Foggy City Dancers is Moving to a
New Night: Thursday
and a
New Location: Studio 204
3435 Cesar Chavez in San Francisco
(ring 031 for entry)
Archive for the 'News' Category
Lee Griffiths arrived in Denver early to attend the caller school prior to the start of the convention weekend.
“Like most of the beginners, I’d gone there simply to find out if I might enjoy calling; I’d thought I might one day like to teach, and really considered equipping myself for that to be my main goal. Yet I came away totally enthused about calling anything and everything, as and when I find the opportunities and have developed enough to do so. The teaching staff quite simply inspired me with their passion, talent and commitment.
“Twenty-seven hours of classes in three days is quite an intense experience, the more so because you’re there precisely to be given as much feedback as you can get, to go away knowing what you’ll need to do to become a better, more experienced caller.
“Since Caller School, I’ve been very fortunate to have been offered a number of guest tips by other local callers. My goals are to really get into the nitty-gritty of sight calling the various programs (scary!) and slowly work up to being able to call my first full night. Fingers crossed!”
Angi enrolled in the FCD Plus course and was impressed enough by the group to apply for Foggy Citizenship.
“My friend, Duane Flohra, introduced me to square dancing; and I’m glad he did,” she explained. “Dancing gives us a chance to visit during the week—which is nice.
“I didn’t attend the convention. Maybe next year! I did go to a fly-in in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware in May 2007. My family lives close by, and I was visiting the area to attend a cousin’s wedding. It was the first time that my family has seen me dance. It was a lot of fun, and I plan to do it again next year.
“I attended The Stumptown Stomp the last two years, and have had a blast. In fact, last year at Stumptown was when the calls jelled for me with Mainstream. I try to go to as many dances as possible in order to strengthen my dancing skills.
“I really enjoy dancing with Foggy City. You guys are the greatest!”
Recorded by
Michael Golden,
Secretary
The FCD Board has been busy carrying out the club’s mission of ensuring financial security and membership strength. In that vein, ongoing communication of The Board’s activities is presented to our membership.
The Board has agreed to:
- Authorize the digitizing of the FCD logo;
- Adopt a fresh design for club polo and t-shirts;
- Invite Duane Flohra to join the FCD Board as an at-large member;
- Compress the Mainstream course to 11 sessions commencing on August 21, 2007;
- Request Harlan Kerr to teach the Semester 1 Mainstream class for 2007/2008;
- Request Neil Heather to teach the Plus class for the 2007/2008 year;
- Schedule a beer and soda fund raising social at the Pilzner Inn.
Greetings Foggy Citizens!
And a special welcome to the students in our exciting new, fast-paced Mainstream Class!
Also, we all want to welcome Duane Flohra (pictured below) onto the Board of Directors. It is volunteers like Duane who help to make things happen—And who can model the new Foggy City polo shirts!
In just a few weeks, during our September Harvest Dance, we will need volunteers to help with set-up, 50/50 Raffle Ticket Sales, clean up and to bring some yummy food items!.
I hope that I see you all soon. Help us spread the word on the joys of square dancing.
Hugs,
Richard
by Lee Griffiths
In recent years, FCD’s teaching has been traditional: a Mainstream class (26 weeks at 1.5 hours/week or 39 hours of teaching) and a subsequent Plus class (12 weeks at 2 hours/week or 24 hours teaching), taking a total of 63 hours of teaching time to advance students from beginner level through Plus between August and May.
Students have complained that classes go too slow and are too repetitive and thus boring. Existing members are less keen to angel for similar reasons. Potential students seem also to be put off by the need to initially commit to 26 weeks of lessons without knowing if they will actually enjoy square dancing.
These issues have now been addressed with a fresh teaching schedule.
- Total teaching time is now a faster-paced 44 hours.
- An 11 week (22 hour) Mainstream class began with the first Intro on August 21, then another Intro on August 28. There will be 9 more weeks to graduation.
- Classes are held from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. on Tuesdays at Studio 204.
- The cost for students is $75. Angels are welcome (and needed).
- Plus class will be offered to these students starting on November 27.
