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

The Case is Closed

Veronica McClure
Watertown, Massachusetts
American Square Dance
January 1978

Right on! to Harold and Lil Bausch in the November column about round dancing. I am a round dance teacher and I stress closing steps. Too often I find myself in conflict with (of all people) some other round dance teachers who tell me either (1) that I am being too fussy and too picky, or (2) that in International Ballroom passing steps are favored for "superior flow" and so round dancing ought to drop any closing steps.

Do I ever see red on either count? You bet I do! How in the world can any round dance teacher worth the name way that a two-step equals "step, close, step, -;" yet to a "run, 2, 3, -;"? or describe a scissors as "side, close, cross, -;" when if fact she/he is doing a "rock, recover, cross, -;"? Whatever we do, WE MUST MAKE WORDS AND ACTIONS MATCH. If we don't, we shouldn't be teaching.

I do not in any way want closing steps neglected or belittled. I do want round dancing to be round dancing — not any other kind of dancing. I have no gripes with any other form of dancing, including International Ballroom, but I do want the different forms respected for being different. Indiscriminate mixing of passing steps where closing steps should be by various couples in the round dance circle spoils the sharing of the circle, causes traffic jams as passing steps take more room than closing steps, and generally spoiling the communal nature of the round dance. How many of us give sufficient thought to that one? That the round dance, though danced by couples, is a communal form of dance?

The Bausches are worried about the disappearance of the "dance" when all steps are the same length, a "metered pace" used in a effort to promote "smoothness". They complain, "one can't tell a two-step from must a plain shuffle. Some look so bored that it really seems a waste of time." Here are some of my thoughts on why and how closing steps help make the dance dance, and leave no room for boredom.

Closing steps done properly (i.e., softly without jarring the body or stubbing the toes, rising easily into the ball of the foot, and accompanied by a good posture and a slight rising of the body balanced over the feet) are a joy and give the dancer a feeling of lightness and suspension which can be sustained in slower tempos or repeated in faster tempos. Any closing step is an opportunity for bringing the body fully in line and poised over the feet in such a way that changes of direction (traveling or facing) and momentum (where the body weight is going) are easily controlled for instance, in hitches; specifically, "forward, close, back, -;" if the feet really do come together and the body is over them and rising slightly, the third step back is no problem. But if the second step does not truly close, the body weight and momentum will make the back step difficult. More basic than anything we consciously do is the instinct to keep our feet under our body to avoid falling down.

The waltzes that great little connector "thru, face, close;" is often neglected as time to send the body up and hold the momentum of suspension. From there, the dancer should be able to move in any direction with control and choice. The feet should not have to hurry to keep up with the body. If they do, the dancer will not be prepared for the next cue. In waltzes, we should remember that "um, pah, pah" also means "down, up, up", and that the body is rising on the second and third steps. Also note that rising usually implies a straight supporting leg. In "thru, face, close" it will be easier to get the third step under the body and closing for the rise has make room for it. Try standing on one foot and let the hips tilt down toward the unsupported side like this stick figure (I have omitted the unweighted leg):

Use a mirror or a friend to be sure you really are in this position because sometimes our bodies feel to us as if they are in a certain position but they are not. Notice that there is literally less room for the unweighted foot and leg to move into if the body is in this kind of "down" during the "face" of "thru, face, close"; no wonder the dance may only pull the closing foot into a bent knee touch instead.

Try cueing and dancing the old favorite "Shenandoah" 3rd measure of Part A as a "thru, face, close", as explained above and see if the back box isn't easier. Or try the recently released "Forever Waltz" with careful attention to rising and closing and see if control over changes of facing and traveling direction are not improved.

I hope these thoughts will help everyone to not only dance the round dance properly but with enjoyment. The quality of the dance is very important to me and I hope we will always have time to sharpen our dancing skills. Just as a caller must temper the influx of new calls in favor of teaching the basics thoroughly, the round dance leader must temper the same urge in round dancers to learn every routine at the expense of learning the round dance basics thoroughly. See round and squares really do go together!

Roundalab Journal, February, 1984