DEPOT DANCERS SQUARE DANCE CLUB
Eldorado at Santa Fe, New Mexico

Club Happenings:

Coming up:

1. We will finish our first Plus class in a few months and Plus dancing will then be one part of our regular dances.

A website that provides animations of square dance calls is like an extension of our dance classes: http://www.tamtwirlers.org/tamination/info/index.html

2. We will jointly host the Central District Dance in March, together with the Los Alamos Mountain Mixers. Click her to see the District Dance Poster/Flyer (a .pdf file).

Recent:

December 30, 2011 we had a New Years dance-party (a day before New Years Eve). It was a combination of dancing, party games, and eating. One of the games was " Walk With Only One Shoe On" (ask somebody about it). Another game was "String 'em Up" (see the participants and action below):

We once again marched in the Eldorado July 4 (2011) parade and danced as part of the entertainment (and as a demo to stir up potential future dancers) at the Community Center.

During our reduced Summer schedule (2nd and 4th Fridays) we still had a lot of dancing. Quite a few visitors ... both from area clubs and travelers passing through. In June 2011 we were invited to do demo-type dancing at a local get-together of a local chapter of the P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) which promotes educational opportunities for women. Caller Delbert not only put on a square dance demo with audience participation, but led a variety of dancing throughout the evening, including square dance, line dance, two-step, and Schottische dances. He knows how to party!

As expected, a grand time was had by all at the State convention in Ruidoso May 6-8, 2011.

Our club and neighbor Mountain Mixer convention attendees

        A joint graduation was held in Santa Fe with the Los Alamos Mountain Mixers on April 15, 2011. We graduated our Mainstream class, and they graduated their Mainstream and Plus classes.

Graduation Pictures

Teachers - Delbert Teeple & Rich Stewart	Guest Caller Richard Lane	Guest Caller Deniece Korzekwa

The graduation cake	Lynda Haack ("Southwest Dancer" magazine editor) got hers

Other Happenings

Club meeting		Club party

A vote to end a meeting and have a party!		Another party!

Visitors and "Raids":
        The Rio Ramblers seem to like to "raid" our club and "steal" our banner. Of course they expect us each time to make a return visit to their club to "retrieve" our stolen banner. Our "raid banner" is a T-shirt with our logo on it, so they may get some practical use out of it.

A Rio Ramblers visiting Raid

     We often exchange visits with the White Rock/Los Alamos Mountain Mixers. Several dancers are member of both clubs.

"Mixers" waiting for the Call ...		... not waiting to talk
Dancing inside ...		... and dancing outside

Innovations
        At a few dances we have been one "body" short to form an additional Square. We then may dance one square with a "phantom" dancer, the partner of an experienced dancer. The Caller doesn't give that square any extra consideration. Even with an occasional break-down it mostly works well. In addition to the usual "Thank You's" at the end of a Tip, that Square typically congratulates themselves with big whoops and hollering at their success with the phantom dancer. They often feel it makes them better dancers...having to think (quickly) about each move. (It is noted that multiple phantoms are often present in Challenge dancing).

    When there are not enough dancers to completely fill several squares, a Caller often has us form up into a rectangle (2 dancers at each Side position, 3 dancers at each Head position). As long as we do what he calls, it works out fine!

    December 2008 ended with us being introduced to Contra dancing. Since Contra dancing is mostly square dance movements performed in lines instead of squares, the transition had not too many mis-steps. Another combined learning and fun evening.

A Few Historical Notes:
    On July 4, 2010 we participated in the annual Eldorado parade and danced as part of the entertainment at the Community Center.

Ready to parade		Parading and handing out class flyers
Demo dance after the 2010 parade		Demo dance after the 2009 parade

Our Loss:
May 1, 2009 was a special night for the Club. Bruce Blossman was recognized for all his work in getting the Club started. A plaque made by Mike Holly was presented by the Club president, Richard Robinson, and a "Thank You" poster was signed by all members. Bruce died August 1, 2009. He will be remembered in Club history as "The Founder".

Square Dance History...and more     (click here)

... and a square dance Rebus - "Rebus", a kind of puzzle consisting of pictures, objects, letters, etc which by the sound of their names suggests words or phrases (also called Frame Games or Word Picture Puzzles).

Click here for the Rebus answers.

This page last updated   January 20, 2012