Re: [Callers] mental health and dance calling

This isn't EXACTLY a mental health issue, but a few years ago there was a male dancer in our area whose MO was to find unaccompanied young women who looked new to dancing and uncertain, take them under his wing, monopolize them, and become increasingly physically intrusive and obnoxious with them. At some of the larger dances I think some of the women attending told him off and he appeared much less frequently there but didn't disappear, shifting his attentions to smaller community-oriented dances such as the ones I've called regularly. When he showed up at a public dance I was calling and started his routine, at the first break I asked him to come outside for a private chat. I told him what I had seen (almost completely monopolizing that particular dancer, and pressing her and other women he met in the line closely and grasping rather than supporting them while swinging). I told him how I felt his behavior went counter to the norms of this and most dances, exploited the normal trust dancers share and enjoy while in each other's arms, and in fact, was blatant sexual harrassment. I shared the revulsion and anxiety that other dancers had expressed to me about his presence and how that deeply undermined their ability to enjoy participating. In conclusion, I told him that, speaking for myself as the caller and on behalf of many others, if any of this behavior continued, his presence would be unwelcome enough that I would ask him to leave. He made feeble denials and protests, but cleaned up his act for the next couple of dances before leaving early. The next dance where I was calling at which he turned up, I was able to speak to him before the dance started and reminded him of our previous conversation. But before the break, he started pushing the limits as before and I had to speak with him again. This time, after making similar feeble excuses, he simply left and never appeared again at any dances I called or attended. What happens away from dances isn't really my first concern as a caller, but as a community member I found it significant news when it was later reported widely that similar behavior on his part in other settings had led to legal consequences. My only regret is that I hadn't dealt with it before it became so blatant. Have others had to deal with this kind of situation, and if so, how? Chip Hedler