[Callers] Chains: the other side of the coin

tavi merrill via Callers callers at lists.sharedweight.net
Sat Sep 3 10:45:50 PDT 2016


Per Richard's excellent point about separating the courtesy turn from the
chain, an approach i too use, i want to address the related questions of
- lack of attention to chains beyond the beginner level, resulting in
- bad/injurious flourishing, partly due to
- gendered dynamics in the standard (New England-style) promenade turn
- the rarity of gents' LH chains
- a call for choreographers to help address all the above

We callers spend plenty of time dissecting how to teach the ladies'
chain... and almost never address a corollary issue dancers repeatedly
bring up in online forums, largely leaving flourishing as a foregone
conclusion. We spend precious little stage time delivering the sort of
style points that can help dancers flourish safely, courteously, and with
consent.

I would argue one reason we don't address that enough is that we are either
approaching the courtesy turn from a bare-bones beginner angle, or as a
foregone conclusion wherein advanced dancers require no additional
teaching. A few callers do teach how to signal and interpret signals
indicating a desire for or granting consent for flourishes, and i tip my
hat to them. But to the issue many (female) dancers raise: too many male
dancers don't ask, and either fail to recognize or fail to respect cues
around flourishing.

Why? Probably because many male dancers much less regularly end up on the
twirling (as opposed to facilitating) side of flourishes. Dancers are going
to flourish whether or not we teach them how to do it well. But we can help
alleviate rampant bad and/or injurious flourishing if we choose. How? By
more frequently adding style points in intermediate settings, and by giving
dancers an opportunity to experience the other side of the equation.

[Now, many of us agree that contra is not a lead/follow dance form, and
some go so far as to suggest that in the traditional promenade and courtesy
turn, dancers move as a unit that lacks any lead/follow dynamic. I disagree
there: placement of the gent's hand behind the lady's back puts the gent in
a position to propel the lady. No interpretation of this dynamic is
accurate without considering the historical context our dance form emerges
from, in which a gendered imbalance is unmistakably present. Consider the
gendered language of singing squares recorded by Ralph Sweet. I say this
not to criticize Sweet, or any caller who uses such language (eg "put her
on the right" or "chain the ladies," the latter an expression i once
unquestioningly used in my own calling), merely to point out that
traditionally, the gents' role has been considered the more "active" one,
and that this gendered sense of agency is reinforced by the  ubiquitous
and overwhelmingly lopsided promenade and courtesy turn. Contra dance has
historically been a gendered form; to deny this is to perpetuate male
privilege - the source of bad/injurious flourishing - by denying its
presence in the form. In that many contemporary dancers choose to play both
roles on the floor, and in that there is a broad consensus among callers
that lead/follow terminology is not appropriate to describe an ideal
expression of our dance's contemporary practice, a shift is occurring.
Nonetheless this is an active shift. To pretend that contra has always
lacked a lead/follow dynamic is ignorant of even recent history.]

Despite the hours we spend workshopping the ladies' chain, we spend
virtually no time collectively addressing how to teach gents' (left-handed)
chains. As a consequence, male dancers miss out on opportunities to twirl;
understanding of the importance of cues and flourish best-practices (as
opposed to cranking ladies around) remains spotty; and some great dances*
rarely get called. As with right-handed chains, getting to a flourish
requires first mastering the directional flow of the reversed courtesy turn
(right with right in front, left hands behind, lady backs up and the gent
goes forward). But whether it's boiling the reversed courtesy turn down to
an allemande right or writing gents' RH chain dances, it seems precious few
callers care enough to bother with teaching and using the LH chain. We have
it, for frell's sake, let's USE it. Dancers CAN and WILL gain familiarity
if we do, but such progress can occur only if a critical mass of callers
are on the same page.

Why does this matter? Because if indeed we believe our tradition to be one
in which both roles are equally active, we shouldn't have ladies being
twirled against their wishes. Addressing that would be simpler if we agree
to stop shortchanging the one move in our choreography that truly
challenges the historical gender dynamic.

Want to innovate in choreography? What about featuring promenades in
reversed hold, or left-and-right through?! Though they exist, rarity
renders them the province of advanced dance sessions. Yet every second we
spend teaching standard promenade hold turns is something dancers could
easily generalize to isomers, if the isomers were on a more equal footing.
Because they share a common backbone in the reversed hold (a la Rich's
point about the standard RH chain) increased frequency of such isomers
would raise dancers' familiarity with the reversed hold, reducing our need
to teach it, or isomeric moves, as "unusual," while adding variety to
evenings of dance. Should folks indeed be writing them, I am eager to
collect such sequences.

It struck me a few months ago that, while i have some fantastic dances in
my collection involving the gents' LH chain, i knew of none involving a
gents LH chain over and back. So here y'all go. This isn't a beginner
dance. It's intended for remedial education. Should you use this, I am
eager to hear how it is received.

"You've Got To Be Carefully Taught (To Twirl)"

becket R

A1. Partner balance & swing
A2. Gents pass L half hey, ladies pushback; Neighbor swing
B1. Gents LH chain over & back
B2. RH star to meet NEW neighbors in a wave (GR, NL); waves balance, spin
right

*great gents LH chain dances: "Swain the Hey" by Chris Page, "The Broken
Mirror" by Bill Olson, "Rollaway Sue" by Bob Isaacs, "The Curmudgeon Who
Ruined Contradance" by Eileen Thorsos, "Generation Gap" by Thankful
Cromartie, and the obvious reverse-engineered variation on "Secret Weapon"
by Lisa Greenleaf

Please note: The preceding theory arguments are premised on a notion that
to survive, traditional forms evolve. Some elements of the form - the
ubiquity of a historically gendered dynamic that drives problematic dance
behaviors - could stand to be lost in this process. I believe that a truly
equal dance dynamic would preserve the best elements and tendencies of the
form and increase the safety, joy, and appeal of community dance.
Practically speaking, we'd be doing all the same moves, just without the
lopsidedness, by widely adopting both isomers.

In curmudgeonliness,
Tavi



> Message: 3
> Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2016 11:47:10 -0400
> From: Richard Hart via Callers <callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
> To: "Callers at Lists.Sharedweight.net" <callers at lists.sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Favorite dance to teach a ladies chain?
> Message-ID:
>         <CAB16f6Ceg6PTXKQrWL60ko8=+hOVC_JD6zaQ3+9TxBVXfN8AgQ at mail.gm
> ail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
>
> I usually try to separate the courtesy turn from the chain. A courtesy
> turn is used in a number of moves, including R&L through, and a
> promenade. Practice that first with your partner. Man backs up and the
> woman gores forward, with arms around your partner's back. .Remember
> to stop facing the right direction, and as a caller remember to tell
> dancers which way to face. This can be done in a couple of minutes or
> so.
>
> My first dance with a courtesy turn may use it with a promenade,
> depending on the crowd. Then move on to dances with a chain or R&L.
> Once the turn is understood and well done, the others are easy.
>
> I agree with Erik (and Dudley!) The walkthrough and instruction should
> be short. They'd all rather be dancing, so don't introduce much new
> stuff in any single dance.
>
> And thanks for this discussion. I love seeing new dances to try and
> new possibilities to teach when there are a lot of beginners.
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