Re: [Callers] Alternate Role Terms

Don, that's an interesting point. Having experienced some of those chestnuts only very recently in my dance experience, I can now see that much of the lead/follow dynamic probably was brought in by modern choreography. Fron what ive seen, the chestnuts do not emphasize swinging, and the older right-and-left figures did not include a courtesy turn as we now know it. So maybe the lead/follow dynamic is increasingly characteristic of modern contra dances but not intrinsic to the basic form itself. Of course I bet many would argue that they come to dance because of the modern choreography that is so unlike those chestnuts. Please bear in mind, I'm hoping to not imply my own biases here, just trying to brainstorm some logical conclusions. I personally love all position dancing, and I love flourishes of every stripe when in the company of like-minded folks. If anything I have failed thus far to adequately develop my skill and confidence at leading swings from the right-hand position. As in, if we end the swing late, I feel like I had little to no recourse in preventing that, but maybe that attitude needs to be changed by learning some better follow skills. Oops :-) Brian Sent from Yahoo! Mail on Android