Square Dance Tutorial

Guided Tour of A-1

Table of Contents
Introduction
Formations and Positions
Same But Different
Not All That Different
Grand
Concepts
New But Simple to Describe
New Big Calls
Where to Go From Here
Tutorials Home
 

1.1: THE A-1 PROGRAM

Basic
Mainstream
Plus
A-1
A-2
C-1
C-2
C-3A
C-3B
C-4
CALLERLAB defines the programs of Modern Western Square Dancing so that different dancers will have an opportunity to dance and learn at a level of complexity that matches their interests and abilities. Each program includes all the preceding ones, and it is recommended that dancers be very familiar with one program before attempting to learn the next. How long that takes is a very individual thing -- and of course there is no need to learn another program at all unless you are interested.

The entry-level program is Basic, which includes about 50 calls. Mainstream adds about 20 more calls, for a total of 70. Plus adds about 30 more calls, for a total of 100. (All of these counts are approximate, because different lists count some variations as separate calls while others consider them just different cases of the same call.)

There are two Advanced programs -- A-1 and A-2. A-1 adds about 45 calls. A-2 adds about 30 more, for a total of about 175 for all of Basic, Mainstream, Plus, and Advanced together.

Of the calls in A-1, more than half are very similar to ones that you already know from earlier programs. They use the same kinds of actions and require the same kinds of knowledge -- they simply use the same pieces in a different way. There are other calls that involve new ideas. There are only four "big" calls. There are two "concepts" which involves applying calls you already know in a new way.

This guide will go through these categories and provide an overview of the calls in all of these categories.

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