August 2005 Blog Rick Hampton Square Dance Caller

Thursday 8/11/2005
It's 1 am again and I'm still up. I called for Mountain Squares tonite and all agreed that the demo of last Sunday was a HUGE success.
One of BIGGEST reasons ALL Agreed it was successful was we did NOT wear the s/d foo-foo clothes. In fact if we had been dumb enough to require s/d attire then our 2 teenage girl dancers (Who are very popular Cheerleaders at the High School) would have not been able to dance- and I don't think so MANY of their peers would have asked for info and free lesson coupons had they not been dancing. I never cease to be astonished at the folks who are so hung up on "traditional attire" (A reflection of what ladies could buy at Penneys and sears in the late 50's-60's when it started) Many of these folks have only been dancing a few years and have been told "this is how we do it" "This is What we wear"- Ask yourself how many people who were in your class are still dancing? Could this (along with Politics and bringing food weekly and the rest of the stuff that's not dancing have something to do with it?) Well later today
I'll be doing a demo for the Visalia gang and I really hope that they follow my suggestion to leave the pettipants and ^%$^%$ at home, I'd rather see 10 squares of folks in CLEAN, CASUAL and COVERING attire than a couple of squares in the Traditional-By the way I strongly feel s/d attire is NEVER INAPPROPRIATE, It's often very pretty and MANY who are not forced into it eventually CHOOSE it!!
Lastly- Ever been at a dance with the Smelly, Dirty Couple in S/D attire?-It happens quite often! Bye For Now -Email your Thoughts
Rick

Friday 8/12/05
It seems that the "Dress Code" is a hot topic- Some of you asked "What is appropriate attire"-Good Question- I see the "traditional attire" which is The long sleeved Shirt for Men and Dress and petticoat for women being what MANY clubs consider "appropriate:" I dont see much feedback from actual DANCERS that supports this mandate- Here's the common responses from many emails.

Regarding our image as presented by the Tonight show-This one sums up the feelings-The Leno (Show) couldn't have done more to hurt square dancing and make fun of the activity. On the other hand the people gave him reasons to be made fun of.- I have to disagree that this HURT our image-The Tonight Show PARODIES many aspects of American Life and I'm GLAD that s/d finally got noticed by a Network. (and the thousands of viewers)- The fact that the people gave him reasons to be parodied is TRUE.

Regarding the dress code , politics and How many Still dance from your class-This one hits the nail on the head.

Continue offering your random thoughts.

Here's some comments from My Poll

We have been dancing since 1974 and tired of the petty coats that are so hard to get around in, in a square. We think it should be optional on what to wear but we do not think that shorts and t-shirts are not appropriate unless in a workshop.

If people want to square dance but are uncomfortable in certain clothing, I have no problem with that. I do think a person's clothing should be less casual for a dance than a workshop.

Sandpipers Square Dance Club encourages casual attire during the hot summer months by having dance themes such as Hawaiian Night or a T's and Shorts Dance. Other theme dances during the year would be costumes for Halloween or a Roaring Twenties Dance. Otherwise Western Attire is appropiate, but no one is ever turned away because of attire.

I think we should wear what we are comfortable in for classes and dress up traditional attire or prairie skirts for dances, but not make that mandatory, either.

Do away with petticoats. Design dresses and skirts appropriately.

I think we need to worry less about what the attire is and more about encouraging new people to join square dancing. Usually, after they have danced for a while, they want to wear the traditional attire.

I've seen this happen OFTEN
I think we absolutely need to encourage new blood in our groups by not stressing traditional attire. So often I hear people comment on "how much they would love to try square dancing, but are turned off by the outfits." It should be optional and whenever one is ready. I initially swore I would never wear petticoats, etc...but after seeing how much fun it is to twirl up and show your sissy pants, I went out and got me some!

