Editor's note: This got copied from a Newbie Callers post, and I was foolish and didn't grab the URL, apparently, and a lot of this is .. .well... Facebook formatted. Sorry.
Mel Wilkerson to Newbie Callers July 14 at 2:54pm · Saturday 15 July 2017 - FOUR MOVES OR LESS
• Visualise or Work checkers to resolve the following sequences
• Basic and Mainstream only
- Four Ladies Chain, Heads Lead Left, Veer Right, Couples Trade, Bend the Line…
Background:
There were a series of Puzzles that the late Tim Marriner gave to many callers (myself included) that were mentoring and teaching new callers. These are some of his puzzles. These exercises were designed to specifically work with checkers or visualisation. The patterns and flows are not difficult but they do make you look at the entire square rather than just two couples. Tim was a prolific writer and an excellent caller/teacher/coach. Much of his work and teachings can still be found on the internet and are a great resource for new callers
Glenn Wilson Pass The Ocean - All 8 Circ - Same Sexes Trade - Swing & Prom.
Mel Wilkerson Stop making it look so easy Glenn.....LOL
Dan Lyke Swing thru, spin the top, circulate, boys run & promenade home works if you call the run & promenade one call...
Dan Lyke Yeah, I'm coming up with a bunch of fun 5 call resolves, but I'm trying to not be obvious which is keeping me away from the simple ones... circulate 1 1/2, very centers trade, recycle, slide thru, allemande left.
Mel Wilkerson or you could just shorten it to swing patner promenade....I personally do not count Home, bow to partner, allemande left or swing partner, or promenade home as part of the resolution...4 moves to get there... well done
Glenn Wilson Pass the Ocean - Extend - Trade By - SQ Thru 2 - Sw & P. (1/2 Chcken Plucker with substitutes)
Mel Wilkerson did you say a 1/2 chicken plucker?
Lee Meador Clever slide thru. Pass thru.
Dan Lyke Oooh, I like this because all of my stock ways of thinking are ending up with the square flipped at 4 moves...
Misako Salais 2 Ladies Chain, PasTh, Bend the Line, Lead Right, AL & Pr ( BAD body flow........, is it considered 4 or less moves or not? .. )
Glenn Wilson Good One Misako Salais - I actually called Lead Right from there the other night. I was expecting Chaos, but they did it. I did give them a bit of help.
Misako Salais No, no, YOUR get-out above is amazing! I could never think of Trade By like that!
Misako Salais Ends Circulate 2 times, 2 Ladies Chain, Forward & Back, Lead Right , AL & Pr( Still too many moves?)
Dan Lyke I like where you're going with this... ends circulate 2x gives you partnered and out of sequence, so the get-outs are myriad and easy... Of course you have the centers standing there while the ends circulate, but... And at Advanced you could just call Acey Deucey and have everyone partnered...
Misako Salais I could only call Pass the Ocean, All 8 Circulate, .... with real dancers.. I can't see opposite lady line. My vision is OK, but I can't SEE! But thanks for your comment, Dan.
Michael Haworth 1. Pass Thru, Wheel & Deal, Double Pass Thru, Cloverleaf, Double Pass Thru, First Couple go Left, Next go LEFT, All Promenade Home
- LEFT Square Thru but on the 4th hand, Box the Gnat, Pull By, Trade By, RL GRAND!
Mel Wilkerson really like the second one...the first is a really good wind in the face - move around the floor resolution..too many moves though.
Michael Haworth Mel Wilkerson Ah. I didn't see the 4 move restriction. So ... LEFT Turn Thru, Ends Fold, Eight Chain 3, Left Allemande!
If you want simpler:...See More
Brad Caldwell Dixie style,girls Zoom, boys u-turn, Prom
Brad Caldwell Pass thru, half tag, split circ. ,8 circ, Swing
Brad Caldwell Pass the Ocean, 8 circ, split circ twice, RLG or swing.
Misako Salais Thanks a lot. You helped me with realizing that Split Circulate is definitely among my under-used calls. Saturday morning is my favorite time of the week because I can learn a lot even in my room in Japan!
