INDICATOR ROUTINES (Taken from Callerlink 167 Dec 2004)
Jeff Garbutt

One of the most challenging tasks we do is to run a dance with unfamiliar dancers. When you leave the comfort zone of your own club there are adjustments to be made - for both you and the dancers.

Wouldn't it be nice if you knew the abilities of a group of dancers that you only just met? It would sure make life easier if you knew how far you could go with choreography. Do you have to keep to plain vanilla stuff, can you go all out with DBD, or are they somewhere in the middle?

Well it's a tough ask - I don't think you want to put them through an exam to grade their abilities. But you can use some short indicator routines to get a snapshot of how well dancers will handle your material. 

Here are some examples.

LINE AWARNESS

First, how well can they see lines? Do they need to be holding hands before they can see a line? Or will they accept two adjacent dancers facing in the same direction as a line?
Heads square thru 4 - with the sides square thru 4 - bend the line - square thru 3 - allemande left
Did they easily see where the line was? Or did they get lost? I can be sure that dancers who pass this test are extremely capable.

 

OCEAN WAVE/FACING DANCER RULES

How will they react to starting a square thru from an ocean wave?
Heads pass the ocean - extend - swing thru - spin the top - square thru 4 - trade by - B1c
Was the "square thru" started without hesitation?

NON-NORMAL SET-UPS

How will the dancers re-act to doing moves from a non-normal set up? Will they dance the move, or will they try to "fix something that they thought was wrong"?
B1c - swing thru - boys run - tag the line - face right - wheel and deal - pass thru - right and left grand
Did the dancers maintain "1/2 sashayed couples" during the "wheel and deal"

HOW DO THEY GO WITH SOMETHING NEW?

Are your dancers innovative and willing to extrapolate on what they already know to try something they have never been exposed to before?
Allemande left to Alamo style - swing thru - swing thru - left swing thru - left swing thru to a Left and right grand.
Of course there is no such move as "left and right grand" - but it gives an indicator of how dancers will react to novelty ideas.

ALL 8 CIRCULATE TEST

I also like to know how they will react to "All 8 circulate" from parallel waves. A simple singing call will tell me that.
Singing call - Heads promenade halfway - sides star thru - pass thru - right and left thru - swing thru double - all 8 circulate double - swing - promenade

MORE LINE AWARNESS

"Tag the line" can tell you a lot about your dancers. And "Half tag" can tell you twice as much:
Sides lead right - touch ¼ - walk and dodge - tag the line - face in - touch ¼ - boys run - square thru 3 - allemande left
Did your dancers easily identify the line after the "walk and dodge"? Did they finish up with nice "half sashayed lines" after the "tag the line - face in"?
Heads square thru 4 - slide thru - pass thru - ½ tag - wave - outsides circulate - boys run - bend the line - circle left
Most dancers aren't used to doing ½ tag from anything other than "two faced lines".

CAN THEY SEE FACING COUPLES?

Even a simple "pass the ocean" can tell you much about your dancers - when combined with "square thru":
Heads Square thru 4 - pass the ocean - recycle - sweep a ¼ - B1c
Did your dancers easily see the facing couples after the "square thru".

DO THEY ANTICIPATE?

How well do they really listen before they executive a call? Are they creatures of habit - and just because two calls start out in the same way they will do the one they normally do even if it is the wrong one. And how many dancers will simply follow what the rest of the set is doing, even if they know it is wrong?
B1c - swing thru - boys run - wheel and deal - B1c
How many dancers did "Ferris wheel"?

Remember that these are just short routines designed to give a snapshot of dancer ability. Use them to quickly judge how far you can take your dancers and how to use your choreography. They are not meant to dominate or even intrude too far into the program. 

I'm sure some of you have similar routines I would be interested if you would share them with us.