Ron:
You wrote: "I don't want to cause anyone pain, intended or not." Do you see anything bizarre in not wanting to cause anyone intended pain?
You wrote: "If you are a World War II survivor, please contact me privately and I will apologize to you if I've caused you pain."One speculates that the number of WWII survivors who read this thread does not exceed the number of arms on one's torso, so don't expect many privately expressed complaints Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
Thank you, Michael. The term for the WWII tragedy still evokes a lot of pain for those who survived it and their descendants, and hopefully will have no further use in a forum devoted to dancing -
Bob
Ron:
"we're comparing our having fun traveling to various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust)."
Maybe you do. No one else uses such bizarre logic. Conbtradancers as a group are about as left of center and non-discriminatory in their beliefs as any non-political group gets.
Your suggestion is absurd
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
Ron:
"we're comparing our having fun traveling to various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust)."
Maybe you do. No one else uses such bizarre logic. Conbtradancers as a group are about as left of center and non-discriminatory in their beliefs as any non-political group gets.
Your suggestion is absurd
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
On Sunday, April 3, 2016 8:38 PM, Ron Blechner <contraron(a)gmail.com> wrote:
That article had a few interesting *new* points, for me.1. That Roma are in the US, not just Europe, and face continued discrimination.
2. That Roma in the US often don't speak up about their identity out of fear of discrimination.
3. That perhaps the use of "gypsy" as a term isn't as bad as non-Roma self-identitying as "dance gypsies". Roma wander because they are persecuted or can't find work. When we talk about "dance gypsies" beig wandering from place to place, we're comparing our having fun traveling to various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust).On Apr 1, 2016 10:03 AM, "via Callers" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
I was thinking that very thing, but didn't have any experiences. Something I read recently pointed out that Romani people in Spain proudly refer to themselves as "Gitano" which translates to Gypsy.
This is issue is not as cut and dry as many of us would like it to be.
Thanks for sharing this story.
******************************************************************************************************
Amy Carroll
amy(a)calleramy.com
206-330-7408
http://www.calleramy.com/
On April 1, 2016 at 9:02 AM Rich Sbardella <richsbardella(a)gmail.com> wrote:
There are still at least two sides to this argument. Although I am using the term less and less, I want to relate a recent experience.
I was dancing in one of MA biggest contra venues as a caller walked the a dance with a "two eyed" turn. A dancer in my line became more than a little upset, yelling it "it's a gypsy". Turns out the dancer is Romani, and the term "gypsy" is one he proudly owns.
I do not think the Roma people as a whole have come to a consensus. (For example, The Gypsy Kings proudly use the term as a reference to their heritage.)
Rich Stafford
On Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 4:56 AM, Michael Fuerst via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
Ms Carroll:
Quite frankly a fairly useless article for us. Ms Raessi is "a Romani/Métis researcher and activist" so it seems logical that she dislikes the term gypsy.
She lists alleged myths stereotypes about Romani people
Every ethnic group has an associated set of myths and stereotypes. Every ethnic group tries to purge the negative stereotypes and retain the positive aspects of their heritage.Ms Raessi writes "many people find that using this term is wrong because it perpetuates misinformation about our origins"This makes little sense. Anyone person bigoted enough to entertain any of her alleged stereotypes has no idea about the origins of Romani people.
Ms Raessi writes "...the term has been used as a racial slur and is loaded with stereotypes ..."Yes the word gypsy has been used to deprecate Romani people but over the years it evolved to mean a free-spirited or nomadic person.Other ethnic slurs (such as kike, chink, jap or nigger) have not similarly evolved, and thus their use remains offensive. This article discusses some English words or idioms that evolved from ethnic slurs:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.h…
The ongoing discussion during the past year of the word gypsy has included claims that some persons of Romani descent embrace gypsy and its positive aspects of current usage, most don't care, and some hate the word. And of course only those who object will speak out. As long the common usage of gypsy keeps evolving towards a free-spirited or nomadic person, keeping it in the contra lexicon seems appropriate
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 584
On Thursday, March 31, 2016 11:32 PM, via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
http://bellydanceu.net/culture/520/
"What's wrong with the Word 'Gypsy'?"
******************************************************************************************************
Amy Carroll
amy(a)calleramy.com
206-330-7408
http://www.calleramy.com/
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Hello Ron:
You wrote: "My post said I found 3 points "interesting", and listed the three points. I didn't even link the article on Shared Weight in the first place." Is it bizarre for readers of this thread to assume you listed the three points because you approved or agreed with them?
