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KIND WORDS FROM READERS

Wow!   Such a resource you are. You know not only the tunes but how to find the steps!
THANK YOU!!!!

Used your excellent site again today to look up Rumba Cross for a fellow dancer.  You even included a link to the Hurds teaching it!  Awesome. Just wanted you to know your work is appreciated!

Refer to your handbook online "all the time", and, have to say, it has become our bible of round dancing. You two have done such a terrific job in putting together this great work, and, although I have complimented you in the past, I wish to say again how very, very, much your work has helped us during our dancing.


Your website is a godsend! I use it whenever I am doing any choreography. Many thanks!


Harold, my Hero, … heartfelt thanks for the intelligent and deep analysis of all aspects of dance on your site.


The most recent issue of our [local round dance] newsletter reprinted your article "Efforts We Can Make to Improve All Our Dancing". I just had to write to express my appreciation and respect for this article! You summarized in 4 pages what it has taken us years to learn! This article should be required reading for ALL round dancers. We teach a few couples here, and I am going to make them memorize this piece! 

Thank you so much for all you do for us round dancers!


Thank you so much for the great Article . . . "THERE IS MORE THAN ONE WAY TO LEAD"! From time to time I looked for other good descriptions for leading and following in Dancing but there weren't so much . . . And then, some days ago, I came to your brilliant description to that theme. Your article is simply grandiose! And because of the high quality of your article I copied it and decided to translate it into German. Today I have met my Dancing Partner and have read her the part I have already translated up to now and she was as excited like me! She also found the lines excellent!



Thanks for what you do in furthering the education of the Round Dance community.  We always follow your articles with interest, and have often used your materials as a source for things we try to incorporate into our dancing and teaching repertoire.


Your manual is helping me a great deal with moves I was having problems in "getting".  I really appreciate it and thank you for the favour you did for us dancers in having such an amazing site.


I love it.  You are very good editor and excellent round dancer.  You have a better understanding than most of not only what the book says but also the underlying body mechanics of what "should" be book.


Thank you so much for your site and all the work you have gone to to post this Info about Round Dance, etc. I came upon your gold mine when I went to "Ask.com" to try to find round dance cue sheets and cues for the woman's part only. It is so hard for me to take the cues for the man then reverse them.

Thank you again for all. You are great!!

Thank-you soooo much for responding to my email, and for all that great help, too!

I am grateful for you and for all you do for Round Dance! I look forward to hearing again from you!

You are the answer to my prayers and just what the doctor ordered. Thank you for all your wonderful Info you have sent me, and for all your time and trouble! I know I could not begin to repay you for what your time, expertise, and help is worth to me and others. 



You are amazing!  Your ability to describe dancing movements in written words is fantastic!
My wife and I used your dancing instructions whenever we could find them to help us dance better together.  Your DRDC articles were great!

I didn’t know about your website and about your Round Dance Figure & Styling Manual.  I just stumbled across it yesterday and I’m astounded at the amount of information you have published about dancing. It is very hard to find someone who can communicate verbally about the body mechanics of dancing. And that is how I like to learn.


This is an amazing website. Harold Sears has compiled an online round dance manual that contains descriptions of every figure of every rhythm in round dancing and even includes some unphased figures as well. Moreover, he has included perhaps the largest collection of articles on many aspects of round dancing to include history, technique, and other dancing tips. (from "Using the Internet for Round Dance Teaching" by Tim Eum & Cindy Hadley, 35th Annual Roundalag Convention Education Syllabus, June, 2011. Thanks, Tim & Cindy.)


You write so well that sometimes I just get caught and keep reading and reading . . . when I have much work waiting and shouldn't be distracted. It would be nice to have your writings in a real book that one could take to bed . . .


Oh, thank you! You are a life saver and your chart will be most helpful!


Thank you very much for sending me the mp3 for the Hawaiian Wedding song. I am getting married in July and we want to dance this as our first dance.



I continue to explore your site and want to let you know how much I appreciated Keep Dancing. Gave me a chuckle.



Lovely, thanks.



I want to say how much I appreciate your webpage that is all about round dancing.  I refer to it all the time and it is a big help with my round dancing.



I very much appreciate your online round dance reference. Do you sell a hard copy version? [Thank you, but, sorry, we don't. - Harold]



Of all the sites to obtain dance knowledge, the one we've become dependent on -- is yours. Love the amount of time and effort you and Meredith have put in to create such a wonderful help to dancers. Your tie-in to other routines/dances and detailed explanation is more helpful than any we have ever seen.



Thank you very very much for your wonderful website, it has helped me a lot in the last years.



