Re: [Callers] Contra/MWSD parallels? - Contra Callers

19 Mar 2012

It strikes me that another way to describe what we are talking about is
"openness to new experiences."  I see that as the dimension that affects
whether people shout down squares at a contra dance versus enjoying trying
something new.  That openness affects both cross-genre dance (do I do
swing, English, Zydeco...) and openness to other ways of doing what I do -
from the past or even from another part of the country.  Some people like
to explore new experiences, and others like doing what they do.  Of course,
any term one chooses can be seen as having negative connotations of
different sorts - "You're limited and narrow," versus "You are
diluting
what we value, or you aren't doing it right."  One of the quirks of this
discussion is that some of the people who say, "You aren't doing it right"
are saying it to people who have been doing it "right" for 30 or more
years.  Someone more erudite can write about how this dimension - "purity"
- characterizes a lot of the world these days, to its and our detriment.

I see that dimension, which has been around for many years and might even
be loosening up a little here and there (witness Richard Fischer's lovely
description), as more central than the "higher and higher" problem that
MSWD seems to have had.  There is a "higher and higher" problem with contra
as well, in the sense that some people always want more and more
challenging dances regardless of what is appropriate for the community as a
whole.  From my view it is a blessing that there has been no move to
centralize traditional American dancing, so there is a wide range of
dancing available.  With luck people can find a variant that suits their
personality, physical ability, and so on.  There are camps and festivals
and workshops for the cognoscenti, and community dances for the person who
tries it for the first time.  People will take a lot of different paths, as
Greg's interesting survey demonstrates.

I'm struck by Greg seeing "square dancers" as those of a certain sort,
perhaps some particularly single-minded MWSD people he has come across,
where in fact there is a wide range of square dancing, including MWDS but
also a lot of traditional square dances that are real community dances just
as contra dances are.  David Millstone has taken the lead in compiling a
collection of videos of different styles, available at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/SquareDanceHistory?feature=uploademail_ch
Those who like new experiences may find a lot of interesting things, those
who like what they like may not - or they might be surprised.

David Chandler

Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2012 12:08:29 -0700
...
  From: Greg McKenzie &lt;grekenzie(a)gmail.com&gt;
 To: millstone(a)valley.net, "Caller's discussion list"
        &lt;callers(a)sharedweight.net&gt;
 Subject: Re: [Callers] Contra / MWSD parallels?
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 David Millstone quoted Don Coffee as writing:

 Modern contra dancing has become a mass "movement" with the energy of a
  greight train, but most of the young people who
so love contras?and  contras
 > only-- have no idea it is but one component of a larger, very wonderful,
 > tradition. This horse-blinder focus rather reminds me of...

 Oh dear!  Here we go again.

 The square enthusiasts are putting forth another tome?complete with graphs
 and historical references? about how contra dancers are ?limited?,
 ?short-sighted?, ?narrow-minded? or just plain ignorant in their views
 about the dance tradition that they have loved for so many decades.

 This annual tradition of denigration would be humorous if it were not so
 insidious and insulting to people who have dedicated so much to building a
 new tradition that has made called dancing available to so many people who
 would not have otherwise ever tried it.

 Instead of repeating the old saws about how bad contra dancers are, our
 square dance calling friends might consider educating themselves about this
 new tradition that they seem to know so little about.  For those of us
 dedicated to holding open, public, contra dances for our communities this
 movement is much more than merely a ?component of a larger, very wonderful
 tradition.?  It is, in fact, an evolution of even older traditions and,
 perhaps, an alternative to the square dance tradition that has become so
 moribund and unavailable to the general public.

 For many of us, introduced to contras as our first social dance experience,
 one of the defining factors that drew us to contra dancing was the fact
 that it was NOT square dancing and it did NOT require that we attend
 separate classes to learn it.

 The fact is that contras are attended by a wildly eclectic crowd of people
 with varied dance experience and interests.  Yes, about half of those in
 the hall frequent contras almost exclusively (43% attend contras only), but
 almost 40% of those in the hall are enthusiasts of some other dance form
 and attend other dance forms at least six times a year.  About 20% of those
 in the hall are not enthusiasts of any dance form.

 (Note that only 3% of those in the hall attend square dances regularly.)

 Square dance calling enthusiasts should consider that the contra dance
 tradition might be something different from what you are familiar with, or
 from what you *assume* it is.  These open, public social events attract a
 different mix of people, have a different purpose, and require a different
 set of calling skills than many other forms of dance.   When
 callers?unfamiliar with the contra tradition?insist on presenting square
 formations while presuming to tell the dancers what they *ought* to enjoy,
 it is not surprising that many folks will decide to sit out.  It would be
 better to first educate yourselves about who is in the hall before calling
 one of these events.  Here is one place to start:

 http://santacruzdance.org/drupal/node/114

 I look forward to an ongoing discussion about the evolution of social dance
 and the great contributions it can make to our world.  That discussion will
 be most productive, however, if we start with a clear understanding of what
 it is that we do NOT know.

 Regards,

 Greg McKenzie