21 Jan
2023
21 Jan
'23
9:24 a.m.
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might have made
some observations early on that would have alerted them to the nature of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic to learn,
and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point, so I
rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with. Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and called an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals danced it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and said they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
21 Jan
21 Jan
10:08 a.m.
well, maybe I wouldn't use the word "invasion." :)
Did some of the regular women dancers join the line of newcomers? Might
have been a great opportunity for some folks to practice the role they
don't usually dance, which is a terrific way to become a stronger dancer in
general, and also make new folks feel welcome. A line made up of only new
dancers (for whatever reason) is usually something callers like to avoid.
What about throwing in some circle mixers to learn terminology, only remove
the progression and dance it as a keeper? Or throw in some whole-set dances
like you get at community dances, which often don't progress the way
contras do.
Meg
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 9:25 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
We had an interesting and challenging situation come
up at Contra Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might have made
some observations early on that would have alerted them to the nature of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic to
learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point, so
I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and called an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals danced it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and said they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
11:04 a.m.
I have no clue what happened with the white on white, which also killed the
last half of the message. Read all the way through the second half and
then see if it's an invasion! :-)
I had just done about a 25-minute gentle intro with circle keepers and
mixers, when the ladies walked in. I was balancing losing my regulars and
the newbies who had come on time with keeping the new dancers.
--jh--
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 11:08 AM Meg Dedolph <meg.dedolph(a)gmail.com> wrote:
well, maybe I wouldn't use the word
"invasion." :)
Did some of the regular women dancers join the line of newcomers? Might
have been a great opportunity for some folks to practice the role they
don't usually dance, which is a terrific way to become a stronger dancer in
general, and also make new folks feel welcome. A line made up of only new
dancers (for whatever reason) is usually something callers like to avoid.
What about throwing in some circle mixers to learn terminology, only
remove the progression and dance it as a keeper? Or throw in some whole-set
dances like you get at community dances, which often don't progress the way
contras do.
Meg
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 9:25 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
We had an interesting and challenging situation
come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really
enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at
that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
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To unsubscribe send an email to
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11:45 a.m.
The closest thing I can think of that was an invasion was when someone brought a bus of
visiting international students. They didn't have adequate language skills to follow
directions, and their cultural differences created a lot of awkward moments. Thankfully,
our other gracious dancers took them in hand and helped them follow along, giving personal
tutoring as needed. I think sometimes as callers we try to make everybody happy (I try to
do that myself), but we forget that we have some gracious and ingenious folks on the dance
floor who will (hopefully) gladly jump in and help out the new folks one on one. I think
your new president had a good short-term solution, but I hope these women will realize
it's not for them. People generally don't know what they're getting into
when they come to their first contra dance. Some are pleasantly surprised while others
don't come back. That's okay.
Get TypeApp for Android
On Jan 21, 2023, 12:05 PM, at 12:05 PM, Joe Harrington via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I have no clue what happened with the white on white,
which also killed
the
last half of the message. Read all the way through the second half and
then see if it's an invasion! :-)
I had just done about a 25-minute gentle intro with circle keepers and
mixers, when the ladies walked in. I was balancing losing my regulars
and
the newbies who had come on time with keeping the new dancers.
--jh--
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 11:08 AM Meg Dedolph <meg.dedolph(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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well, maybe I wouldn't use the word
"invasion." :)
Did some of the regular women dancers join the line of newcomers?
Might
have been a great opportunity for some folks to
practice the role
they
don't usually dance, which is a terrific way
to become a stronger
dancer in
general, and also make new folks feel welcome. A
line made up of only
new
dancers (for whatever reason) is usually
something callers like to
avoid.
What about throwing in some circle mixers to
learn terminology, only
remove the progression and dance it as a keeper? Or throw in some
whole-set
dances like you get at community dances, which
often don't progress
the way
contras do.
Meg
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 9:25 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
> Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in
your
> thoughts and advice, in case it has come up
before, which it must
have. I’m
> going to relate it as I perceived it, though
someone more perceptive
might
> have made some observations early on that
would have alerted them to
the
> nature of the situation.
>
> Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer
elections
> were scheduled during the break. Just at the
end of my newbie
lesson, a
> group of nine women dribbled in as a group.
They were really
> enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the
room at
> that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to
at least teach them the
swing.
>
> They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks.
I
> invited them to put their stuff on the chairs
at the sides,
including their
> jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music
and it can get sweaty.
That’s
> where it got interesting. Some put their
stuff down, but they
couldn’t
> take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed
some of them wearing
> headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love
diversity
> here.
>
> I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted
and
> some did not. Some said they just wanted to
dance together and not
with
> anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this
dance we all dance
with
> each other in a sequence and we don’t control
whom we’re dancing
with.
> Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch
men.
>
> This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men.