What a wonderful web site you have created!! It is by far the very best I have come across relating to Round Dancing.

I had hoped to locate a book or publication that you may have published containing a lot of what is on your web site. Do you have such a publication? If you do not, you might want to consider publishing one. I have no doubt that it would be the most sought after reading among those who love round dancing! 

Once again, congratulations on a most wonderful web site!!!! It is truly a labor of love!



I'd forgotten that your site was such a wealth of information in very readable format. I've got it on my favorites list now. Thank you so much for sharing your hard work.



I just wanted to send you a thank you for all the work you have put into your round dance figure descriptions … [We] have been finding your site invaluable for answering all those questions like "What's the difference between a Twirl and a Twirl Vine" or "There's a Natural Weave in Waltz too? Isn't that a 7-step Foxtrot figure?" Your descriptions really seem to help me connect my ballroom training with the round dance figure names. And I appreciate how you're grouped similar figures and provided timings. Anyhow, I just wanted to say thank you for making all this availiable.



Thanks, Harold, I knew I asked the right person!



Your web page is a delight and I have sent it out to my new dancers. I know they will be thrilled.



We have just discovered your web site and love the info you have available to us.



Hello, Harold,

I administrate our club website, and our dancers (especially our class) asked me to add the figure descriptions to the site. Unfortunately most of them do not understand English, so it is impossibe just to add link to your site. That is why I would like to ask you whether you could be so kind and permit me to translate your dance manual to Czech and add it to our site (of course I will not forget to add the link to your original page). Thank you.



The article on the Alemana is exactly what I was referring to. Thank you again for all your many years of absolutely immeasurable data. You have saved so many of us eons of hours of research.



[All dancers should] read the whole article [Adjust To Partner] — it is the best thing I have ever read on what "lead and follow" is really about.



Hi Harold and Meredith !
Just a little note to tell you that your article really touched me.



Thank you Harold, your explanations are great.



Thank you very much for your quick response and information. I live to dance and dance to live



I love your educational articles, I wish I had found them years ago (if they existed years ago).



You have such a fantastic site. I wish I could dance; I'm only living vicariously through your site....



Thank you for your very clear education regarding conception of syncopation and its use in dance, pivot action(s), and spin turn (figure in a measure...). I am so happy. Great thanks.



Thanks for your quick reply, and an excellent answer with so many details and clarity! It really clarifies something that's been puzzling me for a long time. I'll certainly try to go through the cue sheets of the various types of dances and try to apply the ideas that you raised.



I just wanted to compliment you on your "Don't Fight" article. It couldn't be more appropriate to our experience including "she plays bridge and I golf." We have danced together for a long time and everything you say is true. Keep up the good work.



Many thanks for your prompt reply re the Chugg step in Jive. When we read the definition, it all came clear. We know it as the "shunt" step. Anyway, the Chugg/shunt step has now been included in our Jive routine. All yours in "happy feet a dancing!"



What a great service you perform to all dancers with your website and contributions to DRDC newsletter etc. You really help us a lot!!



While using you manual yet again, I had the impulse to write and thank you for the thousands of hours and care you must have put in to create and mantain this wonderful aid to the round dance learner. We have used the manual many times in the last couple of years to sort out a difficult figure; it has been and continues to be a great help in our dancing journey. Thank you very much for making this service available, we greatly appreciate your help.



I'm very impressed with your site!



I appreciate the time and effort you have put into creating this information and putting it on the Internet for us to use and enjoy.



You have been of great help. Your having taken the effort to compile all of that information was of tremendous value. Most of the websites are composed by dance studios and do not have either the depth or accuracy of yours. Some of them are even flat wrong ... and those worry me. You are the only person whom I chose to ask for the answer to my question, because of your attention to correctness and accuracy.



This is not a question, but a thank you. I do appreciate having all the round dance information available online --- for free. I haven’t round danced in about ten years so I am taking refresher lessons, which seem to be crawling along to me. Today I got curious about how many of the two-step movements we had learned in seven weeks. As I thought there are a lot more to re-learn.



Hello. This is one of the best dance sites I've visited. I found your articles very informative and I loved the way you seemed to be speaking right to me. Thank you.



I just want to thank you very much for your manual. The descriptions are so easy to follow and you make everything crystal clear. I have just started a round dance class in the UK and I am at present starting a class of 30 beginners on 2 step. I also have some advanced people so all your info is most helpful.



Hey thanks a lot for all of your help. You really helped in picturing this dance.



You're right! The Step-lock-step is exactly like skipping. THANK YOU! I learned the two-step in about 30 seconds after reading your page. A bit of practice in other directions and I'm actually getting compliments.

Again, thank you!



