Thank you Woody.  Heartfelt condolences for you and this couple.  One more tragedy.  It's so easy to lose the personal significance in the overwhelming statistics.
I really appreciate you sharing this story and your strong opinion about having dances at this time.  The more voices that are out there taking a stance, the more "cover" it gives to organizers (or individual callers) to make the tough decision to cancel.

Thanks.
Diane
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Diane Silver
Asheville, NC
Contra and Square Dance Calling
Workshops in Appalachian Clogging, Swing Dance, Couples Dance, and Dance Calling
http://www.diane-silver.com
dance@diane-silver.com

On 8/27/2021 4:26 PM, Woody Lane via Contra Callers wrote:
I just received notice that the son of a couple I know -- just died of Covid. He had been in the hospital for about 10 days, and while in the ICU developed complications of a bacterial infection. He was not vaccinated because his parents had not been vaccinated -- so he had no choice in that decision. He died today. He was in his mid-teens.

IMO, this is not the time to have in-person dances -- for weddings or any other reason. The contortions we can apply for reducing risk -- of masks / specified swings / limited partners / no long lines F&B / etc -- are not worth it. The variations of immune function and vaccination efficacy, combined with the Delta variant's exceptionally high level of transmission, make any gathering a risk, especially dancing that involves close contact with multiple people.

The people organizing the wedding may be tone deaf to the pandemic, but as callers, we can choose not to participate in that poor judgement.

Woody
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Woody Lane
Caller, Percussive Dancer
Roseburg, Oregon

On 8/26/2021 8:16 AM, Susan English via Contra Callers wrote:
I am scheduled to provide an outdoor dance at a wedding in Ohio on Sept. 4.  The musicians have bowed out, so it would be just me with recorded music, on formica sheets (!) over a large brick patio.  Here are modifications I am considering:
  • mask optional
  • dance only with chosen partner, i.e. no mixers
  • can swing chosen partner but otherwise hand contact only (e.g. circle, star, dosidos, AL R&L, sashay)
  • no long lines F&B
With these rules I can modify and call:
  • big circle dances 
  • squares 
  • Sicilian circles 
  • simple ECD
  • longways Ceilidgh or barn dances 
  • couple dances (e.g. waltz)
  • Chicken dance (requested)
What do you think? or should I cancel the dance?

Susan  �� ☺
330-347-8155 







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Diane Silver

828 298 7084
diane@diane-silver.com
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