13 Mar
2024
13 Mar
'24
9:20 p.m.
For me, the enforced intimacy is about the proximity of bodies and lack of physical air
space between them. The huge difference between a swing in contra vs., say, agreeing to
dance a waltz or a swing dance with someone, is that by agreeing to dance you’re agreeing
to swing with EVERY opposite-role person in the line, not just the person you asked to
dance. That’s a much bigger commitment to physical contact/intimacy than saying yes to one
person.
As a side note, before we got rid of a lecherous dancer in our group a few years ago, MANY
women in our dance group chose their contra dance line specifically to avoid having to
swing with him. The most important intervention was, of course, to establish a code of
conduct which we used to remove him from the dance group (when it became clear he would
not agree to change his behaviour). But for women (and others, but it’s always been women
who have said this to me over the years), when they come to a dance not KNOWING whether
there MIGHT be a letch in the line, it is asking quite a lot to expect them to do a
ballroom swing with whoever comes at them. I am wondering whether the modified ballroom
hold might make contra feel safer, especially for new dancers.
I’d love to hear what folks who have used both feel about the difference.
Becky
On Mar 13, 2024, at 4:34 PM, Julian Blechner <juliancallsdances(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I would love to read elaboration / articulation on why a ballroom hold feels more
"intimate" than other holds?