When I was at university all the college servants were called gyps. According to my dictionary it may just as well have come from the name of a short jacket (obsolete English gippo derived from the obsolete French word jumeau). We are unlikely to ever know the true derivation of the word gypsy in a dance context. I've been using the word for 50 years and never, ever thought it had anything to do with gypsies! I believe we should accept that English is a rich language with many words having multiple meanings. To a dancer a gypsy is just the name of a move and has no other connotation, and a dance gypsy is someone who travels to dances. There is absolutely no negative or derogatory intent in our use of the word. And since when did the Romani have sole use of the word? There are 10,000 descendants of Irish gypsies in the USA, and DNA studies have shown that Irish gypsies are a distinct ethnic group. And what about the Egyptians? The word originally meant Egyptian! There are people who will read hidden meaning into anything you say. Please let's not let them take control of the English language. = = = = = The original letter is quite worrying. The writer says, "when the step was taught, it became clear that the term was so named based on stereotypes of Romani women as being overly sexual". I can't believe the caller said anything like that. This would appear to be all in the mind of the writer. And, "that term has been used to denigrate Romani people throughout history". I thought it was only used fairly recently as a derogatory term, and even then not generally. I have always thought it was just another word for a traveller and never known it to be negative. And, "some presumably unintentional racial insensitivity". No, it can't possibly be racial since it referred to a move and not a person. = = = = = Happy dancing, John John Sweeney, Dancer, England john(a)modernjive.com 01233 625 362 http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent