<div dir="auto"><div>Ron,</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I could not locate use of the word "bland" in the post you reference.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">In any event...</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Did you not read the paragraph following that which contained the reference to diet soda? The author stated that others may disagree. Obviously, you disagree. Please don't belittle the views of others as you demonstrate your egalitarian viewpoint.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I happily agree with most of what Neal wrote. I don't go contra dancing to dance with guys, primarily. I go to dance with women. Yes, for me there is quite a (fortunate) difference between dancing with men & women. I'll dance with men but those "sublime" moments have happened only when dancing with women.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Couples dancing originated as gendered. I would argue that it continues to be primarily gendered simply because couples are gendered whether identified by physical difference or role predeliction. I know of homosexual dancers who have preference for one role over the other; they are not ambi-dance-trous in that sense. I.e. they do not get a similar level of enjoyment dancing both roles.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Argue away, but please avoid the "holier than thou".</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Ken Panton</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><div class="gmail_extra" dir="auto"><div class="gmail_quote"><blockquote class="quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><br>
<br>
Message: 1<br>
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2017 22:49:24 -0500<br>
From: Ron Blechner via Callers <<br>
<br>
I have danced at a bunch of genderfree dances, as well as my home dance<br>
having a lot of people who dance both roles. I can't say I've ever had this<br>
"diet contra" experience.<br>
<br>
My home dance is widely known among musicians and callers as a lively crowd<br>
who brings good energy to performers. Proper and improper have little<br>
relevance, but that doesn't stop a seeming endless supply of new<br>
choreography being generated and called by various callers. Does it really<br>
matter if I'm allemanding or swinging with a particular gender? I guess a<br>
person can still choose to only dance with one gender if they really felt<br>
strongly.<br>
<br>
But saying that genderfree dancing is bland? I mean, it's a folk community<br>
dance. The whole point is we all dance in one big set together. If dancing<br>
only to swing people of one gender means so much that contra is "diet"<br>
without it, I would ask what exactly contra means to you?<br>
<br>
<br>
Best regards,<br>
Ron Blechner<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On Feb 13, 2017 6:17 PM, "Woody Lane via Callers" <<br>
<a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net">callers@lists.sharedweight.net</a><wbr>> wrote:<br>
<br>
I basically agree with Neal. I would not want to replace gents and ladies<br>
with other arbitrary terms. For many of the same reasons.<br>
<br>
Woody<br>
<br>
--<br>
Woody Lane<br>
Caller, Percussive Dancer<br>
Roseburg, Oregon<br>
<a href="http://www.woodylanecaller.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.woodylanecaller.com</a><br>
home: <a href="tel:541-440-1926" value="+15414401926">541-440-1926</a> <(541)%20440-1926> cell: <a href="tel:541-556-0054" value="+15415560054">541-556-0054</a> <(541)%20556-0054><br>
------------------------------<br>
<br>
On 2/13/2017 2:51 PM, Neal Schlein via Callers wrote:<br>
<br>
I do not want to replace gent and lady as terms, based on my own experience.<br>
<br>
Some context: I've been dancing for between 29 and 37 years, depending on<br>
how you count--my parents met at a square dance and I grew up dancing. I<br>
started calling about 18 years ago, and dance/call ECD, Scottish, squares,<br>
contra, ballroom, and folk styles at varying levels of proficiency. Seeing<br>
a man dancing the lady's role, or a woman dancing the gent's role, has<br>
never, ever phased me. It's fun to swap, requires technical skill, speaks<br>
