25 Mar
2018
25 Mar
'18
11:56 p.m.
Often people don’t speak up. It doesn’t mean they like the language. There aren’t very
many dances that actively solicit feedback and even the ones that do don’t get it all the
time. There are often callers or phrases that bother me. I very occasionally tell the
callers if they are friends of mine or the organizers if I know them. Otherwise, I just
avoid those dances and callers.
Sent from my iPhone
On Mar 25, 2018, at 5:48 PM, John Freeman
<johnfreem(a)aol.com> wrote:
I have to agree with Tom. The only push back I have ever received was from two female
callers I helped get started. This was in the early 90s. I have otherwise never had a
complaint about calling singing square dances as they have been traditionally called/sung.
That said, I try to know my crowd before I accept a gig. A so-called politically correct
dance would likely not be my cup of whiskey. These days I mostly call “barn dances” and
"community dances”. I have learn to adapt my calls to each crowd. This has worked
very well for me.
I only call to live music. This is a long-standing personal choice that has certainly
cost me many gigs. These days, I cannot expect most bands to know the music for the
singing square dances I grew up with.
Keep on dancing!
John B. Freeman, SFTPOCJ