Donna wrote: > Anyone who has learned ballroom/couple dances (waltz, foxtrot, > swing,tango) understands what the lead/follow roles are. Contra dancing is > not lead/follow. >
Contra dance is not waltz, foxtrot, swing, or tango. It also does not have "leader" and "follower" roles. But it most certainly does have leads and follows, lots of them. This is an example of how the framings from couple dancing can be problematic when discussing called community dancing, and contras in particular. The couple dances mentioned above use a very restricted meaning for their own purposes. In the English language "lead" and "follow" have much broader meanings. Schools of fish, flocks of birds, herds of deer, and groupings of many social insects all organize themselves with individuals "leading" and "following" each other. This is an important concept...particularly in social dance. To suggest that people do not lead or follow in contra dance is to block any discussion of how this remarkable dance form *works*. The core idea of "sweeping newcomers into the dance" is predicated on the assumption that the regulars are leading newcomers through the figures. I hope that those of you who suggest contras are not a "lead/follow" dance form will please "follow" my "lead" in this matter and allow us to use the common English meaning of the word to discuss a core concept that--I would argue--is more central to contras than it is to Tango or other partner dances. This misunderstanding could have great impacts on this dance form. It appears that many contra dance callers have accepted the notion that "contras are not a lead/follow dance form" and the result is that they insist on teaching from the mike when the regulars could quickly lead the newcomers through the figures. This is an unfortunate situation in the contra dance movement. We need to recognize that it is the ability of the regulars to lead the newcomers that makes this dance form so accessible. I know that this does not match the restricted way you learned to use these words. But please allow us to use common English to discuss this core concept in contra dance. Just a thought. - Greg McKenzie
