Re: [Callers] Advice about "gypsy"

I once had someone explain the gypsy as not trusting someone enough to take their eyes off of them (!), so I agree that the underlying meaning can be problematic, to say the least. Other moves have historical meanings too, but Gypsy as a term is more pejorative than, say, Allemande, which references traditional German folk dance hand holds. I like Michael's suggestion for *"eyes." *When teaching, it could be described as "walk around holding eyes," which is similar to how I already describe it (holding eyes instead of hands). Then during the dance, the call could be shortened to "eyes" or "hold eyes." Something like "Ladies hold eyes" seems to roll off the tongue with a good rhythm. Or maybe "Ladies by the eyes?" Melting could still be melting. Not sure how I'd fix my gypsy chase move, though. There is also the issue of avoiding similar directions that would confuse the dancers, such as in a Mad Robin where you are encouraged to hold eyes with the person across from you, but not actually rotate around them. Maybe we need an alternate descriptive/evocative term, like the way a Mad Robin is sometimes called Sliding Doors. A single orbit? Eyes single? Star single? Hands off? I'm also curious about thoughts about to what degree we might explain the change to dancers. From most of the dancers' perspective, it may be "if it ain't broke, don't change it." We might get push-back from dancers exasperated with what seems to them like an arbitrary term change. Maybe if the term is more descriptive, they won't notice as much. "Holding Eyes" works for me. Just some thoughts. Joy Greenwolfe Durham, NC On Oct 24, 2015, at 7:45 PM, Michael Barraclough via Callers wrote: Flirting - I try not to suggest that Name - not worried what we call it Suggestion - I sometimes call it 'eyeballs'. It works well. -- Michael Barraclough michael(a)michaelbarraclough.com www.michaelbarraclough.com -----Original Message----- *From*: Martha Wild via Callers &lt;callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net &lt;Martha%20Wild%20via%20Callers%20%3ccallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net%3e&gt;&gt; Reply-to: Martha Wild &lt;mawild(a)sbcglobal.net&gt; *To*: Caller's discussion list &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net &lt;Caller&#39;s%20discussion%20list%20%3ccallers(a)sharedweight.net%3e&gt;&gt; *Subject*: Re: [Callers] Advice about "gypsy" *Date*: Sat, 24 Oct 2015 15:36:40 -0700 I can see from this discussion that there is definitely merit in giving this move a different name, though I had never thought of it as a derogatory term before. I rather like the idea suggested in a previous post of "eddy" because it is short and to the point and sounds different from other calls. "Walk all around your neighbor/partner" is fine for a walkthrough and as a description, but not very good for a quick reminder when you'd rather be calling a lot less. Another move that one would have to rename is the "gypsy star". I have personally always called the move "gypsy star" as "star wrong" - mostly because if I say "gypsy star" there is always at least one couple in the crowd that starts to gypsy and swing (eddy and swing?) instead of doing the star. "Star wrong" is also short and to the point and emphasizes the oddity of the star - two people backing up and two going forward. It seems to get the job done. Martha On Oct 24, 2015, at 1:42 PM, Rich Sbardella via Callers wrote: In square dance, the call "walk all around your left hand lady" is very close to a right shoulder gypsy, and "See Saw is a left shoulder walk around. A left shoulder Dosido is no longer called a See Saw, but a Left Dosido. Walk all around your nieghbor or partner, and see saw your neighbor or partner, may be able to replace the gypsy without generating any new terms. Rich Stafford, CT On Sat, Oct 24, 2015 at 2:52 PM, Richard Hart via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: I always describe a gypsy as being just like a dos à dos, but face to face, instead of back to back. As that is the case, why not use French again. As "dos à dos" means back to back, why not use "face à face" which means face to face? Pronunciation would probably be difficult for those who don't speak French, so it would probably become "facey-face" for many. On Sat, Oct 24, 2015 at 10:08 AM, Don Veino via Callers &lt;callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: be .... 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