Nine Pin Variations Calvin Campbell In a Nine Pin Square Dance, there is one extra dancer in the center of the square. There are many versions of the dance. Most of the versions, I’ve seen, are similar to the version called by Bob Dalsemer. Click Here for Video. There are Nine Pin Quadrilles. Click here to see a video. Clark Baker wrote up a nice description of a Nine Pin Square in a printed document. Click here. Joe Gonzales called a version of a Nine Pin Square at the square at the Community Dance Leader’s Seminar held in Mesa, AZ this year that I had not seen before. Click here for the video. When I do Beginner Dance Parties, my goal is to teach as little as I can and keep them dancing as much as I can. This means using only a few square dance basics. My basic package is Circle L/R, Forward & Back, Arm Turns, Stars, Couple Promenade and Single File Promenade. I may add one or two more “basics”, but I seldom teach a DoSaDo or a Swing. My logic is that both of these actions are difficult for beginners to learn and require some time to explain correctly. Also, new dancers can’t do them gracefully without practice. And, I find that I really don’t need them at a beginner dance party. Community Dances are a different situation. There, I take the time to teach a DoSaDo that doesn’t have people crashing into each other. Good smooth Swings are something that need several weeks of practice for the dancers to really get to the point where they dance them well. This means that a Nine Pin Square that I might call for a beginner party would look like “none of the above”. I would use Circles and Stars and Arms Turns and maybe Couple Sashays. The Swing would be replaced with “Find a Partner” and Promenade. I also like to give both the men and the ladies a chance to be the “nine pin”. I do this by having the “nine pin” go find another square while the Couples Promenade“. It’s another variation of a theme for you to consider. I’ve also used the Nine Pin Theme as a gimmick at a Modern Western Square Dance. The dancers like it. Here is an variation Click here