Caller (1976)

Bounty partners, bounty corners. Will you alen lift your corner and you walk right by your own right hand turn your right hand lady and a left hand turn your partner [music] little lady's right hand star three quarters round the land alan left [music] your corner here we go with a right and left grand with the smoke on the water on the land [music] and the sea will a right hand turn your partner around and then you go back three hits a left and a right and a left hand turn once and a half around [music] now boxing that with your own girl and Then we'll settle down. Will the two head couples forward up to the middle and back right [music] out? You pass through and separate. Go round the outside roundabout. Get on back and meet your own Walk by your own right hand turn your right hand lady left hand turn your partner men right hand star [music] three quarters round the Alam left your corner last time a right and left grand. They all be smoke on the water on the land and see hold right and turn your partner around and then you go back three. It's a gi turn once and a half around. Now box it with your own girl settle down. [music] Hey, >> tomorrow night is a 7:30 to 10:30 if I recall, brother. Is it five? I don't know. Ask Russ and Ellen. They know better than I do. >> You got a summer schedule? Uh, not yet. Should have it. Uh, let's see. Should have it two weeks from now. >> Everybody back home to plays. Here's a tune. I think it came from Ireland originally, but it dates way back to the days of the American Revolution. >> Old old famous fiddle tune called Soldiers Joy. [music] Ready? You bow to your partners. Then you bow to your corners. All join hands in a great big ring in a circle to the left and circle to the left. Go around the hall halfway around and you're done gone wrong. Circle to the right. Go the other way along. Circle to the right till you get back home. Everybody swing your own. Swing with your partner. Swing her right around them. Now turn to the corner. Alum man left to the corner girl. Right handed [music] your partner grand left. Go a walking down the line. You take yours and I'll take mine. Prominade your partner two by two and prominate back home with you. Now couple one. Bow to your partner. Give her a swing. Swing her right around it. One. Separate. Go around the lady. Go right and the gent go left [music] and pass the partner by. But they keep on walking underground. You go pass her again. When you get home and by your corner stand two lines of three, six to the middle and the back you march. Now six to the middle and you build an arch in the middle of the floor and the lonesome couple tunnel through down the middle and you swing her right around. Swing that lady and you don't fall down. [music] Come on back as you done before. Back around the center once more. Six back out again. Go forward six to a dose in the middle of the hall. Go back to back up. Everybody swing with your partners. All swing your girl up. Now turn to the corner lady alamand left with a corner. Right hand to your partner. Left to the next one. Grand driving and left hand over hand. Go round set. Meet your lady and then meet your D and prominade and prominade. [music] Now couple too. Bow to your partner. Give her a swing round and round as a pal thing until you separate. Go around lady go ride the j and you pass your partner when you meet. Keep on walking on the oneway street. [music] Pass her again and by your corner stand up two lines of three. Six to the middle in the back you'll march. Now six to the middle then you build an arch in the middle of the hall in the lonesome pair. Tunnel that through right across the square. Swing the lady when you get there. Now tunnel back. Go down [music] the middle as you done before. Six back up once more up. Go forward six and dosey [music] do in the middle. Go back to back up. Everybody swing your partner. [music] When you're through, swing right around is what you do. Turn to the corner. Alamand left with the corners on [music] up. Right hand your partner grand ride and left go walking and you don't be slow. [music] Prominate when you meet your own and prominade your partner home. [music] Then it's couple number four. Bow your partner. Swing a little more. Swing right around. And when you're through, separate around the outside too. Lady go right and the gent go left and you pass your partner right on by. Now pass her once again and by your corner stand up two lines of three. Six to the middle and the back you'll march [music] up. Six to the middle and build an arch in the middle of the hall. The lonesome couple tunnel through down the middle and swing right around the now tunnel back. Go down the middle as you did before and six back up once more. Go forward [music] six again. Do an oce in the middle of the floor. Go back to back up. Everybody swing your partners all up. Now turn to the corner alamand left up right hand your partner charge grand right and left go around. [music] When you meet your own prominade your partner home prominade them two by two right on home with you. Now turn [music] to the corner alamand left with the corners all up and bow to your partners [music] all bow to the corners all up. There's bread and cheese on the shelf. If you want anymore, go call it yourself. [music] >> Thank you. Thank you very much. Thanks very much. Take a rest. And we have three folk dances or pseudo folk dancers or whatever you want to call them. The first is the Mexican folk dance laraspa known to >> when I got out of high school, I started doing work for Texas Jim Robertson, country singer with the RCA label in those days. One night when Jim wasn't working and hence neither was I, we went out to a square dance. As it happened, the