Brad Caldwell Under-used by me also Misako. These puzzles are great for that purpose.
Mel Wilkerson how about ends fold pass thru, trade by, or ends fold dive, thru pass thru, or ends fold RLG but on the third hand swing, or ends Fold.......
I am taking this idea from Misako Salais. wht you are doing is often called "theming" where you take an id...See More
Jay Bickford pass thru, wheel and deal, centers slide thru/back out, heads flutterwheel, clap, clap, clap.
Glenn Wilson Split Circ 1 1/2 - Boys Circ x2 - Recycle - Veer Left - Promenade (this way)
Brad Caldwell Clever devil.
Mel Wilkerson isn't he just...lol
Brad Caldwell Spilt circ 1 1/2 twice, ends zoom , centers cast right 3/4, ends fold, swing and prom.
Glenn Wilson Good One - Brad Caldwell
Mel Wilkerson that is nice.....just plain mean...but nice...LOL
Mel Wilkerson wouldn't once and a half twice be three times...lol now you are making the dancers to MIT math...LOL....
Gugge Törnquist Nope, it wouldn't! 😀
Glenn Wilson Try Square Thru 27 divided by 9.
Brad Caldwell Square thru nearest whole integer of Pi.
Mel Wilkerson do not forget directional aspects as well...for example when using something like this set up..after the bend the line.. saying girls step back, boys star left half way, RLG home....or boys step back, all four ladies in the middle star half way and b...See
Lee Meador I heard an old one from this. Square thru 4. right pull by. left allemand
Don Beck I just came up with three answers, but I'll wait a few days before I post them. Hopefully someone will beat me to it/them.
Evan R. Pauley Centers Pass Thru -- Same Genders Hinge -- Those Facing Pass Thru -- Sides Trade -- Prom home
Mel Wilkerson I like that...you can also change the ending to boys fold swing her 4 times and you are home. (the dances will adjust without even knowing it.)
Evan R. Pauley You could also replace the Sides Trade -- Prom home with an Ends Fold -- RLG
Michael Kelly 4 Ladies Chain--Heads Lead Left--Veer Right--Couples Trade--Bend The Line, Square Thru 4, Trade By,...See More
Glenn Wilson Michael Kelly, I must be missing something. I'm fine with 4 Ladies Chain and Heads Lead Left, but I can't figure out how to Veer Right and Couples Trade after that. Maybe you could show me the formations, 'cause i can't see them.
Glenn Wilson Unless you are assuming a Squared-Up set after the 4 Ladies Chain?
Michael Kelly If you want to take out the 4 Ladies Chain--Heads Lead Left--Veer Right--Couples Trade--Bend The Line, then apply everything below as the get out.
Michael Kelly the line is station 3a in crams.
Mel Wilkerson I thought you were about to say circle left, ladies in men sashay twice when you pointed out the station 3a michael. You are correct however most people are still not overly familiar with CRaMS and station calling.
Barry Johnson Mel Wilkerson And that's too bad!
Michael Kelly I sorry Gene maybe I should not play in this sand-box.
Glenn Wilson No worries Michael Kelly
Barry Johnson Off the top of my head, pretty sure this will work: Right and left thru with a half sashay, square thru 2, trade by, right and left grand.
Gugge Törnquist Without checking: 1. R/LThru - 1/2 Sashay - PTOcean - All8Circ - RLG...See More
Barry Johnson Without checking, seems like #2 leaves everyone facing out?
Gugge Törnquist Correct. I forgot the ScootBack 😚 Fixed now.
Lee Meador Pass the ocean. All 8 circulate. Boys run. Promenade and the sides cut across at the end. 🙂
Mel Wilkerson or you could just call the promenade and say oops...the dancers would likely cut across at the end by themselves....in my first year of calling "oops" was used a lot by me...LOL
Gugge Törnquist Or instead of (Cross) Promenade: FerrisWh & (Cent) Sweep1/4 - Home Like · Reply · 1 · 6 hrs
Lee Meador Centers pass thru and wheel around. Everybody slide thru. Box the gnat. R&L grand. End at home if the girls take big steps.
