[Callers] Fwd: dances in unusual formations

[Donna Hunt via Callers]

 Many thanks to everyone for your suggestions.  There's enough material here 
for several workshops!



Donna Hunt








-Original Message-
From: Liz and Bill via Callers 
To: David Harding 
Cc: callers 
Sent: Sun, Nov 1, 2015 1:48 pm
Subject: Re: [Callers] dances in unusual formations



Hi David and all,


Those links are part of a playlist with a few more dances for five to seven 
which weve done here at our NZ house dance.


http://youtu.be/iW8fjgZV2Jk?list=PLFp1up9ZoGxhevcz7leTScc1XfgpjOF2Q


Cheers, Bill

On 2/11/2015, at 6:54, David Harding via Callers 
 wrote:


After finding The Weevil (4 facing 3) on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM1vr2-QK_Q
I stumbled on a 3 facing 2 dance "inspired by 'The Weevil'"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GAAf-9unRg




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Re: [Callers] Fwd: Itty-bitty dances, triplets, odd numbers

[Jerome Grisanti via Callers]

I was recently calling dances at a small gathering using recorded music,
and I altered the duple minor English dance "Easter Morn" just slightly to
dance it as a triplet. In the B2, instead of ones leading down and casting
back, I had the ones cross and cast down once place (to the bottom, threes
moving up), and everyone turn two hands once round.

I think the dancers found the A2 stars (ones in the middle star right with
the couple below, then star left the couple above) to be less confusing
than in the longways version.

And as you probably know, the music is lovely.

--Jerome


Jerome Grisanti
660-528-0858
http://www.jeromegrisanti.com

"There's no point in being unhappy about things you can't change, and no
point being unhappy about things you can."

[Callers] Itty-bitty dances, triplets, Timing Correction for David's Triplet #5

[Paul Wilde via Callers]

Quick correction on timing:

David's Triplet #5  David Smuckler

A-1  1s cast down own side to bottom,
   Back up ctr to cast w/ 2s
A-2  All do si do P  1 1/4 into way line of 6, balance
   Balance & Al R w/ P 1/2 into new wave &

B-1  Bal, Pul by P by R into hey for 6
B-2  P Gypsy & Swing, face up


Thanks to Tom for pointing this out.

And Levi Jackson Rag is by Pat Shaw

Thanks to all for the great dance suggestions.
Paul

Re: [Callers] Gypsy Wrap-Up

[Winston, Alan P. via Callers]

Very nicely done!

-- Alan


On 11/2/2015 3:31 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers wrote:

Hi All,

I finally composed a response to the original complainant. Here it is, 
followed by an almost instant reply from him (yes, it is a male):


Hello Mr.__,

Thank you for letting us know about your experience at our dance. I am 
glad our community was so welcoming and friendly to you. I hope you 
remember that in the future.


As for the term "gypsy," it has been used in contra dancing for 
decades, and is not my invention. I am sorry you were offended by my 
use and description of it. It is my habit to let dancers know the name 
and author of each dance I call, and "gypsy" is in the title of that 
dance. I regret my description of the move as "flirty." I thank you 
for reminding me that some people are uncomfortable with that, and I 
will no longer suggest it. As for the name of the move itself, you are 
correct in that it has never been meant as a pejorative. I cannot, 
however, change it on my own. Contra is a folk dance and the folk 
process takes time. There is no governing body in charge of naming the 
terms used in contra dancing. When someone invents a new move they 
give it a name and it gradually works its way into the vernacular.


I can assure you that callers nationwide are discussing this and other 
terms we use which we are learning are offensive to others. We are 
endeavoring to change what we can, but you might imagine that coming 
to a consensus between many hundreds of callers is neither swift nor 
sure. This is especially true, given the lack of a governing body.


For my part, I have decided to remove the term "gypsy" from my calling 
and am searching for a substitute. It is not in my power to rename 
dances. At Emerald City Contra Dance we book approximately 25 
different callers every year, from across the United States and 
beyond. I am just one. Please understand that if you return to our 
dance you may hear that term used again, until such time as awareness 
has spread as far and wide as the callers themselves.


Sincerely,

Amy Wimmer
Caller and ECCD Organizer

His response:

Thank you for your very thoughtful and informative response. I feel 
much better about continuing to attend, hearing that there is an 
awareness of this issue and conversations happening about it.





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Re: [Callers] Gypsy Wrap-Up

[Patricia Campbell via Callers]

Wonderful!

