12 Feb
2025
12 Feb
'25
10:52 p.m.
It may be worthwhile to ingratiate yourself with the existing square dance
communities in Austria. I believe they call in English; there's certainly
considerable overlap in moves (allemande, do-si-do, chain, right and left
through). They may not swing as much as we do in contra, but certainly
worth visiting if they're close, maybe even worth taking classes. It's a
different flavor, so take an attitude of "I'd like to learn from your
tradition while trying to grow this other tradition."
If I visit Austria I'd love to drop in.
Jerome
On Wed, Feb 12, 2025, 5:36 PM Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
Brian,
It's one thing to learn calling for dedicated dancers who already know the
tradition and can in fact help you. Your challenge — calling for people who
aren't (yet) in the tradition — is something I'm well familiar with. You
will be the "expert," looked up to, and you will find the most success
initially with very simple material that often doesn't even look like
contras. Finding a way to make all these dances varied and fun as you help
build skills toward a dedicated contra dance is a long term project.
As well, the organizational piece is yet another skill. If you have other
folks willing to help, recruit them and cherish them.
Jerome Grisanti