Editor’s Page

Welcome to the Winter, 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 continues our coverage of the various ways that area dancers are coping with the continuing COVID interruption. We include photos from activities, such as dancing in David and Mary Jo Webster’s Victor garage and the Grand Squares’ outdoor meet-and-greet at the Stahl’s home in Rush. A particular focus in this issue is on “Virtual Square Dancing”—via the now-familiar Zoom screen.

The RAF’s “Return to Dance” task force has been busy and productive, organizing priorities to focus attention on Safety Guidelines and on helping to bring Virtual (Zoom) Square Dancing (“VSD”) with our local callers into our area. In this issue we feature several articles related to VSD, including tips for dancers who are just getting started with this unfamiliar mode of dancing.

We are also publishing a set of COVID-related Safety Guidelines from the RTD task force for clubs to use as a starting point for their eventual resumption of dancing—courtesy of the Copy Cats and the Silver Squares.

There’s also an important message from Carol Ann Stahl on club insurance that all club leaders should read.

Be sure to look in the Federation section to read the President’s Corner message from RAF presidents, Jeff and Debbie Blood.

Club News

Club news in this issue is limited, since many clubs have suspended activities during the COVID-19 pause. But take a look to see how some are coping with the isolation. Some clubs, such as the Cayuga Cut-Ups have continued to dance by staying conscientious about safety.

Winter Dancing

With gathering size restricted and dance venues closed or not allowing outsiders, it’s unlikely that there will be much dancing until spring at the earliest. Some clubs have sent hopeful schedules, which we have posted in the calendar database. But before you drive to any particular event, it will be best to look at our Breaking News listings (on the RAF Home page: squaredancingrochester.org) and to check with club leaders to make sure it is happening.

One thing that is not shut down is Virtual Square (and Round) Dancing via Zoom! The RAF has scheduled three VSD dances for the first three Fridays of December—December 4, 11, and 18. See more about this—including login information—in the Photos and Features section, and look for the flyer in the Flyers section.

A Virtual Round Dance has not been scheduled yet, the wheels are in motion. Stay tuned!

RAF Website—Breaking News section

With dance schedules torpedoed by COVID-19, the “Breaking News” section 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 under a banner titled “Breaking News” on the RAF Home Page (squaredancingrochester.org).

In addition, for maximum distribution of their messages, clubs should also consider using the “SquareDancingRochester” Facebook page.

In Memoriam

In this issue we sadly say farewell to caller Bill Ryan, who called for many years at the Batavia Silver Stars and the Waterwheel Squares. And farewell also to long-time dancer Carole Kingston, dancing most recently with the Shamrock Squares.

Editorial Comments

Despite there being, at this writing, three apparently effective COVID-19 vaccines poised for approval and distribution, I believe that we are still many months away from safe, regular, in-person dancing.

And when that time comes, we will need to re-assess our approach to recruiting, teaching and retaining new dancers. That path will be an important subject for the RAF Return-To-Dance task force, club leaders and area callers to think through.

Meanwhile, we should all at least try Virtual Dancing via Zoom—which starts locally at 7pm on December 4—see the the flyer and articles in this issue.

The folks working on this locally and across the country over the past few months have sorted out the variables and settled on a format of calls that can be done by two couples—a foursome—without having to imagine any dancers who aren’t there—i.e. without imaginary phantom dancers.

With care and trust, it should be possible for dancers to organize into foursomes to dance in one another’s homes, while maintaining COVID safety in whatever way they agree on. Several foursomes have already started this, reporting it works quite well.

The two-couple calls can also be done by one couple, with imaginary phantom dancers filling the places of the second couple. It sounds difficult, but once you get over the initial distraction of trying to actually imagine the phantoms, it boils down to two things: (1) being somewhat more precise in your own movements and (2) paying attention to where your hands should be so, that they match up with the dancer (or dancers) on either side of you—be they phantom or real. (See the “Dancer Tips” article in this issue for more on this.)

Phantom dancers don’t give hints, so there’s more pressure on the real dancers to know the calls. With animation apps like “Taminations” on your phone or tablet, it’s easy to remind yourself where you should be.

I’ve been participating in VSD with the Pandemic Squares since spring (solo, because Sally isn’t as gung-ho for it as I am). So, I’m dancing with three phantoms. They mess up as much as I do, but there are no complaints and nobody’s toes get crushed. The callers always announce when I should be home, so if I’m someplace else, I just scurry to my home spot to get back in sync.

I encourage everyone to give this a try … starting on December 4 … and to stick with it for a few dances, to get over the initial confusions. To get ready, be sure to read the articles in the Photos and Features section of this issue. (You can copy/paste them, for saving on your device as a stand-alone document, or send me a request by email to Promenader@rochester.rr.com and I’ll reply with the originals.)

Quarterly Chuckle

A Little Lock-down Humor:

Just be careful!

People are going crazy from being in lock-down!

Actually, I’ve just been talking about this over a cup of coffee with the microwave and toaster, and all of us agreed that things are getting bad. I didn’t mention anything to the washing machine, as she puts a different spin on everything. Certainly not to the fridge, as he is acting cold and distant. In the end the iron straightened me out, saying everything will be fine and no situation is too pressing. The hoover was very unsympathetic … told me to just suck it up, but the fan was more optimistic, saying it would all soon blow over! The toilet looked a bit flushed and didn’t say anything when I asked its opinion, but the door knob told me to get a grip. The front door said I was unhinged and so the curtains told me to … yes, you guessed it … pull myself together.

Peter Emmel, Promenader Editor