The Funny concept is often used yet is not well understood by most dancers. And there are several definitions floating around. Which is right? This discussion will look at this concept from different points and provide a useful methodology for using this concept on the dance floor.
The Funny concept is mostly used with Circulates where some dancers can Circulate within their Circulate paths and some cannot. The concept should explain which dancers can move and which cannot and why in some detail. It is more complicated than appears and there are several sets of definitions involved. The definitions sometime merge and sometimes not.
There are other Funny situations like Funny Slide Thru and Funny Split Counter Rotate but these are not used too often.
Definitions
Callerlab Definition: | |
Funny is a "Those Who Can" concept. On each part of the call being done, as many people as possible do that part, so long as no two people finish on the same spot. |
Vic Ceder's Definition for the Concept: | |
The Funny CONCEPT means that only those dancers who can do the next part of the given call without using phantoms and without ending on the same spot as another dancer do that part of the call. |
Vic Ceder's Definition for Funny Circulates: | |
Rule 1: another dancer will be circulating to your current position | |
and | |
Rule 2: nobody else will be circulating to your next position |
Clark Baker's Method: | |
Hint 1: Everybody point to where they would go for the call | |
Hint 2: If no one is pointing at you, don't go | |
Hint 3: Everyone else go |
Ben Rubright's Definition: | |
if you can do a part of the call without colliding with anyone, do so. |
Pointing
Most dancers use the term pointing when discussing movement in the Funny concept. What is it and what does it mean?
It is common usage in doing Funny concept calls for dancers to point at the dancer who is standing where they want to go. This means the dancer who is in your circulate path. There are a lot of circulate paths which are not straight ahead or diagonally ahead. Several examples follow: |
Case 1: |
Dancers are facing |
The red and blue are facing. In this case a Funny Circulate is exactly the same as a normal Circulate for the facing dancers. The red dancer is pointing at the blue dancer shoulder while the blue dancer is pointing to the red dancer. |
Case 2: |
Dancers are T-Boned |
The red and blue dancers are T-boned. The red dancer is pointing at the blue dancer's shoulder while the blue dancer is facing out of the box. His point is to the spot where the red dancer is standing. Certainly, no one is ever seen pointing sidewards which is the case here. Yet these dancers can do a Funny Circulate with each other. So the pointing is actually toward the other dancer along the circulate path. This quickly is silly in this case. So where are the dancers really pointing? |
Case 3: | Dancers are facing in the same direction |
Both dancers are facing out of the box. Each dancer's point is to where his partner is standing. Once again, this is a sidewards point which no one ever does. So the pointing is actually toward the other dancer along the circulate path. | |
They are pointing at the spot in the grid that is in their circulate path and not at the other dancer. |
| Case 4: | Dancers are in a mini wave and their circulate path is to the other dancer's spot as they would be in the center of a 6x2 Acey Deucey. |
Both dancers are facing out of the box. Each dancer's point is to where his partner is standing. Once again, this is a sidewards point which no one ever does. So the pointing is actually toward the other dancer along the circulate path which is the same thing as the Callerlab definition. | |
They are pointing at the spot in the grid that is in their circulate path and not at the other dancer. |
The example shown in the Callerlab rules is as follows:
According to Vic Ceder's rules, neither of the GREY dancers can go because no one is circulating to their spot. Since they can't go because of that rule, then the RED and BLUE dancers can go because they are circulating to a spot where no other dancer is going.
According to Clark Baker's method, the GREY dancers cannot go because no one is pointing at them whereas the RED and BLUE dancers can go because they are each pointing to each other.
Let's look at an example that is called all the time - Funny Diamond Circulate 1. We'll only look at a single diamond for clarity. This is the diagram:
According to the Callerlab rules BLUE can't go because BLUE and YELLOW are circulating to the same spot. And RED can go because no one but RED is circulating to BLUE's spot but we already determined that BLUE can't go. So now what? We now have to examine ALL the dancers to see if any dancers are limited.
Vic Ceder's rules say that GREEN can't go because no one is circulating to that spot. If GREEN can't go then YELLOW can't go because no one is circulating to this spot.
So this says that RED and BLUE can go because GREEN and YELLOW can't go. Can you imagine anyone doing this evaluation on the dance floor.? I can't. So what do we do as a practical matter?
If we look at all the dancers in the light of Clark Baker's recommendations, then only BLUE and RED can go because they are the only dancers who are pointing at each other (each other's spots). This agrees with Vic Ceder's first rule so we can keep this rule and use it on the dance floor. No one is pointing at GREEN's spot so GREEN can't go. Since GREEN can't go, GREEN can't be pointing at YELLOW. Since no one is pointing at YELLOW's spot then YELLOW can't go. Actually, this method is the same as Vic Ceder's second rule so there is agreement on this point. We can keep the "points" method and use it on the dance floor.
Callers will invariably use Funny Diamond Circulate 1. The BLUE and RED dancers will point at each other and they will go. The BLUE and YELLOW dancers won't even raise their hands to point. This is what happens on the dance floor. There is no evaluating of whether each and every dancer can or can't move and why this is so. So it looks like the pointing method method is useful and may be used.
But what about the situation with Callerlab's rule which says that those who can go should go? This is basically the same as Vic Ceder's first rule. Yet this violates the pointing method because nobody is pointing at anybody else. And a lot of dancers think that you have to be pointing at someone who is pointing at you in order to go. So we have a problem here to solve.
Let's look at this example:
Funny 6x2 Acey Deucey
Normal use of 6x2 Acey Deucey defines 2 separate and distinct Circulate paths for the dancers - one for the outside 6 dancers and another for the 2 very center dancers. These paths are shown in this diagram:
The setup for a Funny 6x2 Acey Deucey looks like this:
What is a little different for a Funny 6x2 Acey Deucey is that there is a "normal" Funny situation where some of the dancers are pointing at each other (the points of the diamonds) and two dancers (the very center dancers) who are in a normal Circulate position and may follow Vic Ceder's two rules for Funny Circulates. Many believe that normal Circulates (like in normal right hand columns) should never be called because it is a "hokey" situation. Yet here we have a situation where the two very center dancers are doing exectly that.
Certainly the points, who are pointing at each other, can go and so can the centers. The rule for the points is clear no matter whose rule is followed. The centers have only two spots in their Circulate path - the spots where each center dancer is standing. They can certainly move to those spots just by Circulating. They can point, too, because there are only two spots available to them. On the dance floor, the centers never point. So the points go because they are pointing at each other. The centers go because they can. So all the rules can apply in this situation but the pointing rule is not used by the centers.
Additional Diagrams
Funny Box Circulate 2
Funny Diamond Circulate 3
Funny Circulate 1
Conclusions
In Most dancing situations, Clark Baker's pointing recommendation works very well except for situations like the centers of the 6x2 Acey Deucey example above. The Callerlab rule is still applicable for parts of this call. Vic Ceder's rules are always correct but cannot be really used in the heat of battle because most dancers don't know them and wouldn't have time to do the analysis. What is ultimately required is for a rule to be written that is consistent, undertandable and usable on the dance floor.