[Callers] Another approach to Gender Free calling

Tue Jun 2 00:21:25 PDT 2015

An approach to subtle gender free calling is to choose choreographies where both members of the couple do the same thing.  Really traditional contra dances often have this feature, as well as lots of English dances which were not composed with that in mind.  

Chorus Jigg is one of those naturally gender free ones:

1s down the outside and back
1s down the middle and back
1s turn contra corners
1s balance and swing. 

Since Jim referred to having more dances than usual where 2s swing  in the middle I assumed he'd used this approach to at least some degree. This would restrict the figure menu. You can do interrupted square thru but you can't do ladies chain.  If you're so gender free that you don't have rules you can't use swings to progress and neighbor swings could be trouble.  But you could call an evening without specific gender reference to a group who already knew roles and where swings ends using only partner, neighbor, 1s and 2s, and they might not notice that you never said gents and ladies. 

Alan

Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 1, 2015, at 9:12 AM, Kalia Kliban via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> 
> Jim, as I look at your set of dances the first question that occurs to me is how you dealt with the improper formation without reference to gender/dance-role.
> 
> Kalia
> 
>> On 6/1/2015 8:14 AM, Jim Hemphill via Callers wrote:
>> A friend told me about Brooke Friendly's style of calling ECD and that
>> was part of the inspiration for this contra program.
>> Jim
>> 
>> On Mon, Jun 1, 2015 at 9:24 AM, Roger Hayes <roger.hayes at gmail.com
>> <mailto:roger.hayes at gmail.com>> wrote:
>> 
>>    Check out Brooke Friendly and Chris Sackett's English Country dances
>>    - they use "geographic" terms, and structure the dances without
>>    gender roles. It's different, but the dance does keep changing, it's
>>    a live art.
>> 
>>    http://www.brookefriendlydance.com/
>> 
>>    Aside from Mr. Hemphill's effort recently here described, I know of
>>    no comparable endeavor in contra dance choreography - I suppose
>>    we're more traditional than ECD. Does anyone have info to share?
>> 
>>    Roger Hayes
>> 
>>    Jim - I don't think I am alone in wondering how you managed this
>>    without telling the dancers. I take that to mean you didn't make it
>>    gender free by the terminology you used (jets or whatever) but by
>>    the kinds of dances you chose.  I'd love to read more details about
>>    what this entailed.
>> 
>>    Please share more!
>> 
>>    Amy
>>    206 330 7408 <tel:206%20330%207408>
>>    Amy at calleramy.com <mailto:Amy at calleramy.com>
>> 
>>    On Jun 1, 2015, at 5:37 AM, Jim Hemphill via Callers
>>    <callers at lists.sharedweight.net
>>    <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>> 
>>>    The recent discussions on this topic inspired me to try an
>>>    experiment in gender free calling.  Last night I called the
>>>    contra dance in St. Louis using gender free calling without
>>>    telling anyone.    The experiment was a great success.  I received
>>>    lots of  positive feedback on the evenings dance.  At the break
>>>    and after the dance I made a point to ask several dancers, some
>>>    were callers as well, if they noticed anything different or
>>>    unusual about the dances or how I taught them.   One person
>>>    noticed that there were more dances that included a swing in the
>>>    center for couple 2 than usual.  No one I talked to noticed that
>>>    the calls and teaching were gender free.
>>>    It took some extra time to construct a fun, diverse 3 hour
>>>    program, but it is certainly possible.  Re-labeling the dancers is
>>>    not the only way to call gender free.
>>>    If you are interested in the program I used or the larger
>>>    collection of gender free dances I chose the program from, send me
>>>    an email, arcadian35 at gmail.com <mailto:arcadian35 at gmail.com>.
>>>    Thanks,
>>>    Jim Hemphill
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>> 
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>> 
>> 
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