Wilde Bunch’s Crossover
The Wilde Bunch has what we call a crossover when dancers finish Basic. We do some fun dance-related thing, and give the new dancers a certificate and their Wilde Bunch name badge.
Rick Weber is our crossover guru and always comes up with fresh ideas for the dancing. Tonight’s was particularly clever and fun. It was chicken related (obligatory links to my Dance Like A Chicken Day post and another Chicken Dance post)
, so I was able to break out my chicken paraphernalia (hat, dancing chickens, etc.)
Rick had asked me in advance for a list of calls that could be done from a squared set and calls that could be done from facing lines. He picked out calls and put them (along with some additional instructions) inside of plastic eggs. All I knew was that the calls inside plain-colored eggs could be done from a squared set , the ones in multi-colored eggs could be done from facing lines, and the pink egg contained “Allemande Left and Right and Left Grand (while clucking like a chicken)”.
Rick passed out the eggs to people in the square. My job, while calling, was to tell someone in the square to open their egg and read (call) the instructions. So they got to do things like “Four ladies promenade while the others act like they’re laying an egg.” It was lots of fun, and an easy and inexpensive gimmick. And, of course, Barnyard Reel (BMVCD 3054) is perfect music.
Don’t forget: May 14 is National Dance Like a Chicken Day.