How
> are we going to manage that in a
gender-neutral dance? It’s not
like I
> could put them in the men’s role. Someone
suggested they turn all
moves
> into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss,
when our club
president-to-be
> (elected later in the night) suggested
putting them in a line of
their own.
> That made them happy, though it was a very
short line.
>
> Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
came
> into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring
room had just ended.
There
> were more women, enough to make the small
line danceable. There were
a lot
> of men, and they had a really difficult time
taking partners. I had
minor
> sets with five or six dancers (yes,
experienced dancers can do it).
I told
> them it would not work that way, but they
said they’d make it work,
and
> nothing I could say got anywhere. I was
conscious of the original
dancers
> who had been there 30 minutes now, had done
the workshop, and were
eager to
> dance.
>
> So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a
bit
> crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly
because of the
discomfort
> some may have felt dancing with other men,
many there were more
interested
> in goofing off or boasting to one another
than in paying any
attention to
> me, even after I cranked the mic volume way
up and admonished them
to be
> quiet and listen. There was some genuine
interest in that line, and
one of
> the louder argument points I heard was
someone shouting to quiet the
line,
> as they were here to learn.
>
> At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4
> minor sets each and 20 originals, who had
joined through the newbie
> session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced
dancers.
> Their line was quiet, but getting quite
impatient at this point. I
was
> afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of
what would happen in the
> election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered
the
> originals.
>
> It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they
> didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want
to throw them out, since
some
> really did want to learn and we are an
inclusive club with too few
members.
> I did say I would kick them out if they
didn’t quiet down, which
worked
> momentarily.
>
> I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the
guys
> were going to get it or they’d maybe leave.
If their noise disrupted
the
> line of originals, then I would ask them to
leave. I put on a tune
and
> called an easy dance, cranking the volume
above the din. The
originals
> danced it fine and seemed to have a good
time. The guy line
dispersed and
> said they’d come in time for the workshop
next time. The ladies left
with
> them.
>
> The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
held
> our officer election. While last night was a
unique event, 50%
newbies is
> common and we think it’s why we get so few
dancers to stay in the
club more
> than three nights. So, one of the changes is
a new, occasional,
no-newbies
> night, so the experienced dancers can dance
something more complex
than
> Airpants.
>
> Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night
> stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my
originals if we went over
to that.
> I felt I could have taught them something if
only I could just have
gotten
> their attention. Throwing them out would have
been uncomfortable, at
best.
>
> So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
invaded,
and how
did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
_______________________________________________
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12:47 p.m.
It never occurred to me that the idea of "invasion" had anything to do with race
or us vs. them. I guess I'm naive. Thank you for making me think about terminology.
I just saw it as a large group who all show up at once with no idea of what they're
getting themselves into. The challenge is always to make them feel welcome and wanted
while handling a unique situation and striking a balance with regulars. But my point was
that the regular dancers can be great assets to do one-in-one PR and help with the
newcomers.
Get TypeApp for Android
On Jan 21, 2023, 12:50 PM, at 12:50 PM, Harris Lapiroff via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
To reiterate Meg’s point a little more strongly, even
reading the full
story, I think the word “invasion” is a loaded one to use about an
ethnic minority attending an event that’s typically attended by mostly
white people (I’m assuming this is the case of your contra dance, as
it’s been the case of every contra dance I’ve been to). It evokes, even
unintentionally, some pretty nasty political narratives and
stereotypes. Personally, as a person of color, it made me a touch
uncomfortable to read this story under that subject line. Just
something to think about.
That having been said, this sounds like a pretty tricky situation all
around! I’m not sure what I would have done in the moment, but I’m
going to be giving it some thought!
One thing that does occurs to me to do after would be to connect with
someone from the Lebanese Student Society (it sounds like this was an
official group outing of their club?) before the next time they attend
a dance, explain a little about contra dancing and how it typically
works, and see if you can come up with any collaborative solutions to
how to make the dance work for them without disrupting the evening. I
could imagine a lot of creative solutions or opportunities for
collaboration if prepared in advance.
Harris
On Jan 21, 2023, at 12:05 PM, Joe Harrington via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I have no clue what happened with the white on white, which also killed
the last half of the message. Read all the way through the second half
and then see if it's an invasion! :-)
I had just done about a 25-minute gentle intro with circle keepers and
mixers, when the ladies walked in. I was balancing losing my regulars
and the newbies who had come on time with keeping the new dancers.
--jh--
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 11:08 AM Meg Dedolph <meg.dedolph(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
well, maybe I wouldn't use the word "invasion." :)
Did some of the regular women dancers join the line of newcomers? Might
have been a great opportunity for some folks to practice the role they
don't usually dance, which is a terrific way to become a stronger
dancer in general, and also make new folks feel welcome. A line made up
of only new dancers (for whatever reason) is usually something callers
like to avoid.
What about throwing in some circle mixers to learn terminology, only
remove the progression and dance it as a keeper? Or throw in some
whole-set dances like you get at community dances, which often don't
progress the way contras do.
