Class Resources

This is a listing of additional learning materials available for people in the classes I teach.

Printed Materials

Basic, Mainstream and Plus Handbooks

Originally published by the Sets In Order American Square Dance Society, later updated by American Square Dance magazine. They contain: (1) the written definition/description for each call, (2) diagrams showing the movement of each dancer through the call, and (3) photographs of actual dancers performing the call. Very helpful for visual learners.

I generally have copies of these available at my cost. They can also be ordered from the website www.dosado.com/music – look for “Square Dance Publications.” This is the website of Hanhurst's Tape and Record Service, a well-respected provider of supplies for callers. They are a reputable organization, and it is safe to order from them online.

Definitions and Call Lists

The official written definitions of the Mainstream and Plus calls can be downloaded for free from the CALLERLAB website. The address www.callerlab.org/goto/mainstream will take you to the area for the Mainstream program – look for the definitions (currently a 750K PDF file). Similarly, www.callerlab.org/goto/plus will take you to the area for the Plus program, and www.callerlab.org/goto/advanced will take you to the Advanced area.

Vic Ceder's website also has Plus and Advanced definitions available for viewing online. Go to www.ceder.net/def/. Vic's site also sells the Ceder Chest series of publications that contain both definitions and learning tips for Advanced and Challenge levels.

Teaching List

While you can get lists of the Basic, Mainstream and Plus calls from the above publications (or get just the lists from the CALLERLAB website), the order in which I teach the calls is sometimes very different from those lists. I have my teaching order broken down into a week-by-week lesson plan, and you can view it here:

www.loj.name/teach_order_2008.htm

NOTE: I sometimes have to adjust the number of calls taught on a given night. In such a case, one or more calls may be pushed down to the next week, causing a ripple effect down the list.

Videos

Both R & R Video (www.randrvideocorp.com) and Gold Star Video Productions have Basic, Mainstream and Plus teaching videos available. They are available both on VHS tape and DVD. R&R's website does not have the capability of ordering online – you'll have to phone or email them to actually place an order. Gold Star's videos can be ordered from Hanhurst's website (www.dosado.com/music) – just look for “Gold Star Video.”

The Saddlebrooke Squares of Tucson, AZ have also made a series of instructional videos available for free viewing on the Internet. They've been criticized for not completely following the official CALLERLAB definitions, but they may still be of help to some people. They can be found at www.saddlebrookesquares.com/lessons.htm

More recently, a group called the Traveling Hoedowners has introduced a set of instructional DVDs. These can be purchased from (and samples viewed at) their website.

Online Call Animations

There are several websites on the Internet which provide free moving animations of dancers executing various calls. A couple of them are:

Noriko Takahashi's GIF animations from Japan

www.bekkoame.ne.jp/%7Enoriks/ENGLISH/English-Index2.html

Tam Twirlers' TAMinations

http://tamtwirlers.org/tamination/index.html

Page last updated: Wednesday 2020-04-29 13:06 MST

Designed and constructed by Lawrence O. Johnstone
using Kazé's and Jan Fiala's

Web hosting by