Hey all, First, a disclaimer: Some people on this listserv thing shadow swings are problematic. Some don't see any issue with them. This is NOT the conversation I want to have in this thread; *I ask that you respond to the question I'm asking and do not debate my premise--at least not in this particular thread. *This should help keep this thread on track and hopefully reduce excess noise and go-nowhere discussions on this listserv. Thanks! Anyway, the actual question I wanted to ask (whew!)-- There do exist some really fabulous shadow-swing dances that I would love to be able to call, as long as I could do so without putting anyone in an uncomfortable position. Do folks have ideas for ways to mitigate the potential harms of shadow swing dances? I was considering, at the beginning of the dance, having dancers identify their shadow and mentioning, "this will be a shadow swing dance, so if you need to make any changes, do so now" (or something like that)--haven't gotten the wording down-pat, but the idea is giving dancers advance warning of a shadow swing so they can move (thereby changing their shadow) if they need to. Any thoughts on this method? Suggestions of others? Cheers. Maia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

On Sep 8, 2015, at 11:16 AM, Rich Sbardella via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: Maia, I think it might be better to mention it at the end of the previous dance, so people can choose carefully where they dance without as much chance of offending someone. Clearly explain what a shadow is, and the relative proximity to a dancers position. Rich _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Maia, Let me see if I'm correctly reading your goals: You want to call dances with shadow swings You want to minimize discomfort To do both of those, I think an announcement after folks have lined up is worse than an announcement earlier. If someone is uncomfortable with the idea of swinging a shadow, how comfortable would they be leaving a line after you've made the announcement and highlighting for everyone in the room that there's a problematic interaction? There's no way to surreptitiously drop out; folks have to take new hands four and identify new shadows. I think making the announcement after folks have lined up just puts public pressure on your dancers. You can announce it ahead of time, either at the end of the previous dance; or even during the walkthrough of the previous dance. I know some callers do this for mixers: "Alright, thanks everyone for lining up and taking hands four. Just so you know, the dance after this will be a mixer. You'll keep your partner for this dance, but the one after don't expect to stay with your sweetheart." etc. Andrea raises a good point that it's hard to know where the shadow would be when you line up (or if someone lines up after you). Other options that come to mind: - Call these dances that are dear to you only in instances where it's unlikely to be an issue. I.e. small dance communities where you know everyone and know it'll be fine; or very large events (dance weekends, etc) where it's much less likely for you to run into someone you have a bad interaction with. If you had a festival session called "Shadow Dances"; then anybody showing up is probably going to expect that they'll swing the occasional shadow. - As Ron suggested, you can modify the dance and say "and this move can be a swing". Might defeat why you're trying to call the dance though. - Make it triplet-esque; in that rather than full long lines, you break folks into small groups (10 dancers, etc) and run the dance for a short time. If there's a shadow, partner, and neighbor swing, chances are you don't want to run the dance super long anyway. You announce "find a partner and about 4 other couples for a special dance" and folks can self select a little more. Smaller groups also let more experienced dancers goof/chaos/play more with repetitive dances without throwing off large portions of the hall (I consider a dance with shadow & partner swing, with or without a neighbor swing; to have a high possibility of repetitiveness). Hope that helps get you thinking about other options too. Have fun, and remember we're there for the dancers to have a good time. Luke On Tue, Sep 8, 2015 at 11:06 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: -- Luke Donforth Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com &lt;Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com&gt; _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Seems to me Carol Ormand has one where you start the dance by putting your Partner in the Shadows position. I may be wrong about that. Would that solve your problem? Jane Ewing Grant, AL _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

