Note first that I am not an experienced caller and my comments are only
based on my experience as a contra dancer.
I love to both provide and hear the foot percussion. I also think it adds to
the enjoyment of the other dancers and, possibly, the energy level of the
band and hall. Also, with size 14's, I'm always worried about stepping on
those bare feet!
I can't imagine a barefooter feeling comfortable being told during a dance
that they should wear shoes. Some signage at entryways recommending shoes
for safety might not be bad. Another idea that might help is to discuss the
positive effects of wearing shoes and providing foot percussion during the
dance. Maybe the barefooters would want to join in with the music and wear
shoes so they could.
Darrell
On 9/4/06, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net <
callers-request(a)sharedweight.net> wrote:
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> 1. Re: A funny incident (Barbara Groh)
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> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sun, 3 Sep 2006 21:46:20 -0400
> From: "Barbara Groh" <barbaragroh(a)bellsouth.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] A funny incident
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <005b01c6cfc3$ebf08a60$6400a8c0@Babs>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> I appreciate your sharing, Cynthia---this gave me a good laugh. With many
> dances attracting a large percentage of high school and college kids these
> days, I see more and more youthful antics while I'm calling....the young
> men
> holding onto their oversized baggy pants with one hand while they dance;
> the
> "Grateful Dead" dance moves or the breakdance or hiphop moves thrown in;
> and
> the leaping, hopping, cartwheeling, and rolling around on the floor at the
> break (or perhaps during the walkthroughs and the dances as well).
>
> One thing I noticed while calling in Charleston, SC, recently (where 90%
> of
> the crowd was under 21) was that most of the dancers were barefoot. This
> seems to be the trend for younger dancers. I think their timing would
> improve if they wore shoes, because they'd be able to hear the rhythm
> better. There was very little foot percussion at that dance. (personally,
> I
> think it's also aesthetically more pleasing to hear the feet, but I'm old
> school) It's also a safety issue when there are shoed and shoeless people
> dancing in the same room.
> But I was wondering what, if anything, I should say about it. I didn't
> want
> to come across as bossy, preachy, old-fashioned, or whatever. Any ideas
> on
> this?
> ~Barbara
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Cynthia Phinney" <cynth(a)gwi.net>
> To: "Callers Shared Weight" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 12:07 PM
> Subject: [Callers] A funny incident
>
>
> > Ah, the impacts of technology. I was recently calling for a contradance
> at
> > the Maine Social Forum. It was a crowd of primarily beginners, with only
> a
> > smattering of experienced folks. During one of the dances, one young man
> > got
> > a cell phone call. He stepped out of line to take the call! His partner
> > carried on for a moment or two, but then the line started to break down.
> I
> > had to jump into the line and grab his partner - calling while we danced
> -
> > to keep it going. It worked. Fortunately I'd had a little practice on
> this
> > at another dance earlier this summer when an elderly gentleman simply
> > decided to step out and sit down during a - thankfully - very simple
> > dance -
> > and I had done the same thing rather than stop or let the line crumble.
> >
> > Just wanted to "share"
> > :-)
> >
> > -cynthia
> > _______________________________________________
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers(a)sharedweight.net
> > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>
>
>
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> End of Callers Digest, Vol 25, Issue 3
> **************************************
>
Dear Barbara,
I, too, am a bit concerned about bare feet at dances, and am very glad that no one has been hurt, at least at the dances that I have attended or called! But I must also admit that I don't feel firmly enough about the issue to have done much about it....prefering instead to think about this as "freedom of choice for the individual", etc., etc.
One suggestion that I do have for this particular problem comes from the Public Health realm....you might want to check with the local Board of Health. There may be regulations that prohibit bare feet in public venues (such as restaurants, etc.), in an attempt to reduce the risks of transmission of fungus, etc. In this way, the dance organizers/callers can avoid the whole issue of right/wrong, good taste/bad taste discussions, and instead promote the need to be in compliance with the local regs.
Another thought on the issue: Although I have no idea how insurance companies might interpret "no shoes" as putting a dance organizer at risk, one could argue that the wearing of shoes does help reduce the risk of injury. So once again, if a dance committee decides to institute a "no bare feet" rule, reducing liability risk is a defensible reason for instituting such a rule.
Looking forward to the thoughts of others! Linda Leslie
Hi Barbara,
I think bare-footing is a generational thing. When I first started dancing 20+ years ago (back in the hippy days)
all my friends were dancing barefoot, as was I. Now with
foot problems showing up, sensible dance shoes are my choice. These lessons we learn in the course of time!
( I still dance shoeless on hot summer nights)
another aside: the best rhythm makers are shoes with hard leather bottoms and they are becoming hard to find.
(at least in my area) :-)
Thanks Gale
Cynthia,
I've had people drop out, or sometimes just confused as to which minor
set they were in, leaving a lump of people not knowing whom to
interact with. Sometimes I've been able to physically go to the group
and take their hands and say "let's just pop down to the bottom (or
top) of the set and jump in from there." Unfortunately, if the dance
has "out of minor set" interaction, such as a shadow, this fix may not
be available.
That's where the humor comes in: how do I, as the caller, own the
confusion and make it OK to be a dancer who got confused.
So, anyone heard any good "attention shifting" humor lately? Or a
non-humorous response that still makes it OK.
--Jerome Grisanti
On 9/1/06, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
<callers-request(a)sharedweight.net> wrote:
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>
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> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
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> You can reach the person managing the list at
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>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
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>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. A funny incident (Cynthia Phinney)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 31 Aug 2006 12:07:43 -0400
> From: "Cynthia Phinney" <cynth(a)gwi.net>
> Subject: [Callers] A funny incident
> To: "Callers Shared Weight" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Message-ID: <GCEOLNPEKAIPGAOIBCPFEEKCDHAA.cynth(a)gwi.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> Ah, the impacts of technology. I was recently calling for a contradance at
> the Maine Social Forum. It was a crowd of primarily beginners, with only a
> smattering of experienced folks. During one of the dances, one young man got
> a cell phone call. He stepped out of line to take the call! His partner
> carried on for a moment or two, but then the line started to break down. I
> had to jump into the line and grab his partner - calling while we danced -
> to keep it going. It worked. Fortunately I'd had a little practice on this
> at another dance earlier this summer when an elderly gentleman simply
> decided to step out and sit down during a - thankfully - very simple dance -
> and I had done the same thing rather than stop or let the line crumble.
>
> Just wanted to "share"
> :-)
>
> -cynthia
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
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> End of Callers Digest, Vol 25, Issue 1
> **************************************
>
--
Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0714
502-876-4280