well of a dancer who can do it well stylistically, and sometimes is<br>
necessary to fill out a set. It is also an important skill for any caller,<br>
and one callers need to know how to handle when it happens in special<br>
situations; the callers I grew up with talked about when they first<br>
encountered gay or one-gender crowds in the 60s and how they struggled to<br>
adjust on the fly.<br>
<br>
That said, I first encountered "gender-free" dancing at a Heather and Rose<br>
(?) ECD dance outside of Eugene, Oregon about 15 years ago. I didn't know<br>
what I was walking into, and thought it was a normal ECD event until they<br>
lined up and started teaching.<br>
<br>
They used several dances I was familiar with; I had been teaching some<br>
older ECD dances for a graduate folklore class and recently returned from<br>
Berea's Christmas Country Dance School. Aside from momentary confusion,<br>
adapting to the unfamiliar terminology and random line-up was not a problem<br>
for me.<br>
<br>
What I couldn't adapt to was how being made "gender free" changed the<br>
character of the dances I knew. They became less elegant, less<br>
interesting, and were lessened overall. Switching between an A and a B<br>
position meant nothing aside from (possibly) a slightly different floor<br>
pattern. Proper and improper had no relevance. There was no stylistic<br>
mastery needed to switch dance sides because any clue as to historically<br>
demanded or intended stylistic differences had been stripped out--there<br>
weren't even ROLES anymore, merely positions; there was nothing to hold<br>
onto even as a guideline for playacting. The dances completely lost their<br>
flavor and character. They became like Caffeine Free Diet Crystal Coke.<br>
(I mean, honestly...WHY WAS THAT EVER MADE? Just drink water!)<br>
<br>
Other folks may certainly disagree with me, and I have followed and agree<br>
with the many counterpoints, but I personally believe that the terms<br>
"gentlemen" and "ladies" (and their derivatives) positively influence how<br>
people behave and relate, and definitely how a dance is done. I don't<br>
worry about that at special or family events, of course; I just want<br>
everyone to get up and have a good time. But encouraging folks to learn<br>
both roles to become better dancers is only meaningful if there is a<br>
meaningful difference between the roles.<br>
<br>
I am a happily married man and prefer to dance with women as partners and<br>
corners. I don't mind dancing with men, but that's not what I go to dances<br>
for; if I wanted to get close to a bunch of sweaty guys, I'd play<br>
football. If we're honest, we can admit that the vast majority of our<br>
general dancers (both new and old) are probably similar. So why not let<br>
the dance reflect that? That's more likely to win friends than taking a<br>
wonderful dance with character and making it into "gender free diet<br>
crystal contra."<br>
<br>
Just my 2 cents.<br>
Neal<br>
<br>
Neal Schlein<br>
Youth Services Librarian, Mahomet Public Library<br>
<br>
<br>
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Message: 2<br>
Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2017 14:27:42 -0400<br>
From: Dugan Murphy via Callers <<a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net">callers@lists.sharedweight.<wbr>net</a>><br>
To: Callers List Serve <<a href="mailto:callers@sharedweight.net">callers@sharedweight.net</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [Callers] has anybody else written / similar sequences?<br>
Message-ID:<br>
<CAAwnfF7ROuYD4r+jn-=<a href="mailto:tLaN4VYZ5jdHKTDfHHidtfJ8G59y7Gw@mail.gmail.com">tLaN4VYZ5<wbr>jdHKTDfHHidtfJ8G59y7Gw@mail.<wbr>gmail.com</a>><br>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"<br>
<br>
Hi, Tavi,<br>
<br>
Thanks for sharing! I can't say if anyone else has authored these dances as<br>
you have them, but I can think of two dances very similar to three first<br>
one you shared.<br>
<br>
The first is "Stop, Drop, and Roll," which I also wrote as a simple dance<br>
to introduce the rollaway and half sashay to less experienced crowds:<br>
<a href="http://www.duganmurphy.com/dances-i-wrote/" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.duganmurphy.com/<wbr>dances-i-wrote/</a><br>