On Sep 8, 2015, at 12:30 PM, Luke Donforth via Callers &lt;callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: Maia, Let me see if I'm correctly reading your goals: You want to call dances with shadow swings You want to minimize discomfort To do both of those, I think an announcement after folks have lined up is worse than an announcement earlier. If someone is uncomfortable with the idea of swinging a shadow, how comfortable would they be leaving a line after you've made the announcement and highlighting for everyone in the room that there's a problematic interaction? There's no way to surreptitiously drop out; folks have to take new hands four and identify new shadows. I think making the announcement after folks have lined up just puts public pressure on your dancers. You can announce it ahead of time, either at the end of the previous dance; or even during the walkthrough of the previous dance. I know some callers do this for mixers: "Alright, thanks everyone for lining up and taking hands four. Just so you know, the dance after this will be a mixer. You'll keep your partner for this dance, but the one after don't expect to stay with your sweetheart." etc. Andrea raises a good point that it's hard to know where the shadow would be when you line up (or if someone lines up after you). Other options that come to mind: Call these dances that are dear to you only in instances where it's unlikely to be an issue. I.e. small dance communities where you know everyone and know it'll be fine; or very large events (dance weekends, etc) where it's much less likely for you to run into someone you have a bad interaction with. If you had a festival session called "Shadow Dances"; then anybody showing up is probably going to expect that they'll swing the occasional shadow. As Ron suggested, you can modify the dance and say "and this move can be a swing". Might defeat why you're trying to call the dance though. Make it triplet-esque; in that rather than full long lines, you break folks into small groups (10 dancers, etc) and run the dance for a short time. If there's a shadow, partner, and neighbor swing, chances are you don't want to run the dance super long anyway. You announce "find a partner and about 4 other couples for a special dance" and folks can self select a little more. Smaller groups also let more experienced dancers goof/chaos/play more with repetitive dances without throwing off large portions of the hall (I consider a dance with shadow & partner swing, with or without a neighbor swing; to have a high possibility of repetitiveness). Hope that helps get you thinking about other options too. Have fun, and remember we're there for the dancers to have a good time. Luke -- Luke Donforth Luke.Donforth(a)gmail.com _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Wow. ISTM [It Seems To Me] that this is far more responsibility for controlling social interpersonal interactions than the programmer and/or caller at the mic should have to worry about, even though we do worry about such things. Sorry I don’t have opportunity to participate on this email list more often. That Pesky Day Job [PDJ] and all… Short response: Don’t point out shadow partner interaction; the dancers need to be adult about it, no one listens to the Caller anyway, let alone anything said while they’re still lining up. Longer response: I really REALLY don’t think that there should be any announcement calling attention to the fact that the next dance has interaction with someone other than your chosen partner. What, are we supposed to say “This is a duple improper single progression with a shadow who is the same active or inactive role one place below [or above] where you line up”? Or should we say “Thank this partner, and ask another partner for the next dance. As you line up, if there is someone at the dance here tonight with whom you don’t want to dance, please make sure that they are in a different longways set than you, or that if they are in the same long set as you that they are not in an adjacent hands-four from you either up or down as you line up for the dance.” Are we dance choreographers supposed to create dance sequences that don’t have any “serious” interaction with the shadow partner, just in case the dancers happen to line up such that someone on the floor has an “Ex” as a shadow partner? Or someone who hasn’t showered recently enough? We already have the problem of MUC rejection of any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required. I’m confused… <SoapBox> Yes, I understand the many reasons for not having serious shadow interactions, but I am proud that every local dance community where I’ve been a member, from NH/Boston to CA/SF, has understood that interpersonal conflicts will happen, and yet social interactions are required. They understand how to make everyone work together. Family schisms are inevitable. Personal hygiene issues may arise. I