Looking Circles

Looking circles are often abused and dancers often don’t know what to do in multi-circle venues or when dancers are sitting. In single circle venues, the dancers should make their dancing circle, and when it’s time for a looking circle, everyone should stop where they are – the shorter dancer of the couple should face in (toward instructor) and the taller dancer stand behind or slightly offset behind and to the side of the shorter dancer. When in a two-circle venue, the dancers should split the distance between the dancing circles with dancers in the inner circle moving out and those in outer circle moving in. When in a triple circle the dancers in the 2nd circle should remain in place and the inner & outer circles should move to the 2nd circle. What typically happens, however, is the outer circle backs away a few steps and then everyone else has to make the mass migration to the outside. This has two primary problems. First the instructor has to move (often) large distances to get in position to demonstrate figures in multiple locations. This is tiresome to the instructor and wastes teaching time for instructors to just walk from place to place. For the dancers – this often puts the instructor farther away than they can easily see. The second reason is that this is extra tiring to the dancers who have to make the long walk back and forth to their inner circle(s) – one of the reasons many dancers avoid the inner circles. In all instances, those who choose or need to sit during instruction have the obligation to find a seat in a location where they can see and they should never need to ask dancers (who are in proper looking circles) to move.

From clinic notes prepared for the RAL Convention, 2015, and reprinted in the Dixie Round Dance Council (DRDC) Newsletter, January 2022.