To answer your questions:Ever hear the phrase, "don't shoot the messenger "? Yes. Calling a particular instance of a person's logic bizarre is not calling a person bizarre.Should Amy be chastised for linking that article here? NoOf all people, are you the one in a position to chastise about bad behavior on this list? (a) Yes (b) Ever hear the phrase, "don't shoot the messenger "?As an aside, I worked in my previous career on a year-long project with the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. Your alleged appreciation of the global tragedy of which the museum serves to remind us is all the more reason you owe us an apology for associating the tragedy with contra dancing.
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
Hello Ron:
Your statement "we're comparing our having fun traveling to various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust)."
was an intentional, malicious, misguided personal attack on every contradancer who speaks the words "dance gypsy," who uses the word "gypsy" when teaching a dance, who has a T-shirt or bumper sticker with those innocuous words, or who converses about "gypsy" figure--no matter how much socially consciousness that dancer may be in thought and in deed.
You probably should not participate in any public forum about even a mildly controversial topic, if you take personal affront at someone who, with an accompanying explanation, refers to an idea you expressed as absurd.
Maybe you need a more specific example. In the past 6 months I attended two dance weekends which featured a particular well known caller. The first weekend this caller used a surrogate for "gypsy." The next weekend, several months later, this caller used the term "gypsy." Any suggestion that this caller was now "having fun" with "the persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust)" will strike most people as absurd--whether you think so or not.
And your associating with the Holocaust any aspect of contra dancing seems six million times more tasteless and inappropriate than someone referring, with explanation, to an idea of yours as absurd. You owe everyone on this list an apology
Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
I also don't want to read any more of Michael's replies, particularly on
this issue (but also on others: see the comparing shadow swings to groping,
etc). Several people have asked him to stop, but he won't. But I don't
think "this list isn't working" just because some of us think one person is
rude.
Maybe others disagree, and find his comments helpful. Great! To each
their own. But I can't figure out a way to block receiving his emails
without also blocking quite a bit of other traffic on this list. Has
anybody else been able to do so? Moderators, would this be a feature that
could be added?
On Mon, Apr 4, 2016 at 9:43 AM, Ron Blechner via Callers <
callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
> I'm really tired of personal attacks here on Shared Weight, and a high
> percentage comes from one person.
>
> I've asked Michael Fuerst to not contact me again. I've already cut down
> my usage, but if we can't trade ideas without having them called "bizarre"
> and "absurd", then this list isn't working.
> On Apr 4, 2016 1:56 AM, "Michael Fuerst" <mjerryfuerst(a)yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Ron:
>>
>> "we're comparing our having fun traveling to various dances to the
>> widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst being the Holocaust)."
>>
>> Maybe you do. No one else uses such bizarre logic.
>> Conbtradancers as a group are about as left of center and
>> non-discriminatory in their beliefs as any non-political group gets.
>> Your suggestion is absurd
>>
>>
>> Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 5844
>>
>>
>> On Sunday, April 3, 2016 8:38 PM, Ron Blechner <contraron(a)gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> That article had a few interesting *new* points, for me.
>> 1. That Roma are in the US, not just Europe, and face continued
>> discrimination.
>> 2. That Roma in the US often don't speak up about their identity out of
>> fear of discrimination.
>> 3. That perhaps the use of "gypsy" as a term isn't as bad as non-Roma
>> self-identitying as "dance gypsies". Roma wander because they are
>> persecuted or can't find work. When we talk about "dance gypsies" beig
>> wandering from place to place, we're comparing our having fun traveling to
>> various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst
>> being the Holocaust).
>> On Apr 1, 2016 10:03 AM, "via Callers" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>> I was thinking that very thing, but didn't have any experiences.
>> Something I read recently pointed out that Romani people in Spain proudly
>> refer to themselves as "Gitano" which translates to Gypsy.
>> This is issue is not as cut and dry as many of us would like it to be.
>> Thanks for sharing this story.
>>
>> ******************************************************************************************************
>> Amy Carroll
>> amy(a)calleramy.com
>> 206-330-7408
>> http://www.calleramy.com/
>>
>>
>> On April 1, 2016 at 9:02 AM Rich Sbardella <richsbardella(a)gmail.com>
>> wrote:
>>
>> There are still at least two sides to this argument. Although I am using
>> the term less and less, I want to relate a recent experience.
>>
>> I was dancing in one of MA biggest contra venues as a caller walked the a
>> dance with a "two eyed" turn. A dancer in my line became more than a
>> little upset, yelling it "it's a gypsy". Turns out the dancer is Romani,
>> and the term "gypsy" is one he proudly owns.
>>
>> I do not think the Roma people as a whole have come to a consensus.