hope that everyone eventually can live the philosophy on Jeremiah’s T-shirt: “Dance With Who’s Comin’ Atcha!" Even long-time couples break up. It’s painful to the people involved and also to everyone surrounding. We’re all Community here. Our Community is larger and more long-lived than the simple “nuclear family” of two parents and 2.3 children. That means we get to “enjoy” many various kinds of family ties, both genetic and non-genetic. The Community connection carries us all through this specific break-up episode. The Dance entertains us and it heals us and it strengthens The Community. I say this with a VERY PERSONAL involvement in this community support. Yes, we DO see what’s going on. Yes, we DO love both of you, even if you’ve split apart, and even if there is a court restraining order about you both showing up at our dance on the same night (that’s a different discussion, and yes, it does happen). If there’s a personal hygiene problem, sometimes it simply can not be helped. I myself could change shirts whenever the band changes tunes and it still would not be often enough. In such a case, please enjoy fresh pheromones; fresh sweat can be enjoyable sweat. If it’s stale sweat, then by all means tell the person that a shower with soap would make him/her a more enjoyable dance partner. That’s a quiet face-to-face conversation. BUT please dance for several seconds, smile, and move on. All that aside, any swing can be changed to an allemande right once or twice (to taste), or an elbow swing, or a do-si-do, or a gypsy (with varying amounts of eye contact, again to taste). Experienced dancers, especially a split dancer couple who encounter each other in line, will do whatever they feel comfortable with. What a GREAT opportunity to swap roles with your partner, given a little look-ahead! (“Oh! that’s my Ex ahead; let’s swap!” or just take hands with the palm-up signal that you’re taking the “Gent” role next time) Painless and fun. Never mind that experienced dancers often rewrite the dance to change a non-swing dance move into a swing, even in the middle of a hey; it’s just as easy to go the other direction, to reduce interaction. That’s what dancers do. Just Be In The Right Place At The Right Time. We always say that a neighbor interaction is “just one time through the tune, just 30 seconds”. Well, a shadow interaction is generally at most one 8-count thing; 4 seconds repeated every once in a while as wonderful music plays. Maybe double that for some dances, so then about 8 seconds out of every half minute or so. It seems to me that we as social animals should be able to deal with that. Certainly we do this in our daily lives on the street/office/garage/whatever. We can be civil and even develop the ability to enjoy a 10-second interaction with an ex we encounter in a public event. One of the things I love about contra dance is that it gives us all an opportunity to “be” the persona we live the rest of the time, or “be” someone else during The Dance. We’re wearing a costume while we’re dancing, even if it’s not obvious. Many of our dancers have an on-the-floor personality which is quite different from the personality they exhibit the rest of the time (such as while talking and enjoying refreshments at the break during the evening dance). Certainly I wear a different persona on the dance floor than when I am at the break, and I’m someone else if I’m calling, and someone else if I’m the dance organizer. THEN there’s the issue of identifying which of the various people “near” you as you line up might be your shadow/TrailBuddy. In a Becket dance it’s likely to be your neighbor to the side in line, or could be next beyond them, or the neighbor to the other side, or maybe the next beyond them. I TRULY advise against spending too much effort in identifying the “Corner/TrailBuddy” in advance, as the dancers are lined up. In a duple improper, your shadow could be ahead, could be behind. It depends on the choreography. And it changes if someone drops out, or if someone joins in after the walkthrough. That’s not the place to spend your precious seconds at the mic as a caller. Get them moving and listening to the music. </SoapBox> We already have the problem of MUC [Modern Urban Contra] rejection of any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required. I’m confused... -Eric On Sep 8, 2015, at 8:06 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: Hey all, First, a disclaimer: Some people on this listserv thing shadow swings are problematic. Some don't see any issue with them. This is NOT the conversation I want to have in this thread; *I ask that you respond to the question I'm asking and do not debate my premise--at least not in this particular thread. *This should help keep this thread on track and hopefully reduce excess noise and go-nowhere discussions on this listserv. Thanks! Anyway, the actual question I wanted to ask (whew!)