There's magic in not knowing who you're going to be dancing with next. -------------------- Lindsay Morris CEO, TSMworks Tel. 1-859-539-9900 lind...@tsmworks.com
On Thu, Jan 17, 2013 at 3:52 PM, Greg McKenzie <greken...@gmail.com> wrote: > Ron wrote: > > > Simply put: Booking ahead is a big threat to including new and/or > > infrequent dancers. > > > > No, actually. Booking ahead is not inherently a destructive thing. It > depends upon the purpose of the booker. Booking ahead can be a way of > securing a dance with a first-timer who might, otherwise, be preyed upon by > "icky" guys who favor young, innocent first-timers who are attractive...for > various reasons. For example: A young woman may have learned to swing > incorrectly which brings her into particularly intimate contact with every > gent who swings her. This woman may be "descended upon" by a few "icky" > guys who perceive this intimate contact as something the newcomer actually > enjoys when, really, she would love to learn that there are other ways to > swing that are less intrusive. > > Booking ahead may be the only way to get a dance with this woman to show > her a more comfortable swing position. Yes, I have done this, and the > women always seem relieved to learn that this is not a "normal" sort of > contact at a contra dance. If I did not book a dance with such a woman she > might leave the dance early deciding that the dance is "much too intimate > and familiar" for her tastes. > > There are other valid reasons to book ahead and they can be in support of a > generous and wonderful dance community. It might be true to say that > "excessive booking ahead" should be avoided. I book ahead only rarely, but > when I do most of the time it is with newcomers I want to encourage. > > It is good to see that many folks book ahead so rarely. It is worth noting > that someone who *always *books ahead will probably *never *have the > pleasure of dancing with these folks. The dedicated bookers and dedicated > non-bookers occupy different partnering dimensions and almost *never *dance > together. > > - Greg McKenzie > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