Meg
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 9:25 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in
your thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must
have. I’m going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more
perceptive might have made some observations early on that would have
alerted them to the nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really
enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the
room at that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach
them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including
their jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty.
That’s where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they
couldn’t take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them
wearing headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love
diversity here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men.
How are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not
like I could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn
all moves into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club
president-to-be (elected later in the night) suggested putting them in
a line of their own. That made them happy, though it was a very short
line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
came into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended.
There were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There
were a lot of men, and they had a really difficult time taking
partners. I had minor sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced
dancers can do it). I told them it would not work that way, but they
said they’d make it work, and nothing I could say got anywhere. I was
conscious of the original dancers who had been there 30 minutes now,
had done the workshop, and were eager to dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more
interested in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any
attention to me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and
admonished them to be quiet and listen. There was some genuine
interest in that line, and one of the louder argument points I heard
was someone shouting to quiet the line, as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4 minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced
dancers. Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this
point. I was afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would
happen in the election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they
outnumbered the originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out,
since some really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with
too few members. I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet
down, which worked momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted
the line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune
and called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The
originals danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line
dispersed and said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The
ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
held our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50%
newbies is common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay
in the club more than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new,
occasional, no-newbies night, so the experienced dancers can dance
something more complex than Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went
over to that. I felt I could have taught them something if only I could
just have gotten their attention. Throwing them out would have been
uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
invaded, and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
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1:11 p.m.
Yeah, unfortunately, in the past five years or so, "invasion" has been
pushed with right-wing xenophobic rhetoric specifically with immigrants and
refugees who aren't white. :/
I liked Harris's suggestion about student groups communicating between
dances.
Also, I don't have better words than this, but - I appreciate hearing these
stories on this list, it sounds like an enormous challenge for a caller,
and I'm unsure how I would've handled it. I appreciate giving me more to
think about!
In dance,
Julian Blechner
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023, 1:47 PM Roberta Kogut via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
It never occurred to me that the idea of
"invasion" had anything to do
with race or us vs. them. I guess I'm naive. Thank you for making me think
about terminology. I just saw it as a large group who all show up at once
with no idea of what they're getting themselves into. The challenge is
always to make them feel welcome and wanted while handling a unique
situation and striking a balance with regulars. But my point was that the
regular dancers can be great assets to do one-in-one PR and help with the
newcomers.
Get TypeApp for Android <http://www.typeapp.com/r>
On Jan 21, 2023, at 12:50 PM, Harris Lapiroff via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
To reiterate Meg’s point a little more strongly, even reading the full
story, I think the word “invasion” is a loaded one to use about an ethnic
minority attending an event that’s typically attended by mostly white
people (I’m assuming this is the case of your contra dance, as it’s been
the case of every contra dance I’ve been to). It evokes, even
unintentionally, some pretty nasty political narratives and stereotypes.
Personally, as a person of color, it made me a touch uncomfortable to read
this story under that subject line. Just something to think about.
That having been said, this sounds like a pretty tricky situation all
around! I’m not sure what I would have done in the moment, but I’m going to
be giving it some thought!
One thing that does occurs to me to do after would be to connect with
someone from the Lebanese Student Society (it sounds like this was an
official group outing of their club?) before the next time they attend a
dance, explain a little about contra dancing and how it typically works,
and see if you can come up with any collaborative solutions to how to make
the dance work for them without disrupting the evening. I could imagine a
lot of creative solutions or opportunities for collaboration if prepared in
advance.
Harris
On Jan 21, 2023, at 12:05 PM, Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I have no clue what happened with the white on white, which also killed
the last half of the message. Read all the way through the second half and
then see if it's an invasion! :-)
I had just done about a 25-minute gentle intro with circle keepers and
mixers, when the ladies walked in. I was balancing losing my regulars and
the newbies who had come on time with keeping the new dancers.
--jh--
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 11:08 AM Meg Dedolph <meg.dedolph(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
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well, maybe I wouldn't use the word
"invasion." :)
Did some of the regular women dancers join the line of newcomers? Might
have been a great opportunity for some folks to practice the role they
don't usually dance, which is a terrific way to become a stronger dancer in
general, and also make new folks feel welcome. A line made up of only new
dancers (for whatever reason) is usually something callers like to avoid.
What about throwing in some circle mixers to learn terminology, only
remove the progression and dance it as a keeper? Or throw in some whole-set
dances like you get at community dances, which often don't progress the way
contras do.
Meg
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 9:25 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Contra Callers mailing list
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_______________________________________________ We had an interesting and challenging situation
come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really
enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at
that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they
couldn’t take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
came into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended.
