Beginners Square Dance - plan for ten lessons (Don Armstrong)

This handout by caller Don Armstrong explains in detail the material to be covered in a ten-session introduction to square dancing. For each lesson, Armstrong suggests figures to be taught and suggests some appropriate dances. Note: the use of specific dances is an indication of the time, when square dances still had specific routines rather than a set of hashed and calls that could not be anticipated. In keeping with his general approach, Armstrong suggests occasion non-squares, such as mixers round dances, and contras.

Although he provides very specific suggestions, Armstrong is well aware that this is not a one-size-fits-all approach: "It should be remembered that no two different groups will maintain exactly the same progress. Dancers are not cattle, or machines. They are human and subject to all the variations that humans are endowed with or can create. Dance instruction, like any other form of teaching, requires accurate judgment, tact, patience, and, above all, a deep-rooted desire to share knowledge and skill with others ."