Beautifully written letter and a positive response.


Patricia


Patricia Campbell, Dance Caller

http://www.countrydancecaller.com

*"Celebrating Community through Traditional Dance and Music"*

"bcc:" for privacy  -
please observe these guidelines when including me in your group emails





On Mon, Nov 2, 2015 at 6:31 PM, Amy Wimmer via Callers <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I finally composed a response to the original complainant. Here it is,
> followed by an almost instant reply from him (yes, it is a male):
>
> Hello Mr.__,
>
> Thank you for letting us know about your experience at our dance. I am
> glad our community was so welcoming and friendly to you. I hope you
> remember that in the future.
>
> As for the term "gypsy," it has been used in contra dancing for decades,
> and is not my invention. I am sorry you were offended by my use and
> description of it. It is my habit to let dancers know the name and author
> of each dance I call, and "gypsy" is in the title of that dance. I regret
> my description of the move as "flirty." I thank you for reminding me that
> some people are uncomfortable with that, and I will no longer suggest it.
> As for the name of the move itself, you are correct in that it has never
> been meant as a pejorative. I cannot, however, change it on my own. Contra
> is a folk dance and the folk process takes time. There is no governing body
> in charge of naming the terms used in contra dancing. When someone invents
> a new move they give it a name and it gradually works its way into the
> vernacular.
>
> I can assure you that callers nationwide are discussing this and other
> terms we use which we are learning are offensive to others. We are
> endeavoring to change what we can, but you might imagine that coming to a
> consensus between many hundreds of callers is neither swift nor sure. This
> is especially true, given the lack of a governing body.
>
> For my part, I have decided to remove the term "gypsy" from my calling and
> am searching for a substitute. It is not in my power to rename dances. At
> Emerald City Contra Dance we book approximately 25 different callers every
> year, from across the United States and beyond. I am just one. Please
> understand that if you return to our dance you may hear that term used
> again, until such time as awareness has spread as far and wide as the
> callers themselves.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Amy Wimmer
> Caller and ECCD Organizer
>
> His response:
>
> Thank you for your very thoughtful and informative response. I feel much
> better about continuing to attend, hearing that there is an awareness of
> this issue and conversations happening about it.
>
>
>
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>
>

[Callers] Gypsy Wrap-Up

[Amy Wimmer via Callers]

Hi All,

I finally composed a response to the original complainant. Here it is,
followed by an almost instant reply from him (yes, it is a male):

Hello Mr.__,

Thank you for letting us know about your experience at our dance. I am glad
our community was so welcoming and friendly to you. I hope you remember
that in the future.

As for the term "gypsy," it has been used in contra dancing for decades,
and is not my invention. I am sorry you were offended by my use and
description of it. It is my habit to let dancers know the name and author
of each dance I call, and "gypsy" is in the title of that dance. I regret
my description of the move as "flirty." I thank you for reminding me that
some people are uncomfortable with that, and I will no longer suggest it.
As for the name of the move itself, you are correct in that it has never
been meant as a pejorative. I cannot, however, change it on my own. Contra
is a folk dance and the folk process takes time. There is no governing body
in charge of naming the terms used in contra dancing. When someone invents
a new move they give it a name and it gradually works its way into the
vernacular.

I can assure you that callers nationwide are discussing this and other
terms we use which we are learning are offensive to others. We are
endeavoring to change what we can, but you might imagine that coming to a
consensus between many hundreds of callers is neither swift nor sure. This
is especially true, given the lack of a governing body.

For my part, I have decided to remove the term "gypsy" from my calling and
am searching for a substitute. It is not in my power to rename dances. At
Emerald City Contra Dance we book approximately 25 different callers every
year, from across the United States and beyond. I am just one. Please
understand that if you return to our dance you may hear that term used
again, until such time as awareness has spread as far and wide as the
callers themselves.

Sincerely,

Amy Wimmer
Caller and ECCD Organizer

His response:

Thank you for your very thoughtful and informative response. I feel much
better about continuing to attend, hearing that there is an awareness of
this issue and conversations happening about it.

Re: [Callers] Gypsy perception

[Yoyo Zhou via Callers]

Hi folks. I was so ready to be done with this discussion, but.

Regardless of your views on the matter at hand, the goal of this discussion
list is to be a place for respectful exchange of ideas. After all, we
welcome even the most naive questions from the most novice callers, because
we are here to support one another, not tear each other down. Do you
respect your fellow callers and email writers? You don't have to agree with
their views. All you need is good faith.

