[Organizers] Dipping and aerials

[Jeff Kaufman via Organizers]

Are flying baskets aerials?
On Apr 5, 2016 1:00 AM, "Eric Black via Organizers" <
organizers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> An aerial move is one where a dancer’s both two feet leave the floor with
> the assistance of another dancer (i.e. for more than a single unassisted
> jump/leap). Doesn’t need to be a spinning top with feet flaying everyone in
> a 4 foot radius. It includes adults lifting a young/small dancer off the
> floor, as well as adult acrobatics.
>
> In our style of folk dancing (contra dancing), in general every dancer has
> at least one foot is on the floor at any given moment except for occasional
> solitary leaps due to enthusiasm for the music. Our group considers it
> unsafe and does not permit one dancer to lift another off the floor.  Dips,
> where one dancer “levers” another dancer off the floor but still solidly
> connected, are a different problem due to the much higher likelihood of
> injury to innocent bystanders just because of the extra lateral space
> required to raise feet in the air and not kick someone.
>
> A sensible and observant dancer will avoid participating in such moves if:
>  - the partner has not given permission in advance
>  - the partner is not known to be experienced in performing the move
>  - the conditions (spacing, timing, other nearby bodies) contraindicate
>
> High kicks on a balance are not “aerial” and are not “lifts” nor “dips”
> but are also potentially dangerous and should be forbidden in a crowded
> hall, if not in general.
>
> Making a dancer late for the next move because you have delayed him/her in
> a dip or other flourish marks you as an unskilled dancer. Making an
> uninvolved dancer late because they had to dodge your foot in the air also
> marks you and/or your partner as an unskilled dancer. Please encourage your
> dancers to avoid demonstrating that unskilled dance behavior.  Newcomers
> may be watching, and might mistakenly think that it is something to be
> copied.
>
> No matter what rules your organization might have (or not) against
> aerials, lifts, dips, etc., there will be instances of such now and then.
> We’ve found it most effective to take the offender aside and talk about it,
> and not spend time lecturing the group or posting lots of printed rules. No
> one listens to announcements, no one reads posters.  But if someone does
> something that violates a group policy, especially an issue of safety, take
> that person aside and talk individually about the incident, the reason for
> the rule, and ask for their help in setting a good example for the mutual
> enjoyment and safety of all the other dancers.
>
> </soapbox>
> -Eric
>
> On Apr 4, 2016, at 8:32 PM, Walker Sloan via Organizers <
> organizers at lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> > Thursday Night Dance at Scout House in Concord MA prohibit aerials.
> >
> > Dips seem pretty universal.
> >
> > What's an aerial? Practically, anything that makes the organizer
> nervous. You absolutely do NOT want to rigorously define it or you will get
> into endless arguments about it. Between us organizers, I call it when a
> woman's navel gets up to a man's solar plexus. These are approximately the
> woman's and man's centers of gravity. But as I say, do NOT give dancers
> limits to "game" on.
> >
> > Mac Sloan
> > Thursday Night Dance Committee
> > Concord Scout House, Concord MA
> >
> > On 4/4/16 23:00, Orin Nisenson via Organizers wrote:
> >> At a recent Friends of Greenfield Dance board meeting the topic of
> >> dipping and aerials came up.
> >>
> >> Have other organizers had problems with these dance moves and how have
> >> you handled them?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >>
> >> Orin
> >>
>
> Eric Black
> eric at mirador.com
>
>
>
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