<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#073763">Wonderful!</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#073763"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#073763">Beautifully written letter and a positive response.</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#073763"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#073763"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:verdana,sans-serif;font-size:small;color:#073763">Patricia</div><div class="gmail_extra"><br clear="all"><div><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="text-align:left"><br></div><div style="text-align:left">
<p><span style="font-size:12.8px">Patricia Campbell, Dance Caller</span></p></div><div style="text-align:left"><p><span><a href="http://www.countrydancecaller.com" target="_blank">http://www.countrydancecaller.com</a></span></p><p><b><i><font color="#134f5c">"Celebrating Community through Traditional Dance and Music"</font></i></b><br></p><p>
</p><p><span><a href="http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/~watrous/bcc-for-privacy.html" target="_blank">"bcc:" for privacy</a></span><span> - please observe these guidelines when including me in your group emails</span></p><p><span><br></span></p><p><br></p></div><div><br></div><div><p></p><p style="margin:0px;color:rgb(51,153,153);font-weight:bold"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,153);font-family:'trebuchet ms',sans-serif;background-color:rgb(204,255,255)"></span></p></div></div><font color="#000099"></font><font color="#000099"></font></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 6:31 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net" target="_blank">callers@lists.sharedweight.net</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Hi All,<br><br></div>I finally composed a response to the original complainant. Here it is, followed by an almost instant reply from him (yes, it is a male):<br><br><div>Hello Mr.__________,</div><div><br></div><div>Thank you for letting
us know about your experience at our dance. I am glad our community was
so welcoming and friendly to you. I hope you remember that in the
future.</div><div><br></div><div dir="ltr">As for the term "gypsy," it
has been used in contra dancing for decades, and is not my invention. I
am sorry you were offended by my use and description of it. It is my
habit to let dancers know the name and author of each dance I call, and
"gypsy" is in the title of that dance. I regret my description of the
move as "flirty." I thank you for reminding me that some people are
uncomfortable with that, and I will no longer suggest it. As for the
name of the move itself, you are correct in that it has never been meant
as a pejorative. I cannot, however, change it on my own. Contra is a
folk dance and the folk process takes time. There is no governing body
in charge of naming the terms used in contra dancing. When someone
invents a new move they give it a name and it gradually works its way
into the vernacular.<br></div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">I
can assure you that callers nationwide are discussing this and other
terms we use which we are learning are offensive to others. We are
endeavoring to change what we can, but you might imagine that coming to a
consensus between many hundreds of callers is neither swift nor sure.
This is especially true, given the lack of a governing body.</div><div dir="ltr"><br></div><div dir="ltr">For
my part, I have decided to remove the term "gypsy" from my calling and
am searching for a substitute. It is not in my power to rename dances.
At Emerald City Contra Dance we book approximately 25 different callers
every year, from across the United States and beyond. I am just one.
Please understand that if you return to our dance you may hear that term
used again, until such time as awareness has spread as far and wide as
the callers themselves.<br></div><div><br><span></span></div><div><span>Sincerely,</span></div><div><br><span></span></div><div><span>Amy Wimmer</span></div><div dir="ltr"><span>Caller and ECCD Organizer<br><br></span></div><div><span>His response:<br><br></span><div>Thank you for your very thoughtful and informative response. I feel
much better about continuing to attend, hearing that there is an
awareness of this issue and conversations happening about it. </div><div><div><img src="https://ssl.gstatic.com/ui/v1/icons/mail/images/cleardot.gif"></div></div><br></div><br></div>
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