10 Aug
2011
10 Aug
'11
9:11 p.m.
John wrote:
that the term is not well defined and is used by
anyone running a dance
to mean what they want it to mean, just like the terms "barn dance",
"ceilidh" and even "square dance" are used over here.
It is certainly true that the meanings of these terms tend to "drift" quite
a bit. That is inevitable and probably a good thing...though I do find it
odd that "barn dances" are seldom held in actual barns. That seems
somehow,...wrong.
The events I am particularly interested in can be described as: "...open
public dances, primarily featuring duple contras, with live music and a
caller, that are sponsored and hosted by a group of dance enthusiasts."
These events can be distinguished by the number of first-time contra dancers
who attend. They typically feature about 15% first-timers per evening.
That number can vary as low as zero but that is rare. Occasionally there
are 30% or more first-timers.
I would be very interested in how dances in your country compare with
respect to the percentage of first-time dancers who typically attend.
Regards,
-Greg McKenzie