Peter, THANK YOU for posting the link to David's essay. So many spot-on points in
that!
http://davidmillstonedance.com/writing/essays/35-essay-hot-dance-philosophty
One thing I have long wondered is this --- Just who is "no one" that is passing
judgment? In some ways it brings me right back to 7th grade, when there were always those
kids that "no one" liked (cruelly given that status, often by no particular
action of their own.)
And why not have different flavors for different people? For example, there are plenty of
people who strongly dislike and don't attend the series I co-organize, among them some
of my favorite dance partners. But there are others who do like and attend it.
As to the question of bands/callers who own the dance, Merle's point caught my
attention -- If a band "no one" likes is willing and able to put on a dance,
then more power to them. Even if 15 people attend, then that's 15 people who've
done something different than sit in front of their computer on a Saturday night.
And likewise, why couldn't "no one" organize an alternative dance in the
area? They already don't want to go to the other dance, and probably many of them
don't. Why not have another option for those other people to get out and dance too?
I read lots of David's essays, so it might have been a different one that made the
point about having it be "normal" to play fiddle tunes. But I think the same
way about dancing. Wouldn't it be awesome if there were so much dancing in the area
that people thought it was "normal"?
One more thing about community-mindedness. I agree with Perry that this is an important
aspect of our dance forms. Still, I think it's okay for people to want different
things.
Yours in pondering,
Chrissy Fowler
"Dance, when you're broken open... dance, when you're perfectly free" ~
Rumi
chrissyfowler.com
belfastflyingshoes.org
westbranchwords.com