Evan R. Pauley This may be a bit off track -- but I just came up with a slightly altered sequence that would work for stronger or A-level dancers: HEAD Ladies Chain Heads Lead Left -- Veer Right -- Couples Trade -- Bend The Line...See More
Gugge Törnquist If we're talking A1, Boys(or Girls) XOverCirc twice - AL (or Boys/Girls Cross&Trade - LA)
Mel Wilkerson One of the greatest lessons I learned was at a caller's school session with Ken Ritucci, Tony Oxendine, and Randy Page. I had been calling about 10 years or so at this point and in the first session they had everyone do a quick part patter/part singi...See
Lee Meador Pass the ocean. All 8 circulate. Tag the line. Turn left. Promenade home.
Lee Meador Center boys walk. Center girls dodge. Center 4 box circulate. Everyone left tag the line. Turn in. Circle left two steps to home.
Mel Wilkerson the resolution is good but the face left turn in circle left...is clunky and many dances might have a problem with "turn in ) sides only bend the line and all veer left is what you are achieving..
Lee Meador Half tag. Girls trade. Centers trade. Girls turn back. Promenade home.
Don Beck I like this, but it doesn't work. After the Girls turn back, you would have to do a Side Couples California Twirl before the Promenade. I suggest making this slight modification. Half Tag, Girls Trade, Centers Trade, Original Sides Trade, Grand Right and Left!
Lee Meador Thanks. I missed that. Or half tag. Girls trade. Centers trade. Scoot back. Star thru and promenade. Or half tag. Girls trade. Centers trade. Hinge. Boys run promenade.
Mike Callahan End ladies chain diagonally, Other ladies chain diagonally. Promenade home.
Mel Wilkerson that woks as well. For newbies blease note the sequence when doing a diagonal ladies chain....from here you have to do end ladies first not centre ladies to go into the promenade...otherwise you have the clunky start stop for the head couples on the p...See More
Lee Meador SD doesn't like to start with ladies chaining. This sequence will get to the same place: SIDES square thru 2 step to a wave girls trade...See More
Mike Callahan What's wrong with ladies chaining???
Lee Meador Its not allowed at the start in SD (the program)
Lee Meador Plus. ends circulate 1 1/2. centers partner trade 1 1/2. swing thru. fan the top. R&L Grand
Mike Callahan (A little tricky). Heads Pass Thru, Men Circulate Twice, Promenade Home.
Gugge Törnquist Cross Promenade?
Mike Callahan Whoops, I guess my Me are out of sequence. Sorry
Misako Salais Girls Extend, Girls Swing Thru 1&1/2, All Slide Thru, Veer Right & Pr
Gugge Törnquist Why Veer Right? This is what I get after SlideThru. No automatic alt text available.
Gugge Törnquist My checkers told me, that they'll might end up as this as well. Would "1/2 Veer Right" fix it? No automatic alt text available.
Lee Meador Reverse flutterwheel. Touch 1/4. Circulate 1 1/2. center boys trade and the girls u-turn back. Left allemande. Should be home. (Flows better with R&L thru + flutterwheel or leave out the couples trade getting there + flutterwheel but we are under a call limit here and I'm fudging the count anyway with that 'and')
Gugge Törnquist I can't get this to work.
Lee Meador It shouldn't be split. I edited it. My fingers kept adding the split as i checked it in SD yesterday too.
Gugge Törnquist This might be a call to many, but I hope I can compensate that by ending at home. PTOcean - SwThru - Girls XRun (!) - Girls Circ - All8 1/2 Circ (or Extend) - Dopaso. Home.
Mel Wilkerson nice flow on that...good to see dopaso being used outside of a circle left or walk around your corner.
Rod Windhorst First OL get out I ever learned (1968): RLT>Slide Thru>8ChThru>AL (kiss principal)...
Mel Wilkerson they beat me too it...(3)
Rod Windhorst Sorry 8ch3..
Jim Woolsey square thru 2, trade by, square thru on the 3 hand box the gnat, right and left grand.