Thank you!!! That helps a lot. We are doing waltz and it's quite confusing but I think I get it now- you're a saint!!!!!!



Great advice Harold!



Thank you so much. I have been round dancing for a year and your site is great. I hope some day you will publish a book. Also I can’t believe the fast turnaround.



Love your site. It keeps getting better. I refer to it a lot for use in social ballroom. My round dancing training makes me look like a silver/gold dancer on the social floor. I will look up a step on your site then use your examples and my experience to build a pattern around that key step.



You have no idea of how helpful your Website is to us! The new Website is even better !!



Congratulations on the new website Harold - much easier to find stuff - really appreciate your time and effort making available to those of us with lead feet and mushy brains - it's a great help.



Hi Harold
Thank you so much for your fabulously concise response. Yes please, I would like to have the PDF cue sheet. Only the head cues were available from "Cue Sheets All Over". I just love your web page. I'm using it more than my round dance manual. It's so much better written.



How to thank you ???

I don’t know … so nice web site, so much information / photos , a dream for a beginner like me …

You hyper motivate me to join the dancers …

Since a few days, a lost moments, I go to your web site and “milk” all pages , texts, photos. I am extremely happy !!!!

Again, I do not know how to thank you !!!



That is exactly it. We misheard the cue, you are right it is "flick and flare". Thank you very much for your directions, especially the man's part, it really helps to complete this figure without pulling each other off of our feet or just plain falling over! Thanks a lot Harold - we may ask you again when we get stuck - if it's okay.



I have started to round dance last year and I just want to let you know I have really enjoyed your website concerning round dancing. I have found the descriptions of the movements and the articles very helpful in my journey of learning round dancing, and I find the layout of your subject matter easy to use.

Thank you for all your work on the web site.



I love your website and use it often. It has great information and I tell people about it whenever I get the chance. Keep up the great work.



I like your website, very informative and well-written.



It is VERY nicely done. That is A LOT of information to absorb.



That's it! Thank you so much. It really helps to be able to practice at home between classes. Thanks again for all the info.



Harold: This is fabulous! This isn't exactly as I remember it, but it is the one my brother remembers, so it's probably the right one. Thank you SOOO much for your help!



Harold, I thank you kindly for your very timely note back to me. It was
responsive and very thorough. You appear to be one of those rare jewels on the Internet, but that may only get you more questions from me. ;-)))



Harold,
Thanks so much, for this helps greatly.
I hope you have a great Easter, and I am sure I will talk to you again.
Thanks once again.



THANK YOU so much!!!!!  Your information is wonderful to have!  I'm going to print out your letters and take them to my rehearsal tonight with my new partner so he can have the site information too.  Having a glossary of terms defined will make alllllllll the difference!  Your explanations about the differences between ballroom and round dancing terms will probably convince him that Round Dancing should be our goal, not competition for ballroom judges!  I want to have FUN with social dance, not make it into another routine to perfect for an audience or judge, which is the life I lead NOW as a dance instructor.  Round dancing sounds like a solution to that!  How long has this concept been going on? 



Harold and Meredith,

First, thank you so much for the incredible amount of work that you have put into establishing and maintaining this site. It has been an endless source of reference for my wife and me. My wife and I are mid-level Phase IV dancers trying to move up into the top half of the Phase IV dances so I am checking every resource that I can to help us.



I love the notes you have on dance patterns



I just printed out your email and will definitely give your ideas a try. In fact, I'll probably take the printout with me Saturday night and use it as a crib sheet.  Really good stuff. I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for your help -- once again.



Your site is just what we are looking for. We are level 2–3 dancers playing around with more advanced songs. Our hang-up is with the six figures we learned last Friday nite—some of the details we did not get recorded adequately. Your site sure fills in what we can't remember.

Thanks again.



And, btw, thanks again for your informative site. I refer to it often.



Dear Harold and Meredith,
Congratulations on your beautiful informative website, it is fantastic!



About six months ago, I came across your website through a search and have referred to it quite a few times. It's been most helpful in familiarizing figures we have not been taught or need clarification. It's been great. Also enjoyed the history of the dances.



I think your information is wonderful and well described.



and a great big THANK you Harold Sears … for an excellent resource … smooooootch … and cyberhugs



The Lindy page … is an EXCELLENT summary of the dance.



Thanks for all of the effort you put into your site. It certainly is a great resource.



Thank you soooooo much for this explanation. Now we can visualize the steps and work on their execution.



Hi

We have just found your site and love it. Just to let you know we shall be making full use of it to continue our learning. We dance at phase 4 comfortably and are continuing to learn more phase 5 fox, waltz & tango. Your site will be a great help to go further.

