I did, in fact, retain Maia's request in front of mind when I posed my "open and honest" questions. They specifically address the question of, like the hat in Harry Potter, streaming new arrivals.

"...there is no reason that one role must be danced by one gender and the other role must be danced by the other. "

I totally agree with you, Perry.

"So when you *are* using larks/robins, then we need to completely erase gender from the equation and have people understand that there is a lark and a robin, and you could be either. Try both roles and see what you are most comfortable in."

And if there is, in fact, a discernable difference in comfort (for an ab initio dancer trying out both left and right roles for the first time), I posit that the various characteristics of the people you encounter while dancing one role, versus the other, will necessarily be one determinant of the comfort level.

"And now we are getting beyond Maia's original request of not relitigating gender free dancing in this thread, so I would politely suggest starting another thread for those who prefer gendered dancing and calling that is not this one."

I disagree. Please see above.

Respectfully,

Ken Panton