Don Beck Or similarly, Square Thru 2, Trade By, Square Thru 3, Allemand Left
Jim Woolsey box the gnat, pass the ocean, circulate, right and left grand
Mel Wilkerson Jim and Don Beck. I really like the way that the theme resolutions (similar style and moves to a point but just that slight difference in the ending) are coming out on this one. The amount of flexibility shown with just simple equivalents or changes to do the allemande or the RLG is just amazing and should be noted by all new callers...Thanks for keeping this up
Jeff Garbutt Kind of off-beat and weird, but these two also work:
Centres ladies - on the diagonal - chain to the right...See More
Mel Wilkerson not so off base...someone in one of the earlier comments, I think it was Mike Callahan or Lee Meador said teh same...I noted that you have to do the end ladies chain first so that it flows into the promenade...circle left works just as well, a very underused resolution move from lines.
Cynthia Nalbach Join hands & circle left, Ladies center, men sashay (x2), Alemande Left, R&L Grand. (This would work, right?)
Mel Wilkerson yes it does and nicely too....
Glenn Wilson How about A/Left - R & L Grand, but Swing the 3rd Girl, Promenade
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Mel Wilkerson July 7 at 4:15pm FOUR MOVES OR LESS
• Visualise or Work checkers to resolve the following sequences
• Basic and Mainstream only
- Heads Slide Thru, Right and Left Thru, Pass Thru, Right and Left Thru… ... See More
Tom Miller Tim love teaching others how to call. It's because of Tim I'm a Accredited CALLERLAB Caller Coach today. He helped me so much. For you newer callers out there, make sure you do these exercises. They are really good. Have fun !
Glenn Wilson 1. Pass to the Centre - Sq Thru 2 - Partner Trade
Mel Wilkerson lol OF COURSE...BY THE WAY Glenn, I was at your web yesterday.. I may be blatantly stealing some of your stuff and maybe an article or two for the Behind the Mike Callers Monthly Magazine. By Blatantly stealing I mean of course..borrowing and not putting back...giving to the worls and sharing with anyone who wants it....LOL....kind of like what you are doing now.
Glenn Wilson You're welcome Mel, I don't "own" any of it, it's just a place for me to collect it.
Gugge Törnquist Even better(?): Pass Thru. C SqThr2. (Everybody) PrtTrd - Home
Cynthia Nalbach 1. Pass to the center, centers flutter wheel, sweep 1/4 more back away. (Of course this is really boring for the sides; they barely get to do anything...)
Cynthia Nalbach Or would that put the heads half out? I'm not using checkers, just visualizing in my head...
Mel Wilkerson nope it is good. and if you look at the flow for the set up...a short resilution to home is not a bad thing...you have a very short pause on the sides if your flutterwheel timing is good on the delivery...pass to the centre, centres flutterwheel (while they are moving in) and they will blend the flutterwheel into the flow...because it is a home resolution it is not a big thing...and very successful.
Gugge Törnquist Who knows what they did prior to this setup?
Mel Wilkerson Gugge Törnquist what they did prior is written in the question.
Gugge Törnquist I thought they we're meant as an example for the setup. But OK...
Glenn Wilson 2. Walk & Dodge - Wheel & Deal - Zoom - Sq Thru but on the 3rd Hand, Slide Thru - (Bucket Stir)
Mel Wilkerson works but kind of defeats the purpose with the stir the bucket...mind you the allemande left there would work as well
Glenn Wilson Very True - Plenty of other ways, I struggle with puzzles where I only get a restricted number of moves.
Brad Caldwell 2. Girls Run, Centers RLT, Ends DYP Bend the line.
Mel Wilkerson sneaky and nice
Dan Lyke Trying to be less obvious: 1. Veer left, chain down the line, slide thru, allemande left.
Mel Wilkerson or bow to the corner... very nice
Gugge Törnquist What about Dosado - Veer Lft? Or Right Hand Star (full turn) - Veer Lft?
Dan Lyke #2: girls trade, pass thru, wheel and deal, centers slide thru.
Mel Wilkerson elegant
Don Beck #1. One of my favorite get outs from here, but only if the square has lots of breathing space, and you get there with the Right and Left Thru that you used, is: Dixie Style to a Wave, Fan the Top,...See More
Glenn Wilson If only "FAN the TOP" was Basic or Mainstream - sigh.
Don Beck Glenn Wilson That's the second time I made that mistake this month. And I used to get upset when others didn't keep up with the list changes. - sigh is right.
Jay Bickford #1: Veer left, ferris wheel, center slide thru and back out
Cynthia Nalbach 2. Boys run, wheel & deal, boys zoom, centers pass through, allemande left, right & left grand.
Cynthia Nalbach Oh I just noticed the 4 moves or less requirement. Lol j/k I'll try again ;-)
Cynthia Nalbach Ok here's my attempt #2: Girls run, star thru, ends Partner trade while the centers star thru & back away. (I guess if star thru & back away count as two separate calls then it's 5... but close enough for government work?) :-)
Misako Salais #1-Centers In, Centers UTurn, All Pass Thru, AL. #1- Left Square Thru2, AL. #2-Girl Trade, Boys Walk Across, Sw & Pr #2- Girl UTurn, Circle Left, Roll Away, RLG
Misako Salais I just noticed the second one of #2 of mine is a Stir.....lol & sorry!
Mel Wilkerson the first one works well enought.. I like your second one for puzzle one more....the find corner aspect is just enough off that left sqaure thru to be quirky without being difficult.
on your first resolution for number two you all end up in sequence b...See More
Jay Bickford #2 half tag the line, all fold, turn thru, swing/promenade home
Glenn Wilson Jay Bickford - would ALL FOLD work similar to a RH Trade. I'm just trying to see if I got it right. I haven't used FOLD like that before.
Jay Bickford Glenn Wilson RH trade would work as well as box the gnat and turn thru, but the handwork is dodgy, as well as calling box the gnat from a wave
Lee Meador 1) pass to the center. Centers pass the ocean. Girls trade. Recycle. Should be home.
Mel Wilkerson works very well
Lee Meador 2) scootback. Center 4 box circulate twice. Everybody turn to face the center at home.
But maybe change the second circulate to a walk and dodge so all 8 have to turn.
Mel Wilkerson both work but I wouldn't use that a lot other than the occasional....face the centre...HOME as an end to a complete patter routine....
Lee Meador For some reason I really don't like telling anyone to turn. Exceptions are after a tag the line or some kind of easy roll to face move. (E.g. Lines touch 1/4 and turn to face your partner.) And even that second one sort of bothers me. Facing left or right seems abrupt not smooth.
Mel Wilkerson it can...but at the end of a particular sequence or the end of a complete patter call as an ending it makes a good on the spot ..wow we are home....like I said, limit the use of those as much as possible to gain the maximum impact and the minimum choreograpic missteps.
Rick Hampton 1 1/2 sasfay Rl Grand, OR box gnat, change hads all L OR pass thru swing her stay
Mel Wilkerson did you for get a pass thru on that first, half sashay pass thru RLG
I am reading that as:...See More
Lee Meador Come on Rick. Don't make us guess which one you are doing. It's Saturday.
John Jurgens 1. Pass to center, Centers square thru 3, Left allemande 2. Tag the line, Ends trade, Centers U turn back, Pass thru, Left allemande.
Mel Wilkerson both work John....read the e-mail before the screen....well done
John Jurgens Mel Wilkerson I never got the mail. can you make sure it left your side? Thanks
Mel Wilkerson John Jurgens I just checked and it bounced back - I have no idea why...what I sent was:
Both work and are successful outcomes.
There would be a bit of concern on the second one. Although the movments and resolution are fine..it flows a bit choppy with stop and go. To make that work well your timing has to be really practiced... so that the u-turn and pass thru are called pretty much immediately after the ends trade but while they are dancing it...
phrasing will be the key....tag the line, centres turn around and pass thru to the corner allemande left...will be almost one set of stacked calls in a breath....This is not a bad thing..but it will take practice to get the delivery right...
well done..