Jeff's Square Dance Related Articles
These are articles related to Square Dancing that I have written. I recently re-found the original WORD files documents for the olders ones. Most of the newer ones have been copied from my archive of "Australian Callers Federation" newsletter "Callerlink", (which I was editor of for several years). The "date" information is based upon the "last save date" of the original documents. Some of the dates might not be correct, but should be close.
GET-OUTS COOKBOOK (Taken from Callerlink 100 Aug 1993)
Jeff Garbutt
Like most callers, I am always looking for some interesting get-outs to add to my repertoire. Sometimes it is easy to get into a rut and hard to be inventive. In such cases it may help to go back to fundamentals to stimulate the imagination. The following is a suggested approach to "cooking up" get outs.
STEP1: WORK OUT SOME GROUND RULES
The following is an example of the type of "homework", (and thought processes), one needs to do.
Determine Types of Get-outs:
1. Allemande Left Corner
2. Partner get-outs (Swing, Right and Left Grand, Dosado etc)
3. (Direct to) Promenade
4. Return to Home
Determine Set-ups for Get-outs:
(1) For Allemande Get-outs
- Facing Corner
- Adjacent to Corner and
Facing same direction (arrangement = "half sashayed")
Right sides adjacent
(2) Partner Get-outs
- Facing partner
- Adjacent to partner and
Facing same direction (arrangement = normal)
Right sides adjacent
(3) Promenade Get-outs
- Adjacent to partner - both facing anti-clockwise (arrangement = normal)
- Clockwise facing can be used depending upon before and after moves
- Boy at back of girl and both facing anti-clockwise (left hand columns)
(4) Return to home Get-outs
- Many set-ups possible, and Double Pass Thru is possibly the easiest
Get out criteria:
Essential - Sequence state = 1 (All in sequence)
Desirable but not essential - to have all dancers complete the get-out with the same timing
It is not necessary to have all dancers to have all the dancers in the same format
STEP 2: MAKE SOME DECISONS ABOUT THE GET-OUT
(1) Decide on the "next to last" move to be used with the get-out. In this case I will choose "Zoom Back".
(2) Decide on the get-out formation. This must be consistent with the selected "next to last" move. For "Zoom Back" the formation selected is "Double Pass Thru".
(3) Decide on actual "get-out" move, in this case "Allemande Left".
STEP 3: WORK OUT LOCATION OF DANCERS FOR GET-OUT
(1) Work out which arrangement of the formation is going to be the best to match dancers up for the desired get-out.
Arrangement = 0
The centres can easily do an "Allemande Left", but it's not so easy for the outsides.
Arrangement =1/2
The outsides can easily do an "Allemande Left", but it's not so easy for the centres.
Arrangement =4
Centres boys are facing a girl.
Outside boys have a girl on the left
(We'll use this arangement for this example)
(2) Work out placement of dancers within the chosen formation/arrangement scenario.
First, put key man in the picture. Any of the men's spots will do.
Next, put in the key man's partner and corner.
The rest of the dancers will fall into place.
STEP 4: USE "BACK-TRACKING"
TO CREATE THE GET-OUT
Use "Backtracking" to work out the moves and starting point needed to get to the get-out:
Working backwards we have: Allemande Left Zoom Back Cloverleaf Tag the Line Pass Thru L1p (or 1p2p line)
Working forwards, we now have our get-out:
L1p - Pass Thru - Tag the Line - Cloverleaf - Zoom Back - Allemande Left
WHERE TO FROM HERE?
(1) Examine your routine to see if you can derive anything else from it. For example, if we place a "Half Sashay" before the "Tag the Line", we can take out the "Zoom" and use "Cloverleaf" as the "next to last" move.
Example:. L1p - Rollaway - Pass Thru - Tag the Line - Cloverleaf - Allemande Left
(2) Go back to step (4) to create another routine.
Example: L1p - Star Thru - Dive Thru - Centres Rollaway - Zoom Back - Allemande Left
(3) Finally - Take the opportunity to work on your formation awareness by working out the FASR definition of each formation along the way.
EXAMPLES (With next to last move highlighted)
L1p - Ends only Star Thru - Rollaway - Centres Pass Thru - Separate Around 2 to a Line - (L1p) - Allemande Left
B1c - Star Thru - Right and Left Thru - Centres Touch ¼ - Centre Boys Run - Right and Left Thru - All Pass Thru (To a T-Bone) - Allemande Left
B1c - Star Thru - Right and Left Thru - Rollaway - All Star Thru - All Backward Pass Thru - (B1c) Allemande Left
B1c - Veer Left (But be careful to use previous moves allow good flow to "Veer Left") - Couples Circulate - Wheel and Deal - Pass Thru - Centres Star Thru - Pass Thru - Cloverleaf - (B1c) Allemande Left
L1p - Rollaway - Centre 4 Right and Left Thru - Centres Rollaway - Centres Pass Thru - and Cloverleaf (To a T-Bone) - Allemande Left
B1c - Right and Left Thru - Veer Left - Girls Trade - Rollaway - Wheel and Deal - Veer Left - (1/2F1c) Allemande Left
L1p - Ends Only Star Thru - Rollaway - Centres Pass Thru - Separate Around 2 to a Line - (L1p) Allemande Left
L1p - Flutter wheel - Centres Touch ¼ - Centre Boys Run - Centres Flutter wheel - All Pass Thru (To a T-Bone) - Allemande Left
B1c (with outsides at home) - Pass Thru - Trade By - Swing Thru - Boys Trade - All Circulate Once and a Half - Touch ¼ - Boys Run - You're Home
(Note: "All Circulate Once and a Half" was the chosen "next to last" move making "Touch ¼ - Boys Run" the actual get-out. Nobody said that a get-out has to be one move.)
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