Jim Gotta and the other out-going RAF officers, Gary and Lorraine Granath for their multi-term service, and we introduce new Federation officers, who will assume their posts at the end of June. We include a note to club leaders from RAF Insurance Coordinator, Carol Ann Stahl. She is offering an option to make up for three lost months of unused class dancer coverage, due to New York’s COVID Pause. RAF Vice Presidents (and incoming Presidents), Debbie and Jeff Blood, bring us up to date on summer dancing and a “DOR-ish” dance planned for fall.

Be sure to read Jim Gotta’s President’s Corner message in the “Federation” pages of this website. He has done our area an important service by serving three terms as RAF president. His insightful comments in this issue provide a glimpse of the possible future of square dancing, at least in the short term, as this virus does its dreadful work over the next many months, and possibly years.

Club News

Club news in this issue is very limited, since many clubs have suspended activities during the statewide COVID-19 pause.

Summer Dancing

The RAF Promotions Committee, led by Amy and Kris Aeckerle, has planned a series of three Friday night “class-dancer-friendly” dances to be held from 7 to 9pm (regulations permitting) at the Henrietta Fire Hall in June, July and August. Check the Breaking News section (and the RAF Facebook page) for announcements about the status of these dances, as COVID conditions evolve. See further details in the “Photos and Features” section.

DOR-ish Dance

Since Dance-O-Rama 2020 had to be canceled, Jeff and Debbie and the rest of the RAF board have organized a “DOR-ish” dance for October 3. The event will be held at the Perinton Recreation Center (same as DOR), and will include many of the features that are usually part of Dance-O-Rama. See their article in the “Photos and Features” section for further details.

RAF Website

With all dance schedules torpedoed by COVID-19, the “Breaking News” feature on the RAF Home Page is our primary repository of up to date schedule information. When clubs notify Sidney Marshall (RAF Webmaster—sidneym@frontiernet.net) of a schedule change or other short-notice announcement, he posts it immediately on the RAF Home Page (squaredancingrochester.org), under a banner titled “Breaking News.”

For maximum distribution of their messages, clubs should use this, in addition to the “SquareDancingRochester” Facebook page.

In Memoriam

In this issue we sadly say farewell to Gerry (Prister) Bolton, Mary Salvione and Joy Mulhern.

Editorial Comments

My own opinion is that Jim is on the right track in imagining ways to incorporate more dancing into the “distancing” that will be with us for quite some time.

Official policy may relax, and it may later re-tighten, until either enough of us have been infected or there are effective medical options. It’s too soon to predict how, or when, all this will sort out for square dancing. Meanwhile, as dancers we should make our own decisions about protecting ourselves and our dancing friends.

While infection is a near and present danger, dancing will be a dangerous activity for many us. Until we have an effective treatment option and preferably also a vaccine, or at least a way to know with confidence that there is nobody in the dance hall spreading contagion, it will not be safe for so many of us to be in such close contact for so much time as we are at a dance.

Those organizing dance events should stay in close touch with the dancers they are planning for. Talk to each of them and make sure that your arrangements provide the security they need. We are all responsible for our own safety and for the safety of others. Until enough dancers can confidently gather in person, we will need to continue to find creative ways to dance at some distance.

Let’s take that as our challenge—for experienced dancers as well as those whose classes were interrupted in March. Jim’s ideas are a good start in that direction.

Quarterly Chuckle

Homographs are words that are spelled the same, but have different meanings.

A homograph that is also pronounced differently is a heteronym. English has a bewildering abundance of both:

• The bandage was *wound* around the *wound*
• On a farm, you *produce* *produce*
• The dump was so full that it had to *refuse* to accept any more *refuse*
• We must *polish* the *Polish* furniture
• He could *lead* if only he would get the *lead* out
• The soldier in the *desert* had to *desert* his dessert
• Since there is no time like the *present,* he thought it was time to *present* the *present*
• A *bass* was painted on the head of the *bass* drum
• When shot at, the *dove* *dove* into the bushes
• I did not *object* to the *object*
• The insurance for the *invalid* turned out to be *invalid*
• There was a *row* among the oarsmen about how to *row* the boat
• They were too *close* to the door to *close* it properly
• A buck *does* funny things when the *does* are present
• A seamstress and her fellow *sewer* fell down into a *sewer*
• To help with planting, the farmer taught his *sow* to *sow*
• The *wind* was too strong for the crew to *wind* the sail
• The artist shed a *tear* upon noticing a *tear* in the canvas
• I had to *subject* the *subject* to a long series of tests
• How can I *intimate* such sad news to my most *intimate* friend?

Peter Emmel, Promenader Editor