leader of the band that night had a fight with his caller for being drunk on the job. That meant absolutely soust because in rural areas they didn't figure you could call until you're half loaded. So they came over to me and knowing I did a little entertainment said, "Could you call a square dance?" I said, "I think so." And I did. Nobody threw anything. That was it. That was the beginning of my calling career. I was born in Newberg, New York, but I spent many of my early years up in the Aderandac Mountains of New York State. We came down here to Westchester while I was still in grade school and went through my high school years, specifically in Newell. The background, as far as my knowledge of square dancing goes, I grew up with it. I don't remember learning to square dance per se. It just was the thing we did on a Saturday night. One of the interesting things about square dancing today, people of all walks of life get together and there's almost a tacid understanding that they're there for the common goal of enjoying themselves. They don't dig into each other's backgrounds or what do you do or what kind of a job do you have. I think maybe this is sort of an outgrowth of the reinterest in square dancing which is pretty traceable to the World War II years. When the service club directors and the social club directors of the army bases instituted square dancing, everybody was out of uniform for the square dance. There'd be majors and colonels dancing with privates. And for that couple of hours of the square dance, rank was thrown away completely. Remember what I said about taking good firm strides. Never mind going along like this. Okay. >> All right. Let's do it again. Starting with the second half of the dance. >> Number one, they're motivated to come square dancing for the same reason some people are motivated to go bowling or take up ceramics or >> it's a form of leisure time activity. >> Hopefully, uh, they're interested in American history. And after all, square dancing is one of the purely American uh, folk pastimes. on his right on the outside. On his right on the outside. >> That's also the hardest part if that is any consolation to you. >> Four slides to the man's left. On the third one, he'll twirl his lady with his left hand. Ready? It's one and two. Twirl and four. And then do it the other way. Go slide. Twirl with your right hand men. Three and four. Good. Let's do that part again. Swing [music] your partner's all. Don't you fuss. Don't you holler. Never trust that square downer. Now turn to the corner. Alamman. Left to the corner on the old left hand. A partner [music] right. It's a right on left grand on left. Go down the track. When you meet your own, do a right and turn around. Go the other way back. A grand left [music] and right. Said the little red rooster to the little red hen. Let's turn right around and try it again. Grand, right on left, go the right way around. [music] Hand over hand and you don't fall down. Ace of diamonds, jack of spades, and you meet your own and prominent. >> The type of square dancing done today is an outgrowth of the traditional patterns. It's become much more complicated, much more challenging, whereas it is nowhere's near as energetic as it used to be in the old world dances. All right, let's try it. >> Bow to your corners. All join hands in a ring and circle to the left. Go around the ring. Going to circle to the left. Go around. [music] Now drop your hands. Go the other way back and single file. Girls, keep walking on the inside track. Men, step out. Go the other way [music] back and pass your partner once. When you meet her again, do a don't do. And then you swing your partner [music] swinging. world. [music] >> Everybody alam left with your corner. >> I have a rough idea in the back of my mind. Not so much how far they're going to progress, but I do have a plan as to the relationship of the figures that I teach. There are certain combinations of figures that lead logically from one to another. >> Right hand to left hand stop. >> I don't aim to bring them to a given state of capability by the end of that period of time. >> I have no goal other than to just let them dance and have fun. Pull them in. Go forward, [music] pass through, separate, go around behind one lady and you crowd slide in. Forward eight and back again. Right lady high, [music] the left lady under cross the girls all four men to the middle then they come on back. Men go forward, [music] pass through, separate, go around behind one lady in the crowd by come forward eight and back. Right [music] lady high, the left lady under cross the girls one more time. Turn her under. [music] [music] [music] [music] >> And ladies walk forward. This is the Alamandar star. All right. Stop. When we say a square dance today, people are going to go out to a square dance. They may be exposed to dances other than square dancing, including dances done in lines like the Virginia reel, dances done in a big circle like the southern running sets. Even some folk dances where a gentleman would have two girls for a partner or a lady would have two men for a partner. >> On this call, shoot the star. Turn this lady by the left. Go around her. Here comes your own prominade back home to place. [music] [music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] >> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. [music] [music] [music] Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music] [music] >> [music] [music] >> That was the ball of yarn. Hope you enjoyed yourselves. Hope we didn't lose anybody out there. Good night everybody. See you again. [music] >> [music] [music] >> Heat. Heat. [music] Heat. Heat. [music] [music] >> [music] >> Come on. Come on. [music] >> [music] [music] [music]