Perhaps the bad apple should be shown the door?
There is so much discussion in the contra dance groups about monitoring "bad"
behavior, I'm not sure snobbery or vindictiveness ever came up. Surely that's a
behavior that is as bad as any "old creepy guy dancing with women 1/2 his age".
(which is often the usual complaint in the contra forums).
Donna Hunt
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Hinds twhinds(a)earthlink.net [trad-dance-callers]
<trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>
To: trad-dance-callers <trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com>
Cc: English Country Dance <ecd(a)bacds.org>
Sent: Tue, Aug 1, 2017 9:37 am
Subject: Re: [trad-dance-callers] Thrown out of WSD Club
I saw this sort of thing at a mwsd group I called for at a senior center. The snobbery
always came from the same bad apple. I found it heart breaking.
I'm convinced that each dance style attracts people with certain
values, attitudes, temperaments etc.
Tom Hinds
On Aug 1, 2017, at 9:19 AM, Chris J Brady chrisjbrady(a)yahoo.com [trad-dance-callers]
<trad-dance-callers(a)yahoogroups.com> wrote:
A somewhat older than average lady friend of mine has just received a phone call asking
her not to attend her Western Square Dance Club anymore. She has been a member for 30 odd
years. At the time she was away on holiday looking after her grand-daughter whilst the
parents were having a well-deserved quality break. So she missed an evening. She was
absolutlely gob-smacked. The club had been doing A2 and she was getting along fine, but
then was away for a week.
On A2 evenings the club is lucky to get 8 dancers = 1 square as it is. But apparently the
club received complanits about her from a person / persons unknown - the details of the
complainants were not relayed to her nor the exact specifics of concern. And this is a
person who has been dancing with the club for over 30 years, and regularly did the tea
roster whilst missing out on dances. In the past other dancers have also been ostracised
and eventualy left.
This is why I wouldn't touch WSD with a barge pole. If this is an example of the
attitude prevaling in WSD cubs then its a nasty, vinidictive, and arrogant scene. And even
worse because this is in Southern England - where folks are rarely welcoming anyway.
(Folks up North are far more welcoming).
Personally I've also had the same attitude when I've tried to join RSCD clubs.
They're also up themselves and unwlecoming. EFDSS English CD / Playford Clubs in the
South can also be unfriendly - as I know all to well to my cost.
On the other hand Irish Set Dancing is an amazingly friendly scene, full of joi-de-vi, and
welcoming to all. But then at a certain Christmas Country Dance School in the Appalachians
I was told "we don't want that rubbish here."
But it appears that WSD is the WORST.
CJB (London)