There were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were
a lot of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had
minor sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I
told them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work,
and nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original
dancers who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were
eager to dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4 minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since
some really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few
members. I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which
worked momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
held our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies
is common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club
more than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional,
no-newbies night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more
complex than Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went
over to that. I felt I could have taught them something if only I could
just have gotten their attention. Throwing them out would have been
uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
invaded, and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list -- contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to
contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
_______________________________________________
10:36 a.m.
[I don't know why, but the top paragraph and a half of my message somehow
came through white on white in both my email readers, so I'm resending,]
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might have made
some observations early on that would have alerted them to the nature of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic to learn,
and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point, so I
rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with. Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and called an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals danced it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and said they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 10:24 AM Joe Harrington <contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
We had an interesting and challenging situation come
up at Contra Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might have made
some observations early on that would have alerted them to the nature of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic to
learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point, so
I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and called an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals danced it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and said they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
1:48 p.m.
To reiterate further I will elaborate on Meg's and Harris's points:
"invasion" is not only a poor word choice, it's a dangerous mindset. Your
attitude will be evident to _all_ the dancers, making the new folks feel
uncomfortable, and encouraging some regulars to not be welcoming. Did you
actually say the words "throw them out" if they kept being noisy? Both
these scenarios make _me_ uncomfortable, even as a white woman. Words are
very powerful. Word choice matters.
I've called dances where what I call a "bus load" of beginners showed up
after the lesson. They arrive together, they probably bused or carpooled
together, they know one another. They will want to dance with each other,
not just as couples, but in clumps of foursomes, not and necessarily with
people they don't know. It's a challenge. It would be way more of a
challenge if their cultural practices didn't allow them to touch someone
appearing to be a different gender.
For the noise, after politely asking for their attention one thing to try
is to get quiet yourself, and see if they notice and follow suit. Then ask
for their help with the noise level so everyone can enjoy the evening. Your
calm attitude will be noticed by the regulars, and it will gain their
respect. Hollering will do the opposite.
I think a demonstration of contra dance on campus might be helpful. Do it
in a public area, invite other clubs/groups to come watch. You wouldn't
need to do a lesson, but could point out how the progression works, how
contra is a very community-centered dance form, where you dance with
everyone.
Side note: this sounds like a good time to plan ahead for a similar
situation, and collect, or write, dances that might work for them.
I wish you good luck and growth for your community.
-Amy
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023, 8:36 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
[I don't know why, but the top paragraph and a
half of my message somehow
came through white on white in both my email readers, so I'm resending,]
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might have made
some observations early on that would have alerted them to the nature of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic to learn,
and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point, so I
rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with. Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and called an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals danced it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and said they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 10:24 AM Joe Harrington <contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com>
wrote:
We had an interesting and challenging situation
come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really
enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at
that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list --
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
2:04 p.m.
Just to be clear it was a literal bus of international students, about 20. The question
was has this ever happened to you and how did you handle it. It is a challenge and I
thought the purpose of this group was to help each other be better equipped to handle such
challenges graciously. I value all people and welcome them all and encourage them all. I
feel like people are judging and being a little condescending. Sorry, this is just
getting too preachy.
Get TypeApp for Android
On Jan 21, 2023, 2:48 PM, at 2:48 PM, Amy Wimmer via Contra Callers
<contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
To reiterate further I will elaborate on Meg's and
Harris's points:
"invasion" is not only a poor word choice, it's a dangerous mindset.
Your
attitude will be evident to _all_ the dancers, making the new folks
feel
uncomfortable, and encouraging some regulars to not be welcoming. Did
you
actually say the words "throw them out" if they kept being noisy? Both
these scenarios make _me_ uncomfortable, even as a white woman. Words
are
very powerful. Word choice matters.
I've called dances where what I call a "bus load" of beginners showed
up
after the lesson. They arrive together, they probably bused or
carpooled
together, they know one another. They will want to dance with each
other,
not just as couples, but in clumps of foursomes, not and necessarily
with
people they don't know. It's a challenge. It would be way more of a
challenge if their cultural practices didn't allow them to touch
someone
appearing to be a different gender.
For the noise, after politely asking for their attention one thing to
try
is to get quiet yourself, and see if they notice and follow suit. Then
ask
for their help with the noise level so everyone can enjoy the evening.
Your
calm attitude will be noticed by the regulars, and it will gain their
respect. Hollering will do the opposite.
I think a demonstration of contra dance on campus might be helpful. Do
it
in a public area, invite other clubs/groups to come watch. You wouldn't
need to do a lesson, but could point out how the progression works, how
contra is a very community-centered dance form, where you dance with
everyone.
Side note: this sounds like a good time to plan ahead for a similar
situation, and collect, or write, dances that might work for them.
I wish you good luck and growth for your community.
