The following information is published with ROUNDALAB's permission from the ROUNDALAB Reference Manual compiled by Richard & Jo Ann Lawson, 1987.

Behind the Scenes

Koko Sutton
Clackamas, OR

As one of the "babes in diapers", I'm looking for as much help as I can. Hopefully by sharing a few thoughts, I can encourage others to do the same. My husband is a very busy Square Dance Caller with eight years of experience under his belt. We started dancing in 1972 and Gordy started calling in 1973. At first, he was trying to handle both the square dance and the round dance program for the club. It's rough trying to learn so many things at the same time. Somewhere along the line during a very hectic month, he asked me to do the floor teach of the ROM. And, somehow, slowly, very slowly, I began to handle more and more of the round dance portion of the program. Suddenly, I realized I was doing the "whole thing" and I was a "R/D instructor/cuer"! That was scary. I really love the entire S/D scene; however, the responsibility of being a R/D leader was overwhelming. During my short time as a leader, I have come across the following discoveries.

Whether you are a R/D instructor with a spouse/helper OR a R/D instructor married to a S/D caller, you are going to encounter some of the same challenges/problems that will require careful approaches to the best solution. For instance: last week it was time to teach the new ROM to our club. Our schedule was such that we were not home the two weekends before, nor were we going to be at home any night the week preceding the dance. So — it was going to be impossible to lasso Gordy's body to practice the dance - let alone use the machine to practice cueing the dance. What were we going to do? One morning before work, I recorded the music on the tape recorder and on the way to and from work, I practiced cueing. Going to and from our various night engagements, I practiced again with Gordy listening so he had an idea of how the dance went. The night of the dance, we were planning to go through the dance a few times before the dancers started streaming in. No such luck! With our fingers crossed, we did the demonstration and the floor teach. It wasn't the best performance; however, the dancers learned the dance without any difficulty and were not aware of our "problem". We have found it unnecessary to mention any "problem" to the dancers. Besides when we make that extra effort to smile, and to act enthusiastic at all times, it solves those "little problems" and the dance stays on an "up frame of fun". Keeping your sense of humor and determination to be enthusiastic at all times is a MUST for both callers and cuers. Also being aware of your time schedule helps you to solve challenges/problems like the one described above. (How do you solve this type of problem?)

Another challenge/problem that recently came up in our household was: Gordy had to take a night class that was on the same night as our twice a month ROM workshop. This meant, for two months, I would have to handle the workshop by myself. Again, it helped to be aware of the upcoming situation in order to plan several possible solutions. Since this particular class was mostly dancers that we had taught, it helped a great deal to put me at ease. It was interesting to note my feelings on those nights. I though of all the single instructors (male and female) that do a great job without much thought. And then I thought of myself. Never would I do this on a regular on-going basis as I felt "out of pocket". Even though I am the instructor in the round dance portion of our program, I still feel a strong need for the help that Gordy gives me. I am the type of individual that makes a great No. 2 person, and it is a role that I take a great deal of pride in doing well. I enjoy doing the behind the scene necessities. While some R/D instructor/cuers are excellent in being their own "start", I much prefer being in the background. I look to Gordy for clues on what I can play to help build his program for that night (this means extemporaneous programming - what do you do?). Being married for 30 years does help to ready the body language and pick up on the casual remarks. I feel quite strongly that Gordy's insistence on my involvement with rounds has helped both his program and also my enthusiasm for his involvement. It has given him the extra time to become more proficient as a caller. With both of us being actively involved in the activity, we have increased our knowledge, our awareness of the dancers' needs and our "togetherness". I have touched on two of the many challenges/programs that come up in our household of a caller/cuer.

NOW: How about hearing from you?

Roundalab Journal, December, 1981