Comfort aside, the nice thing about a symmetrical swing like the Galway for same-gender-role swinging is that you don't have to worry about who takes which position. If you spend four counts of an eight-count swing fumbling over whose hand goes where, it rather detracts from the dance.
Women seem to handle this better than men, and I've always been curious about how to communicate who takes the "lead" role in a swing between two gents or two ladies. I agree that same-role swings are entirely appropriate, though. It's not that I think pushing boundaries is necessarily required for progress, it's just that there's no sense in discouraging a practice with which there is nothing wrong. On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:33 PM, Dave Casserly <david.j.casse...@gmail.com>wrote: > If men in the UK are so uncomfortable touching another man that they don't > want to swing (which is, in its essence, simply placing one hand on the > man's back and one on a hand, not exactly an intimate embrace), that is > unacceptably homophobic. I know there are some on this list who don't > agree that callers have any part in "social engineering" or letting our > calling reflect our values as humans, but personally, if I were asked to > call a dance where the men were that afraid of touching each other, I would > have no problem with challenging their perceptions by asking them to swing > with each other (obviously there are some people afraid of touching other > people for other reasons, but in that case, their fear isn't gendered). In > that situation, a little "stress" is appropriate; I have no problem with > causing homophobic people some minor stress when it's their own awful views > that lead to their stress. > > I'm not a big fan of Galway swings. I like to standard, ballroom-position > contra swing, which is quite easily learned from either position once you > know how to share weight and buzz-step. Galway swings seem to tend towards > people trying to swing as fast as possible, rather than form a real > connection and dance with their partner. > > -Dave > > > On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 10:25 AM, John Sweeney <i...@contrafusion.co.uk > >wrote: > > > There have been suggestions that same-gender interaction can be > > stressful. In my experience this is especially true with men in the UK. > > > > Someone said "My impression is that most urban contra environments have > > at least a few people who swap genders". This may be true in the USA, > > and lots of ladies in the UK do take the man's role where numbers are > > not balanced. But very few UK men take the lady's role on a regular > > basis. > > > > When I do I often find that other men appear to be uncomfortable with a > > close-hold swing. I normally now go for a Galway Swing when I meet > > another man for a swing: Start with an Allemande Right hold, hook your > > left fingers around the other man's right elbow and buzz-step - makes > > for a great symmetrical swing. > > > > Here is a dance that uses it to give same-gender swings without stress: > > > > Galway Swing (by John Sweeney) > > Contra; Improper > > > > A1: Men Galway Swing > > Partner Gypsy to an Ocean Wave (Men in the middle with Left > > hands) > > A2: Balance the Wave (R/L); Slide to the Right (Rory O'More) > > Ladies Galway Swing > > B1: Neighbour Gypsy Meltdown into a Swing > > A2: Long Lines Go Forward & Back > > A2: Half Hey (Ladies start Right Shoulder) - Men look for a new Man > > after passing Right Shoulders with the old Man > > > > The main challenge is stopping your swing at the right point so you can > > flow into the gypsy - plan ahead! > > > > > > Happy dancing, > > John > > > > John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 625 362 > > http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > call...@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > > -- > David Casserly > (cell) 781 258-2761 > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
