Quoting earlier mail on choosing a hack tip:

Here are the criteria I know about for choosing/designing a hack tip for the class. Please add more you know of.

   - Is fun for the class

   - Is challenging but do-able for the class, who aren't as skilled as veteran club members yet.

   - Is different from recent hacks

   - Involves all people in the square.

   - Minimized risk of injury

   - Doesn't make Ted quit - if it requires special work on his part, he must be consulted and ok things.


We'll want one hack for the patter, and one for the singer. I believe the patter hack can be more challenging, since patter can be slowed down

• 'undo' - start from 'unstep to a wave'. 'unspin-chain-and-exchange-the-gears' is very hard. Takes caller buy-in/work.
• conference call - Caller calls in to a cell phone dialed in to a conf. call service. Everyone dances listening to THEIR cell phones.
• go() - Ted defines 'go' as a call or 2 and calls it for a bit, then expands the definition by another call or 2, and so on.
• accreting mass of people in the center of the square.
• 'parasitic' gemini. One person starts out gemini with someone in the square, and they change who they're attached to whenever it's convenient.
• 4 or 5 calls each replaced by an arbitrary OTHER sound effect - bell, horn,
• Do something (silly - sound effect, pirouette, ...) at the end of each call.
• Walking backwards.
• Gender swap. on [cue].
• Push-me-pull-you - 2 dancers joined back-to-back.
• changing 'forward' on [cue]
• 'Improv' Tandem - front dancer no hands, rear dancer's hands used instead.
  • (W/blindfold??)
• 4 calls at a time. ("relay the deucy, men run, right and left through, ladies chain" then Ted relaxes for a while.)
  • ... or called in reversed order.
• Passing [object] through the air, square to square.
• Change squares on a given call.
• Color. Swap squares to Not the same color square...
• No Hands
• Phantoms
• Physical phantoms:
  • Brooms
  • IV Stands
  • Desk/Rolling chairs
  • Giant Stuffed animals
• Black Hole
• Gemini
• Tandem
• Siamese
  • 1 each of the above.
• Pavlov
• Blindfolded
• Walking Through Squares
• Rope down center line
• 3/4 time
• Progressive squares - Can pass through other squares
• Flippers/Shoe Boxes/Slippers
• Don't Look Down/Stuff On Head
• Ted Says
• Balloons (Though, latex allergies.)
• Moat
• Beach Balls
• Mirror
• Strobes
• Barstool
• Noses
• Hold Rope Up
• Hot Potato
• Ropes Between Partners
• Exchange The Squares

• > Nothing is ever original, but hey.  I'm not sure when this was last done.
  > Tape a circle on the floor.  Size and placement can vary. The idea is that
  > you cannot step into the circle.
  > So, for instance, one instantiation could be that there's a circle where
  > someone would stand if the square squared-up. Or in parallel waves (one
  > way, but not the other).
  > The trick is that somehow you need to indicate the centre of the square,
  > because otherwise it's pretty easy to shift so that you don't fall into the
  > black hole.

  dave!

• > Hi JB,
  >The class spends almost 3 months with club helping them.  I'd love
  > to see a hack that "turns the tables"
  > The best I can come up with is having every class member square up
  > with a blindfolded club member.  Traditionally these tips have the
  > class dance without the club, so I'm not sure how people will feel
  > about this.  On the other hand, I think the club and class would both
  > enjoy it.  Especially if Ted calls easy. =)
  >-Heather

• Maypoles -- with a ninth person holding the Maypole in the middle of each

     square.

• T-Rex

• Music is round dance music instead of square dance music.

•      I have been discussing the hack for the singer with Guy.  I would

  love to have an extra-long singing call in which each girl dances with

  all eight boys in two squares.  This is combinatorially feasible, may be

  choreographically repetitive, but the killer (on short notice) is the

  prep time it would take to prepare suitable music.

   

       Guy offers two variants:

   

  > But either of the variations (just girls move across on a Trade By, or

  (This is a swap-around)

  > everyone moves across on a Trade By) I could do for tomorrow night.

   

  In other words,

   

  (variant 1) Girls who start in Square 1 end up in Square 2, and

  vice-versa.

   

  (variant 2) Everyone who starts in Square 1 end up in Square 2, and

  vice-versa.
  With enough music editing, a longer-than-normal singer can get everyone home.

• "Phantom Gemini" - One-handed
  • Sides left, heads right
  • Boys left, girls right