18 Jul
2024
18 Jul
'24
3:12 a.m.
But, Neal, we handle different neighbors swinging us each cycle just fine.
Why is it a big deal if our shadows change? Almost everyone knows that
shadows get messed up. A rank newbie might not, but then they also barely
understand the concept of a shadow anyway. Surely, if the caller says,
"this should be the same person throughout the dance, but sometimes people
jump in or swap roles, so it might not be. Dance with who's comin' atcha,"
it should be no more confusing than a neighbor swing. I don't see anyone
proposing that we stop calling neighbor swings.
I get the concerns about Problem Dancers, but that's a different line of
argument from the confusingness concern (dealing with that problem in and
of itself, beyond the shadow swing question, belongs in its own thread, if
we want to pursue it again).
Agreed that there are communities that might welcome shadow swings more
than others, like shadow sessions at weekends, or relatively tight
communities without a PD present, or certain dance weekends in small/tight
communities.
I would be really interested in some data on this one, phrasing it as,
speaking only for your own personal interests, if a caller said the next
dance had a shadow swing, how would you react? A. Fine, I like swings. B.
Mild concern that I'd be stuck with someone I wasn't comfortable with as my
shadow. C. Quite concerned, but take no action. D. Check my shadow and
possibly move during the walkthrough. E. I would not dance.
--jh--
On Thu, Jul 18, 2024 at 2:03 AM Neal Schlein <nschlein(a)gmail.com> wrote:
It is absolutely more disorienting.
The swing is one of very few moves (if not the only one) in which people
may or may not change set position based on which role they are
dancing/used to dancing and where they started the move from as a standard
matter. It is also executed differently based on which role you are
dancing, and may or may not be executed differently based on whether you
and the other person are physically presenting as male/female/other.
Name me another figure with those variables that happens at a regular
dance.
Change the people involved in any swing unexpectedly, and you’re
exponentially more likely to get an unexpected result.
Neal Schlein
Librarian, MSLIS
On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 4:49 PM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Is it really any more disorienting to have a
shadow change in a dance
with a shadow swing vs., say, an allemande or another move?
--jh--
On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 6:08 PM Joseph Erhard-Hudson via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Re: partners swapping during shadow dances and
confusing their
respective shadows (I think of it as Peter Pan-ing, on account of our
shadows coming detached)… I appreciate events where there are designated
chaos lines so those who are in the mood for them can indulge to their
hearts’ content. I suppose there could be no-shenanigans lines
alternatively. Or couples who are likely to swap could give their shadows a
heads up during walk-through.
-Joseph
On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 2:45 PM Mary Collins via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
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# 2. No problem, but rarely call
As dancer - meh...biggest issue is when there is suddenly a new shadow
due to dancers joining late or some other mix. As I age I find I get
disoriented when my point of reference suddenly changes. I imagine, for a
new dancer who has been told this person, your shadow will/should be the
same person every time, it could be confusing as well. IMHO
Mary Collins
WNY/ST (Western New York/Southern Tier)
On Wed, Jul 17, 2024, 10:39 AM Maia McCormick via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> Prompted by some recent conversations, I’m curious how folks here feel
> about shadow swings!
>
> 1. As a caller, do you:
> A) not have an issue with shadow swings, and program them freely
> B) not tend to program them just bc they don’t come up in your
> repertoire, but have no issue with them
> C) not program shadow swings as a matter of principle
> D) some secret fourth thing (feel free to elaborate!)?
>
> 2. How do you feel about shadow swings as a dancer?
>
> Will weigh in with my thoughts later, both to avoid biasing the
> conversation from the outset, and also because I’m currently in transit 😅
>
> Thanks for participating in the data gathering!
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
> --
> Maia McCormick (she/her)
> 917.279.8194
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> contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
>
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