-- There do exist some really fabulous shadow-swing dances that I would love to be able to call, as long as I could do so without putting anyone in an uncomfortable position. Do folks have ideas for ways to mitigate the potential harms of shadow swing dances? I was considering, at the beginning of the dance, having dancers identify their shadow and mentioning, "this will be a shadow swing dance, so if you need to make any changes, do so now" (or something like that)--haven't gotten the wording down-pat, but the idea is giving dancers advance warning of a shadow swing so they can move (thereby changing their shadow) if they need to. Any thoughts on this method? Suggestions of others? Cheers. Maia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Hear, hear, Eric! My sentiments exactly. And for a slightly different perspective: I danced a shadow dance at Glen Echo some years back, and after swinging my shadow a few times, we both suddenly realized we knew each other from way back (my how we change)! Every swing was an opportunity to catch up a bit more and a bit more as we continued the dance - it was wonderful! So good things can happen, too. Martha On Sep 9, 2015, at 6:39 AM, Eric Black via Callers wrote: Wow. ISTM [It Seems To Me] that this is far more responsibility for controlling social interpersonal interactions than the programmer and/or caller at the mic should have to worry about, even though we do worry about such things. Sorry I don’t have opportunity to participate on this email list more often. That Pesky Day Job [PDJ] and all… Short response: Don’t point out shadow partner interaction; the dancers need to be adult about it, no one listens to the Caller anyway, let alone anything said while they’re still lining up. Longer response: I really REALLY don’t think that there should be any announcement calling attention to the fact that the next dance has interaction with someone other than your chosen partner. What, are we supposed to say “This is a duple improper single progression with a shadow who is the same active or inactive role one place below [or above] where you line up”? Or should we say “Thank this partner, and ask another partner for the next dance. As you line up, if there is someone at the dance here tonight with whom you don’t want to dance, please make sure that they are in a different longways set than you, or that if they are in the same long set as you that they are not in an adjacent hands-four from you either up or down as you line up for the dance.” Are we dance choreographers supposed to create dance sequences that don’t have any “serious” interaction with the shadow partner, just in case the dancers happen to line up such that someone on the floor has an “Ex” as a shadow partner? Or someone who hasn’t showered recently enough? We already have the problem of MUC rejection of any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required. I’m confused… <SoapBox> Yes, I understand the many reasons for not having serious shadow interactions, but I am proud that every local dance community where I’ve been a member, from NH/Boston to CA/SF, has understood that interpersonal conflicts will happen, and yet social interactions are required. They understand how to make everyone work together. Family schisms are inevitable. Personal hygiene issues may arise. I hope that everyone eventually can live the philosophy on Jeremiah’s T-shirt: “Dance With Who’s Comin’ Atcha!" Even long-time couples break up. It’s painful to the people involved and also to everyone surrounding. We’re all Community here. Our Community is larger and more long-lived than the simple “nuclear family” of two parents and 2.3 children. That means we get to “enjoy” many various kinds of family ties, both genetic and non-genetic. The Community connection carries us all through this specific break-up episode. The Dance entertains us and it heals us and it strengthens The Community. I say this with a VERY PERSONAL involvement in this community support. Yes, we DO see what’s going on. Yes, we DO love both of you, even if you’ve split apart, and even if there is a court restraining order about you both showing up at our dance on the same night (that’s a different discussion, and yes, it does happen). If there’s a personal hygiene problem, sometimes it simply can not be helped. I myself could change shirts whenever the band changes tunes and it still would not be often enough. In such a case, please enjoy fresh pheromones; fresh sweat can be enjoyable sweat. If it’s stale sweat, then by all means tell the person that a shower with soap would make him/her a more enjoyable dance partner. That’s a quiet face-to-face conversation. BUT please dance for several seconds, smile, and move on. All that aside, any swing can be changed to an allemande