[Callers] Shadow Swing Disclaimers?

[Woody Lane via Callers]

i agree with Eric. The world, even the contra world, is not always a 
comfortable place. Within reason, we should be able to deal with it, 
especially on the dance floor.

Woody

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Woody Lane
Caller, Percussive Dancer
Roseburg, Oregon
http://www.woodylanecaller.com
home: 541-440-1926 cell: 541-556-0054
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On 9/9/2015 3:39 AM, Eric Black via Callers wrote:
> Wow.  ISTM [It Seems To Me] that this is far more responsibility for 
> controlling social interpersonal interactions than the programmer 
> and/or caller at the mic should have to worry about, even though we do 
> worry about such things.
>
> Sorry I don’t have opportunity to participate on this email list more 
> often.  That Pesky Day Job [PDJ] and all…
>
> Short response: Don’t point out shadow partner interaction; the 
> dancers need to be adult about it, no one listens to the Caller 
> anyway, let alone anything said while they’re still lining up.
>
> Longer response:
>
> I really REALLY don’t think that there should be any announcement 
> calling attention to the fact that the next dance has interaction with 
> someone other than your chosen partner.   What, are we supposed to say 
> “This is a duple improper single progression with a shadow who is the 
> same active or inactive role one place below [or above] where you line 
> up”?
>
> Or should we say “Thank this partner, and ask another partner for the 
> next dance. As you line up, if there is someone at the dance here 
> tonight with whom you don’t want to dance, please make sure that they 
> are in a different longways set than you, or that if they are in the 
> same long set as you that they are not in an adjacent hands-four from 
> you either up or down as you line up for the dance.”
>
> Are we dance choreographers supposed to create dance sequences that 
> don’t have any “serious” interaction with the shadow partner, just in 
> case the dancers happen to line up such that someone on the floor has 
> an “Ex” as a shadow partner?  Or someone who hasn’t showered recently 
> enough?
>
> We already have the problem of MUC rejection of any dance that doesn’t 
> include both partner swing and neighbor swing; this seems to be an 
> injection of a problem of a potential swing with a neighbor some 
> dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings are still required.
> I’m confused…
>
> <SoapBox>
>
> Yes, I understand the many reasons for not having serious shadow 
> interactions, but I am proud that every local dance community where 
> I’ve been a member, from NH/Boston to CA/SF, has understood that 
> interpersonal conflicts will happen, and yet social interactions are 
> required. They understand how to make everyone work together. Family 
> schisms are inevitable.  Personal hygiene issues may arise.
> I hope that everyone eventually can live the philosophy on Jeremiah’s 
> T-shirt: “Dance With Who’s Comin’ Atcha!"
>
> Even long-time couples break up.  It’s painful to the people involved 
> and also to everyone surrounding.   We’re all Community here. 
>  Our Community is larger and more long-lived than the simple “nuclear 
> family” of two parents and 2.3 children.  That means we get to “enjoy” 
> many various kinds of family ties, both genetic and non-genetic. 
>  The Community connection carries us all through this specific 
> break-up episode. The Dance entertains us and it heals us and it 
> strengthens The Community.
>
> I say this with a VERY PERSONAL involvement in this community support.
>
> Yes, we DO see what’s going on. Yes, we DO love both of you, even if 
> you’ve split apart, and even if there is a court restraining order 
> about you both showing up at our dance on the same night (that’s a 
> different discussion, and yes, it does happen).
>
> If there’s a personal hygiene problem, sometimes it simply can not be 
> helped.  I myself could change shirts whenever the band changes tunes 
> and it still would not be often enough. In such a case, please enjoy 
> fresh pheromones; fresh sweat can be enjoyable sweat.  If it’s stale 
> sweat, then by all means tell the person that a shower with soap would 
> make him/her a more enjoyable dance partner. That’s a quiet 
> face-to-face conversation.
>
> BUT please dance for several seconds, smile, and move on.
> All that aside, any swing can be changed to an allemande right once or 
> twice (to taste), or an elbow swing, or a do-si-do, or a gypsy (with 
> varying amounts of eye contact, again to taste).  Experienced dancers, 
> especially a split dancer couple who encounter each other in line, 
> will do whatever they feel comfortable with. What a GREAT opportunity 
> to swap roles with your partner, given a little look-ahead!  (“Oh! 
> that’s my Ex ahead; let’s swap!” or just take hands with the palm-up 
> signal that you’re taking the “Gent” role next time)   Painless and fun.
> Never mind that experienced dancers often rewrite the dance to change 
> a non-swing dance move into a swing, even in the middle of a hey; it’s 
> just as easy to go the other direction, to reduce interaction.  That’s 
> what dancers do. Just Be In The Right Place At The Right Time.
>
> We always say that a neighbor interaction is “just one time through 
> the tune, just 30 seconds”.  Well, a shadow interaction is generally 
> at most one 8-count thing; 4 seconds repeated every once in a while as 
> wonderful music plays.  Maybe double that for some dances, so then 
> about 8 seconds out of every half minute or so.
> It seems to me that we as social animals should be able to deal with that.
>
> Certainly we do this in our daily lives on the 
> street/office/garage/whatever.  We can be civil and even develop the 
> ability to enjoy a 10-second interaction with an ex we encounter in a 
> public event.
>
> One of the things I love about contra dance is that it gives us all an 
> opportunity to “be” the persona we live the rest of the time, or “be” 
> someone else during The Dance.  We’re wearing a costume while we’re 
> dancing, even if it’s not obvious.  Many of our dancers have an 
> on-the-floor personality which is quite different from the personality 
> they exhibit the rest of the time (such as while talking and enjoying 
> refreshments at the break during the evening dance).  Certainly I wear 
> a different persona on the dance floor than when I am at the break, 
> and I’m someone else if I’m calling, and someone else if I’m the dance 
> organizer.
>
> THEN there’s the issue of identifying which of the various people 
> “near” you as you line up might be your shadow/TrailBuddy.  In a 
> Becket dance it’s likely to be your neighbor to the side in line, or 
> could be next beyond them, or the neighbor to the other side, or maybe 
> the next beyond them.  I TRULY advise against spending too much effort 
> in identifying the “Corner/TrailBuddy” in advance, as the dancers are 
> lined up.  In a duple improper, your shadow could be ahead, could be 
> behind.  It depends on the choreography. And it changes if someone 
> drops out, or if someone joins in after the walkthrough.
> That’s not the place to spend your precious seconds at the mic as a 
> caller.  Get them moving and listening to the music.
>
> </SoapBox>
>
> We already have the problem of MUC [Modern Urban Contra] rejection of 
> any dance that doesn’t include both partner swing and neighbor swing; 
> this seems to be an injection of a problem of a potential swing with a 
> neighbor some dancers might not want to swing with, yet such swings 
> are still required.
> I’m confused...
>
> -Eric

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