I've got an Idea-How about "Business casual" as OK-Keep Prairie Skirts No Cutoff Shorts and Dirty T-shirts at Dances and No mandatory Petticoats either But "traditional is NEVER inappropriate
Keep The emails coming I'm off to call a demo

Rick

Saturday/Sunday 8/12-13
Another GREAT DEMO , this Time at the Horizon Outlet Mall in Tulare Ca. We Danced before a Country Concert (Sponsored by a Radio Station Than I Used to work for-KJUG 106.7 (CLICK Ricks Radio Bio) Back to the Demo.... We Had Young to Retired age Attractive people in a VARIETY of attire- S/D Clothes, Prairie Skirts , 2 GREAT Shorter Prairie Skirt Modifications ( Y' Go Girlfriends) and casual. We passed out a BUNCH of coupons to the Sequoia Squares Class and had a POSITIVE impact on the "Image" of S/D. After That I'm doing FAMILY Things............... The Hampton's got together w/ the Shuping's for the 3rd annual Hurricane Harbor (Water Park in LA) Take the Kids (Young Adults and Boyfriends-ick) To slide, slip and sink and have some Pre-School Year FUN(BTW-are those s/d calls?) Ask Rod Shuping about what happened to his bathing suit ( Email ) At least we (Rod and I) were smart enuf this year to NOT break our tushies on the Big Bad Black slide ( as we did 2 years ago) And Yes if you find out what happened to Rod's Bathing suit- I'll admit the same thing happened to my Jeans Shorts at Jack in The Box in Bakersfield.... OK I'm back down to Northridge to Call for Rod's NEW A1/A2 and Class Group then Monday It's Whirlaways in Bakersfield
Before I Go Here's some more comments about attire from My Poll:
Men should wear long sleeves. I don't appreciate having to left allemand with a hairy sweaty arm. (Rick asks So how bout the Ladies wear Long Sleeves-(at 100+ degrees I think Long Sleeves are NUTS)! Women should wear skirts for dances, but pants are ok for workshops. I don't believe shorts to be appropriate. Maybe the pretty dresses could be worn on party nites and I'm a firm believer in sport wear for the hot summer months.

I voted "business casual" because I assumed "dances" as in hoedowns as opposed to club night, where shorts and Ts are fine. I certainly wouldn't turn someone in shorts and Ts away from a hoedown (Rick says Hmmmmmm) but I like to dress up at least a bit more for a dance than for club night
HAVE A GREAT DAY
Rick

Tuesday 8/16
Well it was a nice trip to Northridge and last nite Paul brought some OLD s/d records so we just "sweated to the oldies"-Fun Nite.
I've also been introducing HEXAGON squares to the groups-A fun twist on squares. Now on to DRESS CODE-Let me clarify once and for all that This discussion is a DISCUSSION, It is not a slap at YOUR area (Remember I call weekly in 3 "Your areas" and Monthly in a bunch more. It is a topic in ALL AREAS, and that's why the poll is about this and why the Blog is talking about it. If you have public comments (The ones that matter-PLEASE use the Comments on the Poll page-OR The email link on this page) If you would like to discuss this on ANY other s/d issue privately or if you'd like me to address your group on these (or ANY) s/d topic-email me via the normal routes-Here's 2 comments that have repeatedly recurred in recent days 1) Prairie Skirts are OK and 2) What about______________(fill in your particular dress code situation) Well as far as #1 goes-Prairie skirts are NOT Mentioned as part of appropriate attire in MOST published "Dress Codes"-Shouldn't we add them? and 2) after 40+ emails about "so and so wore such and such" from 7 Different California areas as well as 4 States it would seem there is a NEED FOR CLARIFICATIONin Your, My and ALL Areas!!!!!!!!! So............
I propose the following Dress code.....
1) In all cases attire worn at Dances/Classes/Workshops shall be clean and in good repair 2) The attire will vary by the season 3) Common sense shall be a MAJOR factor in deciding appropriateness 4) Non Summer Suggestions would include- s/d Dresses, Prairie skirts, Jeans and Shirts, Ballroom Wear for the ladies For Men- Long or Short sleeve shirts, Jeans/Slacks & Shoes 5) For Summer- Longer legged Shorts/Clean Shirts for all and ANY of the Above suggestions 6) Keep the feelings of fellow dancers in mind when choosing your attire 7) The sponsoring group has the final say in what will be allowed at any given dance-Any given Dancers can choose to attend or not based on this or other considerations.8) The attire of our activity can reflect the current public trends of good taste and fashion
Rick

Thursday 8/18
I'll be calling another one nite stands for the YMCA Family Camp tonight at Sequoia Lake. Last week I had some 100 people with the oldest about 50, That's certainly a switch from s/d's demographics-I hope that tonight goes 1/2 as well as last week (same camp-different campers) because it was a GREAT TIME!!!!! Hopefully some of these folks will find their way to s/d-BAY AREA Callers/Leaders Note- This is the Palo Alto YMCA!!- If they do come by PLEASE Show them a Fun evening(s) and keep s/d politics out of their enjoyment, let them wear what they will and you may be surprised how well that approach to classes works......(Good advice for YOUR next class). Speaking of Classes the Whirlaways are doing Radio Ads (paid) and BIG signs for this season-As well as the flyers- Mountain Squares are using BIG signs and flyers-Sequoia Squares is using BIG Signs, Coupons and Flyers (maybe a Newspaper article) as this approach has worked WELL over the years there- Speaking of Flyers and publicity, I think it's ironic that a HUGE festival (Fiesta) and a TINY festival (Squarama) are just 60 miles apart- I see Fiesta Flyers EVERYWHERE I see Fiesta Ads in ALL the major (and smaller) books year round- I get a couple of reams of flyers every year from Fiesta (As do many Callers who TRAVEL)- I finally got 20 or so Squarama Flyers from a NON_Committee member- I'll be out by Saturday, I'll have plenty fiesta flyers. REMEMBER Callers are your best publicity of events IF YOU make sure we get the stuff- We're NOT going to go looking for it-It's not our job............ So Have YOU Pre-Registered for your Choice of weekends yet?? It REALLY helps planning and expenses and saves YOU money!!!!!!!!

Have a Marvelous Evening-I hope you're dancing someplace
Rick

Friday 8/19
Last nite went GREAT!!!! It was a smaller camp this week (50ish) but a younger crowd-30's. I hope they will join us. Anyway I'm getting ready for a No Cal Trip with a Plus dance in Sacramento and another one nite stand in Tracy-That make 4 one nite s/d parties and 3 demos I've called for in 5 weeks-It's ALL ABOUT Promoting a S/D activity that will interest new folks-If we have to change a bit to attract a new generation (literally) of dancers-Let's CHANGE.........Please email your promotional successes to me and I'll Share them-CLICK -Finally I noticed that no one has commented on my proposed dress code, Is it perfect or ?-Comments

Sunday 8/21
Another FUN One Nite Stand in Tracy Ca. In Fact this group wants to dance regularly so I hooked them up with a local caller who'll provide a modified ABC Program ( a way for folks to Square Dance without a dress code or months of lessons which is working all over the planet) I wish them well and after a while perhaps some of these folks will join MWSD (Modern Western Square Dancing) I hope we'll' be ready for them to STAY.( Itruly hope so I wonder if we will-Our track record is poor).....On the dress code thing- I've had many ask "why are you spotlighting our Area's issue:" Please don't "fuel the fire"-Guess again This is an INTERNATIONAL Issue- Here's what John from CANADA said..... "Our outfits scare off some potential people and should perhaps be wore for festivals only as required. The clothes debate rages on but I know that I am happy to have dancers period and I don't care how they dress as long as they come. Smiles, enthusiasm and fun are more important than the correct clothes. Having young people come to help at the demo's helps as well then people see that not only the grandparents dance." , John, Delta , B.C.
Maybe we could realize that our activity has common issues and we could start the FIX at home.... I hope so, I really hope that the Club/Association infrastructure will not ignore this again.... It really is getting time to re-build ( and I hope it wont have to be from the ground up)
Have a GREAT Week
Rick

Tuesday 8/23
So last nite we got the radio ad copy (Script) that the station wrote for our (Whirlaways) ad campaign- Now if you didn't think we have an image problem...here's what was written----Promenade Your Partner down for a Rootin' Tootin' Good time........DoCiDo on down
AGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Needless to say I re-wrote it I we want to recruit computer savvy, Health conscious ,affluent younger people we HAVE to lose the Hokey Image- Relax the dress codes or at least dont wear them to demos. I got this from a Concerned ACTIVE dancer who is employed at a store that sells Western Clothing to the masses.

This is a very hot topic And I'm sure everyone has a different view on it. However, if you compare the reputation of Square dancers to the reputation of Line dancers, I think you can see a stark difference.. Square Dancers are ridiculed solely on their attire.. And not so much the men's attire but the skirts and slips that the women are required to wear. Line dancers on the other hand are totally accepted as a part of western culture. Our dress code needs to change for many reasons.. Among them are:

1. The difficulty and expense of acquiring slips, pettipants and skirts. It is getting more difficult for our partners to find them.

2. The classes are much smaller just because of the slips and skirts reputation

3.Western wear is completely accepted in our society but the skirts an slips aren't

Our class sizes would be considerably larger if everyone knew that western attire was sufficient and that the large skirts were not mandatory. You know where I work and I can tell you that I could provide a completely matching club outfit( for the entire club) in about two minutes if the dress code was western traditional instead of the skirts and petticoats. A club outfit could consist of matching shirts for both men and women and jeans or prairie skirts for women. These type of outfits are available everywhere and are condoned by society. Not trying to be an nonconformist but you could even add line dancing to our dances if we could find a cuer. This would bring in a crowd as well. Particulary if we tried to teach it in workshops a little at a time.. But that is a different subject..I digress.

Why can' we start having our dances with a clothing requirement ""Western attire required, Traditional square dance attire very welcome""?? I think we would gain a BETTER reputation and also gain many new class members. Rick adds that "required" is not a good word-I would use "encouraged"- I would also HIGHLY SUGGEST "Business casual" Again Clean and Covering!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I also got an email from a nice lady who said "There would not be a dress code if the men had to wear a dress, sissy pants, nylons and tried to pee in a 5 minute break"- Makes sense to me!
Have a GREAT day
Rick

Friday 8/26
Off to a Recording Session in Ventura-Eric Henerlau will be doing his 2nd record for the label-Then I'm calling a PLUS Dance in La Mirada-C'mon down. Have a GREAT Evening
Rick

Monday 8/29
A good Weekend-Turned out an Up-Tempo, Modern Country Singing Call CLICK and Listen to Eric! Now back to the valley,
I see an article about a "Square Dance" up in the hills- No one is familiar with the caller or the group- I hope it truly is a Square dance that resembles the image we're trying to promote (Anybody care to take a bet it wont be)- Oh well- Tomorrow night is the Sequoia Squares Purple Heart Dance, I've had to call in a LOT of favors to get enough callers-most from hours away- We sure could use some young (at heart) people in Central Ca to take up the mic-Anybody?? We need some new Callers in Fresno/Bakersfield areas!!
See you soon
Rick
More From Monday 8/29
I found out today that one of the BEST s/d leaders in the area passed away. Chuck Gadke hired me for the Visalia Group after a tough time for the Club and during the early stage of my career re-building. I will always thank him for that!! He was passionate about our activity and was one of the BEST presidents I've ever had the privilege to work with. Please Keep Laura (Chuck's wife) and his family in your prayers. One of the best ways I can think of to honor his memory is to MAKE YOUR CLUB WORK!!!!!!!!!! (and sell sodas-That will hopefully make a few folks smile)
Damn Cancer
Rick

Wednesday 8/31
A Really FUN Purple heart dance- A HUGE THANK YOU- Rod Shuping-Lancaster, Byron Yoshimura-Tracy, Jay Henderson-Bakersfield, Rob Cunningham-Bakersfield as well as Visalia's Connie Whitfield- It was a great evening and some 30 folks EARNED their purple heart. From our Local area Norm was calling at Bootjack, Jan had a family emergency and Ernie had previously indicated a prior commitment--Folks we NEED CALLERS here in Central California, We need to start dancing on weekends and do Classes and badly needed workshops during the week. This was a rare couple of weeks in the "Fresno Area" 2 Sat dances -GOOD (Out of the 6 or so for the whole year)-NOT SO GOOD! PLEASE Let's figure a way to Dance-On the Weekends (Not Run a Weeknite Class, Then Try to Dance before we leave at 9 so we can make it to work the next WEEKDAY Morning) This is how it's done in Successful Vibrant square Dance areas..... By The way-Still NO ADS FOR SQUARAMA in the Major publications- We did have an ad for the Squarama DOOR PRIZES in the VASD Newsletter- A caller who came out tonite asked "Why doesn't this show who is calling??" Good Question or have we finally become The valley associated DOOR PRIZE association- Oh well Square Dance will Thrive with or without the Fresno area-It's UP TO YOU!!!
Mixed Emotions Tonite
Rick