<br>
The other is "Roll Around A" by Cary Ravitz, which was the inspiration for<br>
my dance: <a href="http://www.dance.ravitz.us/#ra" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">http://www.dance.ravitz.us/#ra</a><br>
<br>
Dugan Murphy<br>
Portland, Maine<br>
dugan at <a href="http://duganmurphy.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">duganmurphy.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.DuganMurphy.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">www.DuganMurphy.com</a><br>
<a href="http://www.PortlandIntownContraDance.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">www.PortlandIntownContraDance.<wbr>com</a><br>
www.NufSed.consulting<br>
<br>
(I drafted this message on a device that likes to autocorrect my words in<br>
ways I don't always notice. Thank you for your understanding.)<br>
<br>
<br>
Date: Thu, 16 Feb 2017 12:14:49 -0700<br>
From: Tavi Merrill via Callers <<a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net">callers@lists.sharedweight.<wbr>net</a>><br>
To: <a href="mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net">callers@lists.sharedweight.net</a><wbr>, Ronald Nieman <<a href="mailto:nieman@cox.net">nieman@cox.net</a>><br>
Subject: Re: [Callers] has anybody else written / similar sequences?<br>
<br>
danged Gmail sent when i tabbed! Checking in with y'all to share new chore,<br>
confirm whether it is "original," and ask if others have sequences they use<br>
for similar intents and purposes. Both are as yet un-danced, though i'm<br>
certain enough they are sound to say feel free to use them. Additional<br>
recently tested chore in the pipeline, though the rest has very low odds of<br>
duplicating others' efforts.<br>
<br>
Bread<br>
<br>
improper<br>
<br>
A1. Ring balance; Ladies Neighbor roll away (with a half sashay) along<br>
<br>
Ring balance; Gents Partner rollaway across<br>
<br>
A2. Neighbor balance and swing<br>
<br>
B1. Circle L 3 places; Partner swing<br>
<br>
B2. Ring balance; Gents Neighbor rollaway across<br>
<br>
Ring balance and (either pass R or arch/duck) to meet new neighbors<br>
<br>
(1/2017) Roll away with a half sashay is perhaps the purest distillation of<br>
weight-sharing, yet compared to the more complex chain, conspicuously<br>
absent from much of the choreography used with beginning dancers. In the<br>
interest of teaching only one new move per dance, i sought here to use the<br>
rollaway as a means of drilling weight sharing, building muscle memory, and<br>
reinforcing key hall awareness concepts "along/across" in an early-evening<br>
sequence. A2 can be articulated as either a ring balance or a two-hand<br>
neighbor balance. For dancers already familiar with the petronella spin,<br>
"Sourdough" variation: B2. Ring balance; Ladies Partner rollaway along;<br>
Ring balance; all spin R 1.5 to meet new neighbors.<br>
<br>
Water<br>
<br>
improper: waves across, right hand to Neighbor, Ladies take left<br>
<br>
A1. Waves balance, walk forward to new neighbors<br>
<br>
Right hand (wrist) star 3 places; Neighbor pull by R across<br>
<br>
A2. Partner L hand alleman 1.5<br>
<br>
Partner promenade across<br>
<br>
B1. Ladies R hand alleman 1<br>
<br>
Partner swing<br>
<br>
B2. Gents L hand alleman 1.5<br>
<br>
Neighbor R hand alleman 1+ to waves<br>
<br>
(1/2017) I've sought here to deconstruct both chain and R&L through,<br>
focusing dancers on the A2 promenade and two exaggerated, hands-connected<br>
"pass R" elements in A1. From A1 to A2, ladies may need a reminder to turn<br>
left toward their partner for the alleman - better taught here than during<br>
a square-through. ?Heavy Water? variation: If dancers are already familiar<br>
with the courtesy turn, make A2 a Partner power turn and promenade across.<br>
"Super-heavy Water:" That substitution, and gypsy (/whatever you prefer to<br>
call it) in place of the B1 and B2 right-hand allemans, transform this into<br>
a dance more suited to seasoned dancers and crowded spaces.<br>
Courtesy twirls,<br>
Tavi<br>
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End of Callers Digest, Vol 34, Issue 11<br>
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</blockquote></div><br></div></div></div>