>> (For example, The Gypsy Kings proudly use the term as a reference to their
>> heritage.)
>>
>> Rich Stafford
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 4:56 AM, Michael Fuerst via Callers <
>> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>> Ms Carroll:
>>
>> Quite frankly a fairly useless article for us.
>> Ms Raessi is "a Romani/Métis researcher and activist" so it seems
>> logical that she dislikes the term gypsy.
>> She lists alleged myths stereotypes about Romani people
>> Every ethnic group has an associated set of myths and stereotypes.
>> Every ethnic group tries to purge the negative stereotypes and retain the
>> positive aspects of their heritage.
>> Ms Raessi writes "many people find that using this term is wrong because
>> it perpetuates misinformation about our origins"
>> This makes little sense. Anyone person bigoted enough to entertain
>> any of her alleged stereotypes has no idea about the origins of Romani
>> people.
>>
>> Ms Raessi writes "...the term has been used as a racial slur and is
>> loaded with stereotypes ..."
>> Yes the word gypsy has been used to deprecate Romani people but over the
>> years it evolved to mean a free-spirited or nomadic person.
>> Other ethnic slurs (such as kike, chink, jap or nigger) have not
>> similarly evolved, and thus their use remains offensive.
>> This article discusses some English words or idioms that evolved from
>> ethnic slurs:
>> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html
>>
>> The ongoing discussion during the past year of the word gypsy has
>> included claims that some persons of Romani descent embrace gypsy and its
>> positive aspects of current usage, most don't care, and some hate the
>> word. And of course only those who object will speak out.
>> As long the common usage of gypsy keeps evolving towards a free-spirited
>> or nomadic person, keeping it in the contra lexicon seems appropriate
>>
>>
>> Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 584
>>
>>
>> On Thursday, March 31, 2016 11:32 PM, via Callers <
>> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>>
>>
>> http://bellydanceu.net/culture/520/
>> "What's wrong with the Word 'Gypsy'?"
>>
>> ******************************************************************************************************
>> Amy Carroll
>> amy(a)calleramy.com
>> 206-330-7408
>> http://www.calleramy.com/
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> 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
>>
>>
>>
>>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
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(cell) 781 258-2761
Are there any videos out there of band/callers doing rolling starts or musical walk thrus?
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Tom asked about combinations of Chassee and Heel & Toe in old English
dances.
Well first of all, these days in England we usually say Gallop rather than
Chassee.
It depends on what you mean by old. I have these in my box:
Pat-a-Cake Polka
The Swedish Masquerade (thought that is a polka rather than a gallop)
Ping
Wee Willie
Redwing Mixer (1950s I think)
Happy dancing,
John
John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362
http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent
That article had a few interesting *new* points, for me.
1. That Roma are in the US, not just Europe, and face continued
discrimination.
2. That Roma in the US often don't speak up about their identity out of
fear of discrimination.
3. That perhaps the use of "gypsy" as a term isn't as bad as non-Roma
self-identitying as "dance gypsies". Roma wander because they are
persecuted or can't find work. When we talk about "dance gypsies" beig
wandering from place to place, we're comparing our having fun traveling to
various dances to the widespread persecution of an ethnicity (the worst
being the Holocaust).
On Apr 1, 2016 10:03 AM, "via Callers" <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net>
wrote:
> I was thinking that very thing, but didn't have any experiences.
> Something I read recently pointed out that Romani people in Spain proudly
> refer to themselves as "Gitano" which translates to Gypsy.
>
> This is issue is not as cut and dry as many of us would like it to be.
>
> Thanks for sharing this story.
>
>
> ******************************************************************************************************
> Amy Carroll
> amy(a)calleramy.com
> 206-330-7408
> http://www.calleramy.com/
>
>
>
> On April 1, 2016 at 9:02 AM Rich Sbardella <richsbardella(a)gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> There are still at least two sides to this argument. Although I am using
> the term less and less, I want to relate a recent experience.
>
> I was dancing in one of MA biggest contra venues as a caller walked the a
> dance with a "two eyed" turn. A dancer in my line became more than a
> little upset, yelling it "it's a gypsy". Turns out the dancer is Romani,
> and the term "gypsy" is one he proudly owns.
>
> I do not think the Roma people as a whole have come to a consensus. (For
> example, The Gypsy Kings proudly use the term as a reference to their
> heritage.)
>
> Rich Stafford
>
>
> On Fri, Apr 1, 2016 at 4:56 AM, Michael Fuerst via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
> Ms Carroll:
>
> Quite frankly a fairly useless article for us.