-Amy
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023, 8:36 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
> So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
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To unsubscribe send an email to
contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
[I don't know why, but the top paragraph and
a half of my message
somehow
came through white on white in both my email
readers, so I'm
resending,]
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
Knights,
the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m
interested in your
thoughts
and advice, in case it has come up before, which
it must have. I’m
going to
relate it as I perceived it, though someone more
perceptive might
have made
some observations early on that would have
alerted them to the nature
of
the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were
scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my
newbie lesson, a
group of
nine women dribbled in as a group. They were
really enthusiastic to
learn,
and they were about 30% of the people in the room
at that point, so I
rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks.
I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at
the sides, including
their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it
can get sweaty.
That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff
down, but they
couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed
some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love
diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted
and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance
together and not
with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this
dance we all dance with
each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom
we’re dancing with.
Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men.
How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral
dance? It’s not like
I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone
suggested they turn all
moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when
our club
president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting
them in a line of
their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short
line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring
room had just ended.
There
were more women, enough to make the small line
danceable. There were
a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time
taking partners. I had
minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced
dancers can do it). I
told
them it would not work that way, but they said
they’d make it work,
and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious
of the original
dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the
workshop, and were
eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a
bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly
because of the
discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many
there were more
interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in
paying any
attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up
and admonished them to
be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine
interest in that line, and
one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone
shouting to quiet the
line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined
through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced
dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient
at this point. I
was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what
would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered
the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they
didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to
throw them out, since
some
really did want to learn and we are an inclusive
club with too few
members.
I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t
quiet down, which
worked
momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were
going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their
noise disrupted the
line of
originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put
on a tune and called
an
easy dance, cranking the volume above the din.
The originals danced
it fine
and seemed to have a good time. The guy line
dispersed and said
they’d come
in time for the workshop next time. The ladies
left with them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
held
our officer election. While last night was a
unique event, 50%
newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few
dancers to stay in the
club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a
new, occasional,
no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance
something more complex
than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my
originals if we went over to
that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only
I could just have
gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have
been uncomfortable, at
best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 10:24 AM Joe Harrington
<contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com wrote:
> We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
> Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in
your
> thoughts and advice, in case it has come up
before, which it must
have. I’m
> going to relate it as I perceived it, though
someone more perceptive
might
> have made some observations early on that
would have alerted them to
the
> nature of the situation.
> Last night was the second dance of the
semester and officer
elections
> were scheduled during the break. Just at the
end of my newbie
lesson, a
> group of nine women dribbled in as a group.
They were really
> enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the
room at
> that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to
at least teach them the
swing.
> invited them to put their stuff on the chairs
at the sides,
including their
> jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music
and it can get sweaty.
That’s
> where it got interesting. Some put their
stuff down, but they
couldn’t
> take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed
some of them wearing
> headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love
diversity
> here.
> I tried matching them with experienced
dancers, which some accepted
and
> some did not. Some said they just wanted to
dance together and not
with
> anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this
dance we all dance
with
> each other in a sequence and we don’t control
whom we’re dancing
with.
> Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch
men.
> This, of course, explained the refused
partners; they were all men.
How
> are we going to manage that in a
gender-neutral dance? It’s not
like I
> could put them in the men’s role. Someone
suggested they turn all
moves
> into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss,
when our club
president-to-be
> (elected later in the night) suggested
putting them in a line of
their own.
> That made them happy, though it was a very
short line.
> Then the rest of what turned out to be
the Lebanese Student Society
came
> into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring
room had just ended.
There
> were more women, enough to make the small
line danceable. There were
a lot
> of men, and they had a really difficult time
taking partners. I had
minor
> sets with five or six dancers (yes,
experienced dancers can do it).
I told
> them it would not work that way, but they
said they’d make it work,
and
> nothing I could say got anywhere. I was
conscious of the original
dancers
> who had been there 30 minutes now, had done
the workshop, and were
eager to
> dance.
> So, the men also got their own line,
but things in that line got a
bit
> crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly
because of the
discomfort
> some may have felt dancing with other men,
many there were more
interested
> in goofing off or boasting to one another
than in paying any
attention to
> me, even after I cranked the mic volume way
up and admonished them
to be
> quiet and listen. There was some genuine
interest in that line, and
one of
> the louder argument points I heard was
someone shouting to quiet the
line,
> as they were here to learn.
> At this point there were around 30
Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4
> minor sets each and 20 originals, who had
joined through the newbie
> session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced
dancers.
> Their line was quiet, but getting quite
impatient at this point. I
was
> afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of
what would happen in the
> election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered
the
> originals.
> It became clear that the Lebanese men
were not going to get far, but
they
> didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want
to throw them out, since
some
> really did want to learn and we are an
inclusive club with too few
members.
> I did say I would kick them out if they
didn’t quiet down, which
worked
> momentarily.
> I decided to forge ahead and call to
the group of 20. Either the
guys
> were going to get it or they’d maybe leave.
If their noise disrupted
the
> line of originals, then I would ask them to
leave. I put on a tune
and
> called an easy dance, cranking the volume
above the din. The
originals
> danced it fine and seemed to have a good
time. The guy line
dispersed and
> said they’d come in time for the workshop
next time. The ladies left
with
> them.
> The originals nearly all stayed. We
had a fun rest of our night and
held
> our officer election. While last night was a
unique event, 50%
newbies is
> common and we think it’s why we get so few
dancers to stay in the
club more
> than three nights. So, one of the changes is
a new, occasional,
no-newbies
> night, so the experienced dancers can dance
something more complex
than
> Airpants.
> Are there ways to calm an unruly
crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night
> stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my
originals if we went over
to that.
> I felt I could have taught them something if
only I could just have
gotten
> their attention. Throwing them out would have
been uncomfortable, at
best.
and how
did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
_______________________________________________
Contra Callers mailing list --
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to 
10:19 p.m.
A tough situation, and thank you to the previous comments talking about
words and mindsets.
I'd like to reiterate Amy's suggestion on volume. I fear upping the ante
and escalating the noise level is an arms race nobody wins. I think your
regulars are more likely to be turned off by loud volume than by you
working to help new dancers.
I call a fair number of weddings, occasionally with open bars. Regular
dancers can and do have fun if they're moving to good music, without it
being challenging dances. I wasn't in the room, but I think your regulars
might appreciate 5 minutes of instruction and 25 minutes of simple dance
(at which point the new folks may have decided they were done or gotten
into it) over 20 minutes of getting the new folks up to speed and 10
minutes of dancing.
I applaud you for acknowledging it didn't go how you wanted, and asking for
insights on what else to do. It's certainly easier to armchair-call it
afterwards. It's a tough situation. I'd encourage you to talk to your
regulars and club officers about it, and take it as an opportunity to build
community with the folks that come regularly and/or come back.
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 3:04 PM Roberta Kogut via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Just to be clear it was a literal bus of international
students, about
20. The question was has this ever happened to you and how did you handle
it. It is a challenge and I thought the purpose of this group was to help
each other be better equipped to handle such challenges graciously. I
value all people and welcome them all and encourage them all. I feel like
people are judging and being a little condescending. Sorry, this is just
getting too preachy.
Get TypeApp for Android <http://www.typeapp.com/r>
On Jan 21, 2023, at 2:48 PM, Amy Wimmer via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
To reiterate further I will elaborate on Meg's and Harris's points:
"invasion" is not only a poor word choice, it's a dangerous mindset. Your
attitude will be evident to _all_ the dancers, making the new folks feel
uncomfortable, and encouraging some regulars to not be welcoming. Did you
actually say the words "throw them out" if they kept being noisy? Both
these scenarios make _me_ uncomfortable, even as a white woman. Words are
very powerful. Word choice matters.
I've called dances where what I call a "bus load" of beginners showed up
after the lesson. They arrive together, they probably bused or carpooled
together, they know one another. They will want to dance with each other,
not just as couples, but in clumps of foursomes, not and necessarily with
people they don't know. It's a challenge. It would be way more of a
challenge if their cultural practices didn't allow them to touch someone
appearing to be a different gender.
For the noise, after politely asking for their attention one thing to try
is to get quiet yourself, and see if they notice and follow suit. Then ask
for their help with the noise level so everyone can enjoy the evening. Your
calm attitude will be noticed by the regulars, and it will gain their
respect. Hollering will do the opposite.
I think a demonstration of contra dance on campus might be helpful. Do it
in a public area, invite other clubs/groups to come watch. You wouldn't
need to do a lesson, but could point out how the progression works, how
contra is a very community-centered dance form, where you dance with
everyone.
Side note: this sounds like a good time to plan ahead for a similar
situation, and collect, or write, dances that might work for them.
I wish you good luck and growth for your community.
-Amy
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023, 8:36 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Contra Callers mailing list --
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net
To unsubscribe send an email to contracallers-leave(a)lists.sharedweight.net
[I don't know why, but the top paragraph and
a half of my message
somehow came through white on white in both my email readers, so I'm
resending,]
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic
to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point,
so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with. Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society came
into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended. There
were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were a lot
of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had minor
sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I told
them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work, and
nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original dancers
who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were eager to
dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of 3-4
minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since
some really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few
members. I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which
worked momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and held
our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies is
common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club more
than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional, no-newbies
night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more complex than
Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent one-night
stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went over to that.
I felt I could have taught them something if only I could just have gotten
their attention. Throwing them out would have been uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been invaded,
and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 10:24 AM Joe Harrington <
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com> wrote:
------------------------------
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_______________________________________________ We had an interesting and challenging situation
come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really
enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at
that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they
couldn’t take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
came into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended.
There were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were
a lot of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had
minor sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I
told them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work,
and nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original
dancers who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were
eager to dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4 minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since
some really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few
members. I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which
worked momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
held our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies
is common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club
more than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional,
no-newbies night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more
complex than Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went
over to that. I felt I could have taught them something if only I could
just have gotten their attention. Throwing them out would have been
uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
invaded, and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
_______________________________________________
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22 Jan
22 Jan
12:26 a.m.
