[Callers] Shadow Swing Disclaimers?

Wed Sep 9 07:13:12 PDT 2015

I'm with Eric on this one. Nicely stated.

--------------------
Lindsay Morris
CEO, TSMworks
Tel. 1-859-539-9900
lindsay at tsmworks.com

On Wed, Sep 9, 2015 at 9:39 AM, Eric Black via Callers <
callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Wow.  ISTM [It Seems To Me] that this is far more responsibility for
> controlling social interpersonal interactions than the programmer and/or
> caller at the mic should have to worry about, even though we do worry about
> such things.
>
> Sorry I don’t have opportunity to participate on this email list more
> often.  That Pesky Day Job [PDJ] and all…
>
> Short response: Don’t point out shadow partner interaction; the dancers
> need to be adult about it, no one listens to the Caller anyway, let alone
> anything said while they’re still lining up.
>
> Longer response:
>
> I really REALLY don’t think that there should be any announcement calling
> attention to the fact that the next dance has interaction with someone
> other than your chosen partner.   What, are we supposed to say “This is a
> duple improper single progression with a shadow who is the same active or
> inactive role one place below [or above] where you line up”?
>
> Or should we say “Thank this partner, and ask another partner for the next
> dance. As you line up, if there is someone at the dance here tonight with
> whom you don’t want to dance, please make sure that they are in a different
> longways set than you, or that if they are in the same long set as you that
> they are not in an adjacent hands-four from you either up or down as you
> line up for the dance.”
>
> Are we dance choreographers supposed to create dance sequences that don’t
> have any “serious” interaction with the shadow partner, just in case the
> dancers happen to line up such that someone on the floor has an “Ex” as a
> shadow partner?  Or someone who hasn’t showered recently enough?
>
> We already have the problem of MUC rejection of any dance that doesn’t
> include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an
> injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers
> might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required.
>
> I’m confused…
>
> <SoapBox>
>
> Yes, I understand the many reasons for not having serious shadow
> interactions, but I am proud that every local dance community where I’ve
> been a member, from NH/Boston to CA/SF, has understood that interpersonal
> conflicts will happen, and yet social interactions are required. They
> understand how to make everyone work together. Family schisms are
> inevitable.  Personal hygiene issues may arise.
>
> I hope that everyone eventually can live the philosophy on Jeremiah’s
> T-shirt: “Dance With Who’s Comin’ Atcha!"
>
> Even long-time couples break up.  It’s painful to the people involved and
> also to everyone surrounding.   We’re all Community here.  Our Community is
> larger and more long-lived than the simple “nuclear family” of two parents
> and 2.3 children.  That means we get to “enjoy” many various kinds of
> family ties, both genetic and non-genetic.  The Community connection
> carries us all through this specific break-up episode. The Dance entertains
> us and it heals us and it strengthens The Community.
>
> I say this with a VERY PERSONAL involvement in this community support.
>
> Yes, we DO see what’s going on. Yes, we DO love both of you, even if
> you’ve split apart, and even if there is a court restraining order about
> you both showing up at our dance on the same night (that’s a different
> discussion, and yes, it does happen).
>
> If there’s a personal hygiene problem, sometimes it simply can not be
> helped.  I myself could change shirts whenever the band changes tunes and
> it still would not be often enough. In such a case, please enjoy fresh
> pheromones; fresh sweat can be enjoyable sweat.  If it’s stale sweat, then
> by all means tell the person that a shower with soap would make him/her a
> more enjoyable dance partner. That’s a quiet face-to-face conversation.
>
> BUT please dance for several seconds, smile, and move on.
>
> All that aside, any swing can be changed to an allemande right once or
> twice (to taste), or an elbow swing, or a do-si-do, or a gypsy (with
> varying amounts of eye contact, again to taste).  Experienced dancers,
> especially a split dancer couple who encounter each other in line, will do
> whatever they feel comfortable with. What a GREAT opportunity to swap roles
> with your partner, given a little look-ahead!  (“Oh! that’s my Ex ahead;
> let’s swap!” or just take hands with the palm-up signal that you’re taking
> the “Gent” role next time)   Painless and fun.
>
> Never mind that experienced dancers often rewrite the dance to change a
> non-swing dance move into a swing, even in the middle of a hey; it’s just
> as easy to go the other direction, to reduce interaction.  That’s what
> dancers do. Just Be In The Right Place At The Right Time.
>
> We always say that a neighbor interaction is “just one time through the
> tune, just 30 seconds”.  Well, a shadow interaction is generally at most
> one 8-count thing; 4 seconds repeated every once in a while as wonderful
> music plays.  Maybe double that for some dances, so then about 8 seconds
> out of every half minute or so.
>
> It seems to me that we as social animals should be able to deal with that.
>
> Certainly we do this in our daily lives on the
> street/office/garage/whatever.  We can be civil and even develop the
> ability to enjoy a 10-second interaction with an ex we encounter in a
> public event.
>
> One of the things I love about contra dance is that it gives us all an
> opportunity to “be” the persona we live the rest of the time, or “be”
> someone else during The Dance.  We’re wearing a costume while we’re
> dancing, even if it’s not obvious.  Many of our dancers have an
> on-the-floor personality which is quite different from the personality they
> exhibit the rest of the time (such as while talking and enjoying
> refreshments at the break during the evening dance).  Certainly I wear a
> different persona on the dance floor than when I am at the break, and I’m
> someone else if I’m calling, and someone else if I’m the dance organizer.
>
> THEN there’s the issue of identifying which of the various people “near”
> you as you line up might be your shadow/TrailBuddy.  In a Becket dance it’s
> likely to be your neighbor to the side in line, or could be next beyond
> them, or the neighbor to the other side, or maybe the next beyond them.  I
> TRULY advise against spending too much effort in identifying the
> “Corner/TrailBuddy” in advance, as the dancers are lined up.  In a duple
> improper, your shadow could be ahead, could be behind.  It depends on the
> choreography. And it changes if someone drops out, or if someone joins in
> after the walkthrough.
>
> That’s not the place to spend your precious seconds at the mic as a
> caller.  Get them moving and listening to the music.
>
> </SoapBox>
>
> We already have the problem of MUC [Modern Urban Contra] rejection of any
> dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this
> seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor
> some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still
> required.
>
> I’m confused...
>
> -Eric
>
>
> On Sep 8, 2015, at 8:06 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers <
> callers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Hey all,
>
> First, a disclaimer: Some people on this listserv thing shadow swings are
> problematic. Some don't see any issue with them. This is NOT the
> conversation I want to have in this thread; *I ask that you respond to
> the question I'm asking and do not debate my premise--at least not in this
> particular thread. *This should help keep this thread on track and
> hopefully reduce excess noise and go-nowhere discussions on this listserv.
> Thanks!
>
> Anyway, the actual question I wanted to ask (whew!)--
>
> There do exist some really fabulous shadow-swing dances that I would love
> to be able to call, as long as I could do so without putting anyone in an
> uncomfortable position. Do folks have ideas for ways to mitigate the
> potential harms of shadow swing dances? I was considering, at the beginning
> of the dance, having dancers identify their shadow and mentioning, "this
> will be a shadow swing dance, so if you need to make any changes, do so
> now" (or something like that)--haven't gotten the wording down-pat, but the
> idea is giving dancers advance warning of a shadow swing so they can move
> (thereby changing their shadow) if they need to. Any thoughts on this
> method? Suggestions of others?
>
> Cheers.
> Maia
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