MAINSTREAM: A CURRENT TREND
Mike Seastrom is the current Chairman
of the Mainstream Program, retired member of the Board of Governors,
and Past Chairman of the Board of CALLERLAB
I couldn’t help recently being challenged to refer to Merriam Webster’s
Dictionary to look up the definition of Mainstream. I saw absolutely no
reference to “average” at all. In fact, the definition reads: “a prevailing
current or direction of activity or influence”.
It seems that most of us would really like to be considered as part of the
main group and not hanging out alone by ourselves and totally isolated. Since
square dancing is a team dance and since one finest and unique attributes of our
activity is the incredible social opportunity it affords its participants, being
part of the group is being part of what is most popular. In short, Mainstream is
where it’s at and where it all begins.
When one does an actual count of all the calls at a club dance or festival,
the calls that rank at the top of the most frequently called movements are the
calls on the current CALLERLAB Mainstream program. This program contains calls
that everyone learns when they first start to dance and those that make up or
are a part of most of our dances. They are also the calls that form the
foundation of knowledge that square dancers need, no matter what dance program
they enjoy. They are the main calls in our dance.
The CALLERLAB Mainstream Program has been very stable since 1976 and is
made up of most of the calls in the old “Sets In Order” Basic and
Extended Basic Program. When the number of square dance calls being written by
callers and dancers exploded in the mid 1960’s, different areas in the country
started creating their own lists of calls to try and define which ones were
being called in their area. It became increasingly difficult to dance in another
state or even in another part of the same city, because different groups of
these new calls were being called at clubs and festivals.
Most areas divided their dances with terms like, Fun, Intermediate, and
Advanced Level. Other areas labeled their dances A, B, C, and D. Different
programs, levels, and labels were around long before CALLERLAB was even formed.
As a matter of fact, it was all this confusion that prompted Bob Osgood, Editor
of “Sets In Order” American Square Dance Magazine to summon together the
most prominent caller leaders in the activity at that time to seek a solution to
this chaos.
Under Bob’s extraordinary and unselfish leadership, CALLERLAB was formed
with the help of the most influential caller leaders at that time. Did Bob’s
efforts come too late? After all, the flood of new calls was affecting the
activity for quite awhile before anyone knew the real consequences of all this
caller and dancer creativity. Many were caught up in the fun of “choreographic
puzzle solving to music” and for many, this is still one of the highlights of
their square dance involvement.
While there is absolutely nothing wrong with dancers enjoying the
extemporaneous mental challenge that is so unique to our dance form, there have
always been problems created when mixing dancers who are new with those who are
experienced, and with those who don’t want the mental challenge with those who
love it. Being tolerant and totally accepting of each other, when we have
different recreational preferences, is unfortunately not the norm in human
nature. This issue still plagues us today and always will. Being more tolerant
of our differences would make the world a much more pleasant place.
Well, the leaders at that time did the best they could do with the
activity. After all, the momentum was so strong and the explosion of calls was
already history. They were hanging on to a giant with whatever ropes and chains
they could, to calm the wild beast. In my opinion, our “separate” programs, from
Mainstream all the way through the Challenge, are still a very good way to allow
dancers with different interest levels to enjoy what they like in dancing. If
you throw in other parts of our dancing activity, like round dancing, line
dancing, contra dancing, and being in a dancer leadership position in a club or
association, it further “separates or divides” our activity.
There is no way to change the fact that human nature, different preferences
in dancing, and the amount of time one can devote to a single recreation is
going to “separate and divide” square dancers. Isn’t it about time that we stop
trying to promote different lists of calls to our callers and dancers? We’re
just dividing ourselves further and creating more confusion. We’re wasting
precious leadership time, which is at a premium with most of us today, on this
one issue.
CALLERLAB Programs have been the standard in the world for many years now, and while not perfect and in review every three years, they allow us all to know exactly what to expect, within reason, wherever we dance and call.
The single issue of which entry program is the right one for square dancing
is an issue that will be in debate for along time. There’s nothing wrong with
continuing to find an easier way to introduce and keep our new dancers, but
let’s not further “divide people into classes” by carrying around and promoting
another list of calls.
There is so much more to do, to promote and preserve the joy of square
dancing for future generations. We all agree that this is one of the healthiest
and enjoyable recreational activities this is and has ever been around. So let’s
continue to work together and combine all of our energies into the more
important issues that will carry us into the future.
Let’s turn down the bickering on this issue, but continue to work
together to tweak it into something more successful. Let’s channel our
energies into more important areas like education of our existing caller and
dance leaders, recruiting new and younger callers and dance leaders, changing
our less than accurate image, positioning ourselves to afford and use modern
marketing and promotional techniques, arguing less and just having more fun with
one another.
There is more that enough room for all the associations and groups that make our activity go, so lets all do what we do best, stop the duplication of efforts, promote each other, and most importantly, work together in harmony to make our activity more available and popular for future generations to enjoy.