[Callers] Gypsies

Amy Wimmer via Callers callers at lists.sharedweight.net
Sun Oct 25 12:02:51 PDT 2015


I'm not fond of "eddy," "vortex," or "swirl" because they all imply
twirling, which is not what the gypsy move wants. That defeats the purpose,
in my mind. "Facing" seems most appropriate, useful and descriptive of the
terms suggested.

-Amy

On Oct 25, 2015, at 11:53 AM, Andrea Nettleton via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:


I don't like the idea that a term we use might be offensive to someone.  I
think part of its tenacity is that it can be used for a whole family of
similar eye locking moves.  The term walk around will not serve in what is
now called a gypsy star, or in a traveling gypsy, gypsy chase, or gypsy
hey, which all have eye contact as a common element.
In discussing with dancers, I heard objection to the terms catching eyes,
grabbing by the eyes etc.  made them think of hands in eyes.  Not that they
didn't understand, but it was distasteful to them.
Perhaps we could agree to a term like 'facing' to link the diverse moves
together.  It is used in squares in cases where instead of the usual facing
someone's back, you are face to face (as in a facing diamond).  This
un-knots all the alternative moves (facing star, facing hey, travel
facing).
I don't actually think of a plain gypsy as involving a shoulder, but rather
a side of my face.  Go R face round your N, ladies L face round each
other?  Facing indicates where we should look more or less without
demanding eye contact.  I like eye contact, but some are profoundly
uncomfortable with it.  I dislike when they choose to twirl their bodies
rather than at least look in my general direction.  Facing helps with that.
I'm sure we will come up with something better, but I'd like a solution
that acknowledges this family of moves.

I'm not fond of eddy, for its aural similarity to the name Eddie.  Spiral,
vortex etc, while all sort of indicative of rotation, also indicate to me
the funnel effect, which is not the only way we use the move.  Many gypsies
merely move us smoothly on to another dancer.
One final thought, offered mostly for grins.  I have occasionally thought
of a gypsy as two people walking round a maypole.  We could say R maypole
round your N, Ladies L maypole in the center, go one and a half to your P,
R maypole and swing your partner. :D

Andrea

Sent from my iOnlypretendtomultitask

On Oct 25, 2015, at 12:56 PM, Joy Greenwolfe via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

I once had someone explain the gypsy as not trusting someone enough to take
their eyes off of them (!), so I agree that the underlying meaning can be
problematic, to say the least. Other moves have historical meanings too,
but Gypsy as a term is more pejorative than, say, Allemande, which
references traditional German folk dance hand holds.

I like Michael's suggestion for *"eyes." *When teaching, it could be
described as "walk around holding eyes," which is similar to how I already
describe it (holding eyes instead of hands). Then during the dance, the
call could be shortened to "eyes" or "hold eyes." Something like "Ladies
hold eyes" seems to roll off the tongue with a good rhythm.  Or maybe
"Ladies by the eyes?"

Melting could still be melting. Not sure how I'd fix my gypsy chase move,
though.

There is also the issue of avoiding similar directions that would confuse
the dancers, such as in a Mad Robin where you are encouraged to hold eyes
with the person across from you, but not actually rotate around them. Maybe
we need an alternate descriptive/evocative term, like the way a Mad Robin
is sometimes called Sliding Doors.

A single orbit? Eyes single? Star single? Hands off?

I'm also curious about thoughts about to what degree we might explain the
change to dancers. From most of the dancers' perspective, it may be "if it
ain't broke, don't change it." We might get push-back from dancers
exasperated with what seems to them like an arbitrary term change. Maybe if
the term is more descriptive, they won't notice as much. "Holding Eyes"
works for me.

Just some thoughts.

Joy Greenwolfe
Durham, NC <x-apple-data-detectors://2/1>



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