13 May
2008
13 May
'08
10:53 p.m.
Rich wrote:
One of the things that I've often noticed about
many of the dances
that I attend is the fact that we seem to be able to gather together
people with vastly different backgrounds and professions in one room
to dance. At one dance there are often a few with Ph.D or M.D.
degrees. But there are many more engineers, farmers, selectmen,
foresters, factory workers, retirees, students (at various levels),
writers, electricians, carpenters, teachers, sailors, nurses, boat
builders, artists, and so many others. I know of no other place
where people with so many different backgrounds get together so
often to share something that they all enjoy.
Well said! I think a central reason for this is because the
tradition of contra dance allows people of widely varying dance skill
levels to participate successfully and enjoyably. Unlike so many
other shared activities one does not have to be a dance enthusiast to
participate in this form of joyful social celebration. The presence
of such a diverse group of people adds to the excitement and
satisfaction of all of the participants. A contra dance is truly a
"melting pot" that creates a structure to make this kind of intense
social contact both safe and fun for anyone who cares to participate.
Greg McKenzie
*********
Rich.
Chrissy Fowler remarked on 5/13/2008 8:15 AM:
nicely put, tina! i couldn't agree more.
for my part, on the "isn't that interesting" front, i've noticed
that there are many callers in my circle who are (or have been)
various sorts of educator/teachers and/or are first-born
children. both of these loose associations seem pretty logical --
as has been pointed out, good calling involves good teaching while
managing groups of people, often of varying skill levels,
effectively enough to ensure a positive experience for the greatest
number. and eldest children often have spent years practicing
orchestrating & leading, and are
"quite-comfortable-telling-others-what-to-do-next". as tina points
out, it's just an observation, sort of like observing that there
are lots of math/engineering professionals attending modern urban
contradances.
ah, which brings me to another association - many callers are prone
to observing, noticing patterns and making guesses about why those
patterns might be occurring. hah! :-)
chrissy fowler
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~http://www.belfastflyingshoes.org home
207-338-0979 cell 603-498-3506> > > Message: 2> Date: Sun, 11 May
2008 12:26:22 -0700 (PDT)> From: Tina Fields <tfields8(a)yahoo.com>>
Subject: Re: [Callers] Callers with higher degrees> > Greg makes a
very important point here. The 'elitism'> factor really never
occurred to me when asking this> question; it really came out of
surprised curiosity. Like> many of us, I'm just interested in weird
phenomena. There> aren't that many Ph.Ds/MDs/JDs etc. in the
country, and> it's wild to see how many wind up calling too. > > My
dad was a brilliant square dance caller, and he had a> junior-high
education. I'm the first one in my family to> even get through high
school; the relatives were worried> that "that much education might
ruin yer girl." And I> could not agree with Greg more. As a college
teacher,> artist-in-residence with kids, and outdoor leader alike,>
I've noticed that the best teaching is really a form of> servan
t
leadership or midwife education rather than
egoic> performance;
that is, the 'guide on the side', not the> 'sage on the stage.'
This is, of course, exactly Greg's> point about good calling. > >
One of the reasons I find calling so compelling is the> challenge
of making sure everyone - band, dancers, sound> person, dance
manager - all are having a good time, feeling> confident,
appreciated, and in sync; all the while not> screwing any of it up
myself. (As a newish caller, that> last bit is the tricky part.)
Callers have to focus> effectively on many parts at the same time
to create one> cohesive, joyful whole -- talk about a humbling
meditation> practice! > > If I offended anyone inadvertently,
please take this as a> sincere apology. The question comes out of
curiosity, not> snobbishness.> > Tina> >
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