HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: srg0913@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Sharon Rosenberg )
Subject: More Dancing Do's and Dont's
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 15:00:21 GMT

Hmm...  It seems that a remark I made in jest in the original post was taken
far too seriously.  I guess I need to use more smiles in the future.

To set the record straight:  I am niether a dance nazi, nor am I a dancing 
saint.  I try and help out as an angel at lessons as much as my schedule allows,
but if I have had a bad day, or I'm too tired to be patient I stay out of it
so that the beginners can have the more patient angels helping them.

The original post was put up because our club is having its pre-graduation 
talk to the students on ettiquette, etc. so that when they get out on the floor
in a few weeks they will feel more comfortable and won't have people mad at
them for doing "wrong" things.  We do tend to get rowdy in our club, and 
students sometimes need to be reminded that the older dancers can't deal with 
the rowdiness as well (Sometimes older club members have to be reminded of this
too, but that's another story.)  As a beginner, which was not too long ago for
me, I wish I had been told more things before I actually hit the floor.

Thanks to all who sent me e-mail suggestions.  Some of these