On Fri, Jan 04, 2013, Maia McCormick wrote: > > To speak a bit more to the question of whether terms (gender-neutral or > not) should make reference to "leader" and "follower," and whether this is > a dynamic that a) does and b) should exist in contradance-- > > The lead/follow dynamic exists different amounts for various people, and > can change depending on night, partner, set, etc. It is rather fluid--most > good follows lead sometimes as well, for instance, to guide their lead into > an allemande or something. This is also, as far as I know, the case with > other dance forms as well. I don't have an awful lot of experience, but I > know that in waltz, for instance, if the gent is about to run into someone, > the lady gives a little extra pressure to redirect him and avert the crash. > So yes, to a large extent, contra is certainly an equal-opportunity dance. > But so are most partner dances. The amount of equality, the fact that > sometimes the follow performs a lead-like function, the fact that one may > back-lead (and easily!) does not diminish the existence of a lead/follow > dynamic in certain parts of the dance, if executed by two capable dancers.
I'm with Alan. In waltz, there's a formally designated leader role, it feels entirely different from following. And both feel entirely different from the way lead/follow behavior gets dynamically and implicitly negotiated in contra, to the point that I think using "leader" and "follower" as contra terms is way more confusing than edifying. Side note: I have an online acquaintance, a woman, who wanted to learn waltz leading (late 1990s, SF peninsula, Starlite Ballroom for those of you familiar with the area). She advertised on a Usenet group for someone willing to take a class with her as a follower. I volunteered. Couple of interesting bits: * People were unwilling to swap partners around with us the way the rest of the students did * I got more attention (all positive or neutral, at least to my hearing) about wearing a skirt than following per se -- Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6 http://rule6.info/ <*> <*> <*> Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html