Thanks to everyone for the many thoughts, perspectives, and suggestions;
all are very much appreciated.
We talked through what happened during our club meeting later in the dance,
after the Lebanese group had left. I'm going to reach out to the Lebanese
Student Society and ask if they want me to come to one of their meetings
and do a lesson and dance tailored to their preference for no contact
between the sexes. Then, hopefully those still interested will come to our
dances, and others will have gotten it out of their systems. I'm thinking
there might be some international folk dances without contact, and there's
always gender-separated contra sets, which they seemed to be fine with.
--jh--
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 11:19 PM Luke Donforth <luke.donev(a)gmail.com> wrote:
A tough situation, and thank you to the previous
comments talking about
words and mindsets.
I'd like to reiterate Amy's suggestion on volume. I fear upping the ante
and escalating the noise level is an arms race nobody wins. I think your
regulars are more likely to be turned off by loud volume than by you
working to help new dancers.
I call a fair number of weddings, occasionally with open bars. Regular
dancers can and do have fun if they're moving to good music, without it
being challenging dances. I wasn't in the room, but I think your regulars
might appreciate 5 minutes of instruction and 25 minutes of simple dance
(at which point the new folks may have decided they were done or gotten
into it) over 20 minutes of getting the new folks up to speed and 10
minutes of dancing.
I applaud you for acknowledging it didn't go how you wanted, and asking
for insights on what else to do. It's certainly easier to armchair-call it
afterwards. It's a tough situation. I'd encourage you to talk to your
regulars and club officers about it, and take it as an opportunity to build
community with the folks that come regularly and/or come back.
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 3:04 PM Roberta Kogut via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Just to be clear it was a literal bus of
international students, about
20. The question was has this ever happened to you and how did you handle
it. It is a challenge and I thought the purpose of this group was to help
each other be better equipped to handle such challenges graciously. I
value all people and welcome them all and encourage them all. I feel like
people are judging and being a little condescending. Sorry, this is just
getting too preachy.
Get TypeApp for Android <http://www.typeapp.com/r>
On Jan 21, 2023, at 2:48 PM, Amy Wimmer via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
--
Luke Donforth
Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com <Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com>
To reiterate further I will elaborate on Meg's and Harris's points:
"invasion" is not only a poor word choice, it's a dangerous mindset. Your
attitude will be evident to _all_ the dancers, making the new folks feel
uncomfortable, and encouraging some regulars to not be welcoming. Did you
actually say the words "throw them out" if they kept being noisy? Both
these scenarios make _me_ uncomfortable, even as a white woman. Words are
very powerful. Word choice matters.
I've called dances where what I call a "bus load" of beginners showed up
after the lesson. They arrive together, they probably bused or carpooled
together, they know one another. They will want to dance with each other,
not just as couples, but in clumps of foursomes, not and necessarily with
people they don't know. It's a challenge. It would be way more of a
challenge if their cultural practices didn't allow them to touch someone
appearing to be a different gender.
For the noise, after politely asking for their attention one thing to
try is to get quiet yourself, and see if they notice and follow suit. Then
ask for their help with the noise level so everyone can enjoy the evening.
Your calm attitude will be noticed by the regulars, and it will gain their
respect. Hollering will do the opposite.
I think a demonstration of contra dance on campus might be helpful. Do
it in a public area, invite other clubs/groups to come watch. You wouldn't
need to do a lesson, but could point out how the progression works, how
contra is a very community-centered dance form, where you dance with
everyone.
Side note: this sounds like a good time to plan ahead for a similar
situation, and collect, or write, dances that might work for them.
I wish you good luck and growth for your community.
-Amy
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023, 8:36 AM Joe Harrington via Contra Callers <
contracallers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Contra Callers mailing list --
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To unsubscribe send an email to
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[I don't know why, but the top paragraph and
a half of my message
somehow came through white on white in both my email readers, so I'm
resending,]
We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
nature of the situation.
Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really enthusiastic
to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at that point,
so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they couldn’t
take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
here.
I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted and
some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with each
other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with. Well,
that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men.
How are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
(elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
came into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended.
There were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were
a lot of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had
minor sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I
told them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work,
and nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original
dancers who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were
eager to dance.
So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
as they were here to learn.
At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
3-4 minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
originals.
It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
they didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since
some really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few
members. I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which
worked momentarily.
I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
them.
The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
held our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies
is common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club
more than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional,
no-newbies night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more
complex than Airpants.
Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
one-night stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went
over to that. I felt I could have taught them something if only I could
just have gotten their attention. Throwing them out would have been
uncomfortable, at best.
So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
invaded, and how did you handle it?