Thanks again for a great site.



your extremely excellent online round dance manual. You have done a wonderful job with it and included just about everything.

great article

I like your insights on round dancing.



Just to let you know that I've just discovered your website about round dancing and it's outstanding. You have put a lot of time and effort into the project. It shows a lot of insight on your part and gives much more feeling to learning steps than the manual from RAL. We hope that this is easy to find by individuals that are on the web inquiring about ballroom dancing. It's the best round dancing sell that's out there.



Hi:

I am an amateur dancer and would just like to say that your page contains a wealth of information, and it must have taken a long time to put it together. Thanks for all the effort.



Thank you for your help with the contracheck. The figure is now more clear to us, especially the timing.



We would like to thank to help us with our "oversway problem. It's nice to get help from someone so far from Belgium. With the description of the dancesteps we were now able to dance these figures. We've never had such a good description of how to dance a figure before. This twist, we didn't knew about, indeed this adds some grace. It's a nice figure to dance. Yesterday we tried to practice them a few times. It's far from perfect, but we keep on practising. You've been a great help. If we have some other problem in the future, would you mind to help us again?

You must be a good dancer to know this much about dance figures. Are you a dance teacher or maybe a compition dancer?



I really apprecaite your help and your great web site. thanks for including the outside spin and letting me know what the differences are between it and the spin turn. That really helped.



I do appreciate the quality and content of your web site.



Thanks for the info; thats helps lots, and I think you hit the nail on the head. Posture is the trick, you got it right. Head up and left, stand up and loosen up the hips... I hear you, and it works...

I'm thinking about video tapes and books...thinks for the links.



hi hi

I've been reading your site and it's fab absolut fabuless and for that I thank you. If you could enlighten me on how to rise and fall .... I will be very greatfull and I'll think sing your praise every time I hear a fox trot.



Nice website. Great dance quotes. Good information.



Thanks for the great information on the umbrella turn! That will help a lot.



Someone in the Weaver discussion group made a reference to your RD site recently. I clicked on it and stayed there for hours. I am a new RDer of three years, dancing somewhere in Phase IV right now.

Your article on Lead and Follow with the five types of leading was precisely the material I was interested in right now--as my husband and I are working at getting all this leading and following into something manageable for us. I very much appreciate all the thought and consideration you put into your article. I could see that this was written by Harold, yet it was very considerate of the female situation in dancing.

Currently, it seems that we are "aiming" for the traditional man's lead, yet since we are still both very new on the dance floor--and very much still struggling with processing the figures that are cued--it seems that we unwittingly utilize the "collaborative" lead style.

What your article has done is to legitimize this collaboration. Until reading it, we both thought it was a failure on our part.

And I have (wrongly) many times, gone on to step ahead of my partner--thinking this might "clue" him to the figure. I see now that this most probably is just causing us to dance "separately," and not smoothly.

However, sometimes without some "clue" from me, we just stand still when he doesn't know what to do, and in that case, isn't it okay for me to step out? (If he would simply "do the wrong figure," I'd be willing to follow it, now that I've read your article!

Well, just wanted to say "thank you."

Thanks again for your website, your articles, and all the many links you have provided. What a blessing you are.



Hello,

Just wanted to mention that as a round dancer of several years, I just now discovered your website and was totally in awe of it. Bounds of information and very well done. Could have used this earlier, but, will make good use of it now. Thanks, for all your good work.



I am absolutely flabbergasted at your impressive Website!...............Obviously, it is a labor of love for Round Dancing and helping out your fellow man through newcomer nightmares of learning Round Dancing. Thanks again for the help and putting such a great reference source on the Web!



Dear Harold, I have barely taken in all you've given me in the first message...but I wanted to thank you before too much time went by. I come from a wonderful dancing family, but alas, my husband of 31 years doesn't dance. I have managed to squeeze a "slow motion" out of him once a year in the last couple years as some of our own children have been getting married and I beg. However, as I mentioned, there are a few friends we see at weddings or work with in community theater (we always do musicals) and they can dance! None of us knew how to "two step". I will practice, thanks to you, and be ready for the next wedding in a couple weeks. I think your kindness and helpfulness has been as uplifting as learning the dance, actually more! God bless you.



Finally got a chance to browse Harold's swell page. Thank you for the great gift! I could not find anything that was not informative. I am so excited!



Wow! This is the best web site I ever found. I assume we will have to move the computer to the basement to work out new things in our dancing. I consider this to be a great teaching reference. Thanks in advance for the improvement in our dancing!






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Online since 2001 İHarold and Meredith Sears, Boulder, CO, harold@rounddancing.net. All rights reserved.