> Ms Raessi is "a Romani/Métis researcher and activist" so it seems logical
> that she dislikes the term gypsy.
> She lists alleged myths stereotypes about Romani people
> Every ethnic group has an associated set of myths and stereotypes.
> Every ethnic group tries to purge the negative stereotypes and retain the
> positive aspects of their heritage.
> Ms Raessi writes "many people find that using this term is wrong because
> it perpetuates misinformation about our origins"
> This makes little sense. Anyone person bigoted enough to entertain
> any of her alleged stereotypes has no idea about the origins of Romani
> people.
>
> Ms Raessi writes "...the term has been used as a racial slur and is
> loaded with stereotypes ..."
> Yes the word gypsy has been used to deprecate Romani people but over the
> years it evolved to mean a free-spirited or nomadic person.
> Other ethnic slurs (such as kike, chink, jap or nigger) have not similarly
> evolved, and thus their use remains offensive.
> This article discusses some English words or idioms that evolved from
> ethnic slurs:
> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/24/offensive-words-_n_4144472.html
>
> The ongoing discussion during the past year of the word gypsy has included
> claims that some persons of Romani descent embrace gypsy and its positive
> aspects of current usage, most don't care, and some hate the word. And
> of course only those who object will speak out.
> As long the common usage of gypsy keeps evolving towards a free-spirited
> or nomadic person, keeping it in the contra lexicon seems appropriate
>
>
> Michael Fuerst 802 N Broadway Urbana IL 61801 217 239 584
>
>
> On Thursday, March 31, 2016 11:32 PM, via Callers <
> callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>
> http://bellydanceu.net/culture/520/
> "What's wrong with the Word 'Gypsy'?"
>
> ******************************************************************************************************
> Amy Carroll
> amy(a)calleramy.com
> 206-330-7408
> http://www.calleramy.com/
>
> _______________________________________________
> 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
>
>
Laurie,
Jim makes good points. Think of the "pass through, circle left,
pass through" as one extended 16 beat figure rather than trying to break
it into 2 8 beat figures with the circle crossing the middle of the
phrase. When I'm calling this dance the 2nd half of the dance goes
something like this (as best I can recall sitting at my computer).
(starting on the last 2 beats of the previous phrase)
pass through, (pause for a beat), turn alone, circle left, (pause for a
few beats), pass through, (pause for a beat or so), balance and swing
The "turn alone, circle left" goes very quickly, taking maybe only 2
beats. The rest tends to be slower, one word per beat. Writing this
out may not be the best way to convey my meaning, but hopefully it gives
you some idea.
Jonathan
-----
Jonathan Sivier
Caller of Contra, Square, English and Early American Dances
jsivier AT illinois DOT edu
Dance Page: http://www.sivier.me/dance_leader.html
-----
Q: How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?
A: It depends on what dance you call!
On 3/31/2016 12:34 AM, James Saxe via Callers wrote:
> On Mar 30, 2016, at 9:35 PM, Laur via Callers <callers(a)lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:
>
>> I am not comfortable with the timing in Boomerang. Am I off or .. is there something I'm missing???
>>
>> I've tried (with my imaginary friends) several theories but - always the timing isn't quite there.
>>
>> Laurie
>> West MI
>
> Laurie,
>
> You don't say what part of the dance you're uncomfortable with, but
> I'm going to guess that it's the B1 part. The timing as given by
> Gene Hubert in _Dizzy Dances, Volume II_ is:
>
> Pass thru ACROSS the set and turn alone(4).
> Circle left, go all the way around(8).
> Pass thru ALONG the set to meet your partner(4).
>
> The timing is a bit unusual in that the circle crosses the middle
> of the phrase, but I don't think there's anything wrong with it.
> Dancers who aren't used to circling all the way around in 8 beats
> can make up time on the pass thru (or pull thru) along and on the
> forward part of the subsequent balance. On the other hand, if the
> dancers can easily circle once in 8 beats and if they think that 4
> beats for pass thru along is a bit leisurely, they can try rearing
> back at the end of the circle, or even add a spin during the pass
> thru.
>
> You can see a video of _Boomerang_ here:
>
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zj49YHAMGnk
>
> (Thanks to Chris Page for supplying the title in a comment, so that
> the video was easy to find.) If you study the video, you'll see
> many examples of dancers managing to meet their partners just in
> time for the balance at the start of the B2 music--and also a few
> examples of dancers being either early or late. Beware that there
> are a number of places where the video cuts to a different camera
> angle and the new cut doesn't pick up at the same place in the tune
> as the previous cut ended.
>
> I hope some of this is helpful.
>
> Cheers,
> --Jim