right once or twice (to taste), or an elbow swing, or a do-si-do, or a gypsy (with varying amounts of eye contact, again to taste). Experienced dancers, especially a split dancer couple who encounter each other in line, will do whatever they feel comfortable with. What a GREAT opportunity to swap roles with your partner, given a little look-ahead! (“Oh! that’s my Ex ahead; let’s swap!” or just take hands with the palm-up signal that you’re taking the “Gent” role next time) Painless and fun. Never mind that experienced dancers often rewrite the dance to change a non-swing dance move into a swing, even in the middle of a hey; it’s just as easy to go the other direction, to reduce interaction. That’s what dancers do. Just Be In The Right Place At The Right Time. We always say that a neighbor interaction is “just one time through the tune, just 30 seconds”. Well, a shadow interaction is generally at most one 8-count thing; 4 seconds repeated every once in a while as wonderful music plays. Maybe double that for some dances, so then about 8 seconds out of every half minute or so. It seems to me that we as social animals should be able to deal with that. Certainly we do this in our daily lives on the street/office/garage/whatever. We can be civil and even develop the ability to enjoy a 10-second interaction with an ex we encounter in a public event. One of the things I love about contra dance is that it gives us all an opportunity to “be” the persona we live the rest of the time, or “be” someone else during The Dance. We’re wearing a costume while we’re dancing, even if it’s not obvious. Many of our dancers have an on-the-floor personality which is quite different from the personality they exhibit the rest of the time (such as while talking and enjoying refreshments at the break during the evening dance). Certainly I wear a different persona on the dance floor than when I am at the break, and I’m someone else if I’m calling, and someone else if I’m the dance organizer. THEN there’s the issue of identifying which of the various people “near” you as you line up might be your shadow/TrailBuddy. In a Becket dance it’s likely to be your neighbor to the side in line, or could be next beyond them, or the neighbor to the other side, or maybe the next beyond them. I TRULY advise against spending too much effort in identifying the “Corner/TrailBuddy” in advance, as the dancers are lined up. In a duple improper, your shadow could be ahead, could be behind. It depends on the choreography. And it changes if someone drops out, or if someone joins in after the walkthrough. That’s not the place to spend your precious seconds at the mic as a caller. Get them moving and listening to the music. </SoapBox> We already have the problem of MUC [Modern Urban Contra] rejection of any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required. I’m confused... -Eric On Sep 8, 2015, at 8:06 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers < callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: Hey all, First, a disclaimer: Some people on this listserv thing shadow swings are problematic. Some don't see any issue with them. This is NOT the conversation I want to have in this thread; *I ask that you respond to the question I'm asking and do not debate my premise--at least not in this particular thread. *This should help keep this thread on track and hopefully reduce excess noise and go-nowhere discussions on this listserv. Thanks! Anyway, the actual question I wanted to ask (whew!)-- There do exist some really fabulous shadow-swing dances that I would love to be able to call, as long as I could do so without putting anyone in an uncomfortable position. Do folks have ideas for ways to mitigate the potential harms of shadow swing dances? I was considering, at the beginning of the dance, having dancers identify their shadow and mentioning, "this will be a shadow swing dance, so if you need to make any changes, do so now" (or something like that)--haven't gotten the wording down-pat, but the idea is giving dancers advance warning of a shadow swing so they can move (thereby changing their shadow) if they need to. Any thoughts on this method? Suggestions of others? Cheers. Maia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

On Tuesday, September 8, 2015 1:53 PM, Luke Donforth &lt;luke.donev(a)gmail.com&gt; wrote: Your assessment is inaccurate. This is not a matter where levity is acceptable. Creating a situation which could force someone into close, almost intimate proximity with a person perceived as emotionally or physically threatening is inappropriate. A lesser problem is that one can get a shadow who one considers personable, but very unpleasant for swinging (for example, due to either height difference, or a body position or weight distribution which unnecessarily strains one's own body).

