Re: [Callers] Second Life

Burning Man, hah, maybe so, that's pretty funny. I've been watching slide shows of Burning Man on Slate.com and it does seem rather like an alternate universe. I wonder how well-attended that contra dance was, with the fire-dancing and hooping caller. My wife told me the message I sent late last night was rather ill-natured, so I apologize for its snarky tone, but I do feel pretty strongly that community dancing provides a precious opportunity for people to connect directly with each other in an increasingly disconnected world. A few years ago I moved from North Carolina, where I danced every week at venues only a mile or two from my house, to New Mexico, where I now drive literally hundreds of miles across mountains and deserts once a month to dance and call in Las Cruces. It's almost the only thing that kept me sane in the isolated community I now live in before my wife moved out here a couple of years ago, so I feel pretty strongly about the importance of personal interaction that community dance provides. Square and contra dancing in Second Life might be pretty fun, and I guess it is sort of like real dancing if you don't have any alternatives, in the same way that manual stimulation is an alternative to physical intimacy with a real partner if you happen to be unattached. In general I would prefer a live partner. I'm glad to hear that the author of the original post is at least making some decent money teaching square dancing in Second Life, considering the rather low wage scale of callers in the real world, but I'm amazed to read that he's from Massachusetts. I have contra danced in Oklahoma, North Carolina, Colorado, Oregon and Texas, but never in New England. Considering the widespread availability of contra dance outlets in that part of the country, I can't help but wonder why anyone would feel the need to indulge in virtual dancing while sitting in front of a computer monitor. Lewis Land On 9/21/2011 3:59 AM, Donald Perley wrote: