[Callers] [Organizers] contra dance gypsy

[Alan J Rosenthal]

I'm uncomfortable with the use of any racial term in the name of a
dance move.  Especially if it's an offensive racial term, but even if
it's a neutral racial term.

Imagine if there were a dance move entitled "Black-man swing"?
(I think that part of why "Gypsy" flies under the radar is because many
people here don't immediately perceive it as a racial term.)

Yes, I'm an outsider to Roma culture.  But I hope that Roma people, or
any people, don't feel like outsiders to the dance group.  Using their
name as a dance move implies that they are -- there would never be a
Contra dance move entitled "white-person swing".

regards,
Alan Rosenthal, dancing in and around Toronto, Canada.