Thanks,
—jh—
Joe Harrington
Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
Contraknights.org
FB, Ig: Contra Knights
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
On Sat, Jan 21, 2023 at 10:24 AM Joe Harrington <
contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> We had an interesting and challenging situation come up at Contra
> Knights, the UCF student contra club, last night. I’m interested in your
> thoughts and advice, in case it has come up before, which it must have. I’m
> going to relate it as I perceived it, though someone more perceptive might
> have made some observations early on that would have alerted them to the
> nature of the situation.
>
> Last night was the second dance of the semester and officer elections
> were scheduled during the break. Just at the end of my newbie lesson, a
> group of nine women dribbled in as a group. They were really
> enthusiastic to learn, and they were about 30% of the people in the room at
> that point, so I rewound the lesson a bit to at least teach them the swing.
>
> They had joined the teaching circle with their purses and backpacks. I
> invited them to put their stuff on the chairs at the sides, including their
> jackets, as we dance to up-tempo pop music and it can get sweaty. That’s
> where it got interesting. Some put their stuff down, but they
> couldn’t take off their jackets. That’s when I noticed some of them wearing
> headscarves. Ok, no worries, wear jackets, that’s fine. We love diversity
> here.
>
> I tried matching them with experienced dancers, which some accepted
> and some did not. Some said they just wanted to dance together and not with
> anybody else. O-kay. I explained that in this dance we all dance with
> each other in a sequence and we don’t control whom we’re dancing with.
> Well, that’s ok, as long as we don’t touch men.
>
> This, of course, explained the refused partners; they were all men. How
> are we going to manage that in a gender-neutral dance? It’s not like I
> could put them in the men’s role. Someone suggested they turn all moves
> into do-si-dos. I was at a momentary loss, when our club president-to-be
> (elected later in the night) suggested putting them in a line of their own.
> That made them happy, though it was a very short line.
>
> Then the rest of what turned out to be the Lebanese Student Society
> came into the room. Their meeting in a neighboring room had just ended.
> There were more women, enough to make the small line danceable. There were
> a lot of men, and they had a really difficult time taking partners. I had
> minor sets with five or six dancers (yes, experienced dancers can do it). I
> told them it would not work that way, but they said they’d make it work,
> and nothing I could say got anywhere. I was conscious of the original
> dancers who had been there 30 minutes now, had done the workshop, and were
> eager to dance.
>
> So, the men also got their own line, but things in that line got a bit
> crazy during the first walk-through. Possibly because of the discomfort
> some may have felt dancing with other men, many there were more interested
> in goofing off or boasting to one another than in paying any attention to
> me, even after I cranked the mic volume way up and admonished them to be
> quiet and listen. There was some genuine interest in that line, and one of
> the louder argument points I heard was someone shouting to quiet the line,
> as they were here to learn.
>
> At this point there were around 30 Lebanese students in two lines of
> 3-4 minor sets each and 20 originals, who had joined through the newbie
> session, which was evenly split between newbies and experienced dancers.
> Their line was quiet, but getting quite impatient at this point. I was
> afraid to lose them. I was really afraid of what would happen in the
> election later on if the Lebanese club stayed, as they outnumbered the
> originals.
>
> It became clear that the Lebanese men were not going to get far, but
> they didn’t realize it yet. I really didn’t want to throw them out, since
> some really did want to learn and we are an inclusive club with too few
> members. I did say I would kick them out if they didn’t quiet down, which
> worked momentarily.
>
> I decided to forge ahead and call to the group of 20. Either the guys
> were going to get it or they’d maybe leave. If their noise disrupted the
> line of originals, then I would ask them to leave. I put on a tune and
> called an easy dance, cranking the volume above the din. The originals
> danced it fine and seemed to have a good time. The guy line dispersed and
> said they’d come in time for the workshop next time. The ladies left with
> them.
>
> The originals nearly all stayed. We had a fun rest of our night and
> held our officer election. While last night was a unique event, 50% newbies
> is common and we think it’s why we get so few dancers to stay in the club
> more than three nights. So, one of the changes is a new, occasional,
> no-newbies night, so the experienced dancers can dance something more
> complex than Airpants.
>
> Are there ways to calm an unruly crowd? I have a fairly decent
> one-night stand routine, but I worried I’d lose my originals if we went
> over to that. I felt I could have taught them something if only I could
> just have gotten their attention. Throwing them out would have been
> uncomfortable, at best.
>
> So, could I have done this any better? Has your dance ever been
> invaded, and how did you handle it?
>
> Thanks,
>
> —jh—
> Joe Harrington
> Faculty advisor and caller to Contra Knights, the UCF contra club
> Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance
> Contraknights.org
> FB, Ig: Contra Knights
> contradancerjoe(a)gmail.com
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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11 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
Amy Wimmer -
Harris Lapiroff -
Joe Harrington -
Julian Blechner -
Luke Donforth -
Meg Dedolph -
Roberta Kogut