Friends, Jerome wrote: Then there is also the other, more basic, discussion about both the advisability of this course and the responsibilities it entails. The contra dance tradition, as it currently stands, is still one of the most effective means of bringing a roomfull of people with widely varying skill levels together in a joyful evening of social dance to live music, without the requirement of separate lessons. For some of us this is the most attracive quality of contras. An effort to increase the number of calls and the skills necessary to participate at any evening of contra dance is a bold course that could do violence to the traditional role of contras. An effort to do so should be pursued with caution. Each step in this direction should be precluded with a series of questions: - How will this addition affect the confidence level of first-time dancers in the hall? - How will it affect their ability to participate and the likelihood that they will return? - How should I characterize this addition to make it clear that it varies from the basic tradition of contras? - What is the appropriate venue to introduce this kind of variation? (Dance camps, special events, festivals, or regular contra dance series?) - Are my variations significant enough over the course of the evening that I have a responsibility to distinguish this event, in the publicity, from a regular evening of contras? - Would I like to see this variation become a part of the contra dance tradition? Just a thought, Greg McKenzie