Rich Reel
Updated 25 Nov 2009
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| Photo by Al Loup | Photo by Marc Haberstroh Photo by Marion Redd |
I do two basic types of work in R&D...
Skills...
Patents:
7,477,381
7,139,074
6,927,852
6,921,908
6,690,467
Team Patents:
7,611,614
7,486,396
7,483,136
7,468,793
7,430,048
7,428,047
7,407,798
7,280,207
7,265,833
7,235,163
7,177,023
7,112,266
7,014,744
6,856,390
6,797,139
6,596,140
5,384,024
(patent numbers link to freepatentsonline.com)
I started dancing with Foggy City Dancers in 1995 as a new year's resolution.
I dance at these local clubs.
I call and teach for Western Star Dancers and El Camino Reelers and teach two classes at Sunnyvale Single Squares.
I first picked up the mic at the GCA caller school at the 1996 IAGSDC Convention in San Francisco. I didn't do much with calling while I focused on learning Challenge dancing the first couple years.
My earliest calling was filling in at a C3 workshop (tape group), but my first real calling opportunity was a generous offer from Neil Heather to call a tip a week of Mainstream at Santa Cruz Squares (currently on hiatus). That tip became the Plus teach tip and in about 6 months I graduated my first dancers.
I began calling club nights (Mainstream and Plus level) for local clubs August 1998 including Diablo Dancers (my very first "club night"), Foggy City Dancers, and Santa Cruz Squares (as substitute caller). Diablo Dancers was the most supportive of my calling in the critical first years. I graduated my second bunch of Diablo Dancers Plus dancers April 2000.
October 2003 I accepted an unexpected offer to teach Western Star Dancers' beginner class which is the moment I'd say I became a "real caller" calling regularly Since then I've been calling about 3 nights a week on average with a variety of additional engagements including dances, club nights, review tips, demo tips, picnics, parades, and even while on tour in China including in The Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square!
I've been calling a tip or two a week of Advanced since I taught my first Advanced class in 2006 with loving support from many ECR dancers.
2009 has marked some firsts:
Videos of me calling (YouTube)
I primarily "Sight Call", which is making up choreography on the fly from a menu of calls the dancers know then observing the dancers to resolve the square. While harder to be a good sight caller (as opposed to someone who reads pre-written material), I'd recommend it to any new caller planning to call more than 10 years. Sight calling takes a vast amount of study and preparation and VERY patient dancers while you're learning, but offers the ability to tailor a dance to a particular group and skill level for a true connection between dancers and caller. All I do now is add a few new tidbits to keep the dance patterns fresh. Calling is getting much easier now which allows all of us to have much more fun.
My real joy is teaching - both dancers and callers. When I sense there's enough interest, I organize a Newer Caller Workshop and Hoedown for our area's budding callers.
Square dance calling is uniquely fascinating, blending many different types of skills: music, kinetics, puzzle solving, teaching, showmanship and a broad array of social skills. I work obsessively on nearly every aspect of calling. Like most callers, I believe it's important to give the dancers the very best dance experience I can deliver each and every time. It feels so good when all goes well.
I'm grateful to have had many good callers to learn from. As square dancing is an activity that doesn't so-much reward in dollars, I'm thankful I have a good job that allows me to enjoy square dance calling without having to make a living at it. I have no plans to make calling any more than a hobby - albeit a serious one.
Calling is but one aspect of square dancing that has been an important catalyst for my own personal growth and development - in more ways than I ever imagined - and for far longer than I ever imagined.
The website still swallows a lot of free time. Assembling, presenting, writing, editing, re-writing, and occasional programming consumes ridiculous amounts of time. It's a character builder. I would highly recommend it if you at all inclined.
(As if you couldn't tell!) I write all HTML by hand. I use Notepad and/or Textpad for the PC mostly to ensure pages are light-weight and work with old out-of-date browsers.
ALL8.com is where I keep my notes. When I consult my notes, this is where I go. If there are any secrets then you'll find them here somewhere. I wish I could remember all the cool stuff when I call, but I can tell you, I don't. I keep trying.
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Please take the time to let me know what you think. Thank you.