Hey all, First, a disclaimer: Some people on this listserv thing shadow swings are problematic. Some don't see any issue with them. This is NOT the conversation I want to have in this thread; I ask that you respond to the question I'm asking and do not debate my premise--at least not in this particular thread. This should help keep this thread on track and hopefully reduce excess noise and go-nowhere discussions on this listserv. Thanks! Anyway, the actual question I wanted to ask (whew!)-- There do exist some really fabulous shadow-swing dances that I would love to be able to call, as long as I could do so without putting anyone in an uncomfortable position. Do folks have ideas for ways to mitigate the potential harms of shadow swing dances? I was considering, at the beginning of the dance, having dancers identify their shadow and mentioning, "this will be a shadow swing dance, so if you need to make any changes, do so now" (or something like that)--haven't gotten the wording down-pat, but the idea is giving dancers advance warning of a shadow swing so they can move (thereby changing their shadow) if they need to. Any thoughts on this method? Suggestions of others? Cheers. Maia _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Richard: Your suggestion is subterfuge to rationalize the caller's doing something (calling a shadow swing dance) that should never be done. Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844

Richard: Your suggestion is subterfuge to rationalize the caller's doing something (calling a shadow swing dance) that should never be done. Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844 On Wednesday, September 9, 2015 3:45 PM, Richard Fischer via Callers &lt;callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net&gt; wrote: Here's a suggestion I don't think I've seen in this discussion. If you want to call a dance with a shadow swing, how about save it for time when you can have several shorter sets, and remind couples they can join other sets when they reach the top or the bottom, to get an opportunity to dance with a bigger variety of people. (And of course remind dancers they may have the surprise of a new shadow.) Richard On Sep 8, 2015, at 11:06 AM, Maia McCormick via Callers wrote: _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Andrea: Alternate choreography to replace a shadow swing is oxymoronic. The composer invoked the (morally questionable) shadow swing because it fit well into the dance's flow. If one is disposed to substitute for the shadow swing, one should just discard the dance, Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844 _______________________________________________ Callers mailing list Callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net

Wow. ISTM [It Seems To Me] that this is far more responsibility for controlling social interpersonal interactions than the programmer and/or caller at the mic should have to worry about, even though we do worry about such things. Sorry I don’t have opportunity to participate on this email list more often. That Pesky Day Job [PDJ] and all… Short response: Don’t point out shadow partner interaction; the dancers need to be adult about it, no one listens to the Caller anyway, let alone anything said while they’re still lining up. Longer response: I really REALLY don’t think that there should be any announcement calling attention to the fact that the next dance has interaction with someone other than your chosen partner. What, are we supposed to say “This is a duple improper single progression with a shadow who is the same active or inactive role one place below [or above] where you line up”? Or should we say “Thank this partner, and ask another partner for the next dance. As you line up, if there is someone at the dance here tonight with whom you don’t want to dance, please make sure that they are in a different longways set than you, or that if they are in the same long set as you that they are not in an adjacent hands-four from you either up or down as you line up for the dance.” Are we dance choreographers supposed to create dance sequences that don’t have any “serious” interaction with the shadow partner, just in case the dancers happen to line up such that someone on the floor has an “Ex” as a shadow partner? Or someone who hasn’t showered recently enough? We already have the problem of MUC rejection of any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required. I’m confused… <SoapBox> Yes, I understand the many reasons for not having serious shadow interactions, but I am proud that every local dance community where I’ve been a member, from NH/Boston to CA/SF, has understood that interpersonal conflicts will happen, and yet social interactions are required. They understand how to make everyone work together. Family schisms are inevitable. Personal hygiene issues may arise. I hope that everyone eventually can live the philosophy on Jeremiah’s T-shirt: “Dance With Who’s Comin’ Atcha!" Even long-time couples break up. It’s painful to the people involved and also to everyone surrounding. We’re all Community here. Our Community is larger and more long-lived than the simple “nuclear family” of two parents and 2.3 children. That means we get to “enjoy” many various kinds of family ties, both genetic and non-genetic. The Community connection carries us all through this specific break-up episode. The Dance entertains us and it heals us and it strengthens The Community. I say this with a VERY PERSONAL involvement in this community support. Yes, we DO see what’s going on. Yes, we DO love both of you, even if you’ve split apart, and even if there is a court restraining order about you both showing up at our dance on the same night (that’s a different discussion, and yes, it does happen). If there’s a personal hygiene problem, sometimes it simply can not be helped. I myself could change shirts whenever the band changes tunes and it still would not be often enough. In such a case, please enjoy fresh pheromones; fresh sweat can be enjoyable sweat. If it’s stale sweat, then by all means tell the person that a shower with soap would make him/her a more enjoyable dance partner. That’s a quiet face-to-face conversation. BUT please dance for several seconds, smile, and move on. All that aside, any swing can be changed to an allemande right once or twice (to taste), or an elbow swing, or a do-si-do, or a gypsy (with varying amounts of eye contact, again to taste). Experienced dancers, especially a split dancer couple who encounter each other in line, will do whatever they feel comfortable with. What a GREAT opportunity to swap roles with your partner, given a little look-ahead! (“Oh! that’s my Ex ahead; let’s swap!” or just take hands with the palm-up signal that you’re taking the “Gent” role next time) Painless and fun. Never mind that experienced dancers often rewrite the dance to change a non-swing dance move into a swing, even in the middle of a hey; it’s just as easy to go the other direction, to reduce interaction. That’s what dancers do. Just Be In The Right Place At The Right Time. We always say that a neighbor interaction is “just one time through the tune, just 30 seconds”. Well, a shadow interaction is generally at most one 8-count thing; 4 seconds repeated every once in a while as wonderful music plays. Maybe double that for some dances, so then about 8 seconds out of every half minute or so. It seems to me that we as social animals should be able to deal with that. Certainly we do this in our daily lives on the street/office/garage/whatever. We can be civil and even develop the ability to enjoy a 10-second interaction with an ex we encounter in a public event. One of the things I love about contra dance is that it gives us all an opportunity to “be” the persona we live the rest of the time, or “be” someone else during The Dance. We’re wearing a costume while we’re dancing, even if it’s not obvious. Many of our dancers have an on-the-floor personality which is quite different from the personality they exhibit the rest of the time (such as while talking and enjoying refreshments at the break during the evening dance). Certainly I wear a different persona on the dance floor than when I am at the break, and I’m someone else if I’m calling, and someone else if I’m the dance organizer. THEN there’s the issue of identifying which of the various people “near” you as you line up might be your shadow/TrailBuddy. In a Becket dance it’s likely to be your neighbor to the side in line, or could be next beyond them, or the neighbor to the other side, or maybe the next beyond them. I TRULY advise against spending too much effort in identifying the “Corner/TrailBuddy” in advance, as the dancers are lined up. In a duple improper, your shadow could be ahead, could be behind. It depends on the choreography. And it changes if someone drops out, or if someone joins in after the walkthrough. That’s not the place to spend your precious seconds at the mic as a caller. Get them moving and listening to the music. </SoapBox> We already have the problem of MUC [Modern Urban Contra] rejection of any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required. I’m confused... -Eric

Back in September, we discussed a topic raised by Maia McCormick: [See below for Maia's full message.] I've had an idea that I don't think anyone mentioned. First, a disclaimer: I don't imagine that what I'm about to say will sway any of you who are dead-set against shadow swings in any circumstances. However, if you feel compelled to reiterate your opposition, I hope you'll have the courtesy to respect Maia's original request and do so under a different "Subject" line. Anyway, my idea is: Use the occasion as a "teachable moment". When you get to the shadow swing during the walk-through, or perhaps during the second walk-through, point out to the dancers that they'll be swinging the same person every time, and give them a chance to discuss what is or isn't comfortable for them. You might give examples: "Please don't dig you're thumb into my neck", "My arm is not a pump handle', "Not too fast", "Not so close", etc. Or you could make general remarks about believing you shadow if they say something hurts, or about how the person whose less interested in being flirty is the one who gets to decide, etc. And remind people to that they can make additional adjustments during the dance. Exactly what points you (the caller) want to mention, what words you choose, whether to employ humor, etc., will depend on what fits your personality, what you see as the likely issues in the particular community, how much time you feel you can spend before moving along with the dance, etc. Note that this idea can be applied to shadow interactions other than swings. For example, if a dance has an allemande with shadows, you might let women and men (or dancers in those roles) take turns showing each other their preferred hand holds, strength of connection, etc. You might encourage them, if they have different preferences, to give each other's suggestions a fair try, but with the very important proviso (better stated sooner than later) that nobody should be pressured into doing something they think may be painful. If the action with shadows is a chain or a right and left through, you could give dancers a chance to talk about their preferences regarding twirls or about making the courtesy turns feel comfortably connected without being *too* comfy cosy for anyone's comfort. You could also occasionally invite people (and give them some time) to have such discussions with their partners. Just a thought. --Jim