Unkind speculation on their motivations is - at best - irrelevant
meta-meta-discussion. (Not about "gypsy", not even about the discussion of
it, but about the people discussing it.) You are welcome to think these
thoughts, but they contribute nothing to our discussion; please don't air
them here.

Thanks,
Yoyo Zhou
On Nov 2, 2015 05:08, "Donald Perley via Callers" <
callers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote:

> It often seems like people on contra email lists and facebook get more
> joy from seeking problems to fix it through political correctness than
> they do from dancing itself.
>
>
>
> On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 8:16 PM, Tom Hinds via Callers
>  wrote:
> > No Aahz my logic is broken.  Our perceptions and experiences are
> different.
> >
> > You said,
> >
> >> The question isn't whether using "gypsy" generates negative stereotypes
> >> but whether using the word reminds people of existing negative
> stereotypes
> >> and whether the people referred to by the word have negative reactions
> to
> >> the use of the word.
> >
> >
> > Aahz, you can define the discussion in a narrow way but I prefer to keep
> it
> > more open.
> >
> > This may surprise you but I have a favorable view of the Romani.  In the
> > '80s I danced Flamenco and developed a deep respect for them.  More
> recently
> > I saw a documentary on their culture that centered around a performance
> of
> > them from various countries.  So my view of them has been positive!
> Until
> > this discussion.
> >
> > To be honest, the more I read from those who don't want to use the word
> > gypsy (in private from some), the less favorable these people are in my
> mind
> > which I don't want.  I realize that your intentions are good but with me
> > you've accomplished the opposite of what you want.  Perhaps you should
> > consider not using their name in the same sentences with derogatory
> terms.
> > Don't underestimate the power of association.
> >
> > Tom
> > ___
> > Callers mailing list
> > Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
>

Re: [Callers] Gypsy perception

[Aahz Maruch via Callers]

On Mon, Nov 02, 2015, Donald Perley wrote:
>
> It often seems like people on contra email lists and facebook get more
> joy from seeking problems to fix it through political correctness than
> they do from dancing itself.

I'm sure it seems that way to *you*.  Then again, I'm sure you used the
same argument style thirty years ago when people started complaining
about "faggot".

Perhaps you might want to consider that some of us get joy out of
bringing more people into contra dancing, and part of the way we do that
is to make contra dancing more welcoming and inclusive.

Just to be clear: I am not -- yet -- arguing that we *should* change
"gypsy", I'm simply poking holes in the arguments of people who ridicule
this discussion.

I have to admit that technically your argument is correct WRT me, but
that's because I haven't been contra dancing at all (except for Queer
Contra Dance Camp).  Instead, I've been focusing my time/energy on
learning to call MWSD, which leaves this as my only outlet for contra
dancing.  ;-)
-- 
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6http://rule6.info/
  <*>   <*>   <*>
Help a hearing-impaired person: http://rule6.info/hearing.html

[Callers] I

[David Kaynor via Callers]

Sent from my edssea

Re: [Callers] Gypsy perception

[Donald Perley via Callers]

It often seems like people on contra email lists and facebook get more
joy from seeking problems to fix it through political correctness than
they do from dancing itself.



On Sun, Nov 1, 2015 at 8:16 PM, Tom Hinds via Callers
 wrote:
> No Aahz my logic is broken.  Our perceptions and experiences are different.
>
> You said,
>
>> The question isn't whether using "gypsy" generates negative stereotypes
>> but whether using the word reminds people of existing negative stereotypes
>> and whether the people referred to by the word have negative reactions to
>> the use of the word.
>
>
> Aahz, you can define the discussion in a narrow way but I prefer to keep it
> more open.
>
> This may surprise you but I have a favorable view of the Romani.  In the
> '80s I danced Flamenco and developed a deep respect for them.  More recently
> I saw a documentary on their culture that centered around a performance of
> them from various countries.  So my view of them has been positive!  Until
> this discussion.
>
> To be honest, the more I read from those who don't want to use the word
> gypsy (in private from some), the less favorable these people are in my mind
> which I don't want.  I realize that your intentions are good but with me
> you've accomplished the opposite of what you want.  Perhaps you should
> consider not using their name in the same sentences with derogatory terms.
> Don't underestimate the power of association.
>
> Tom
> ___
> Callers mailing list
> Callers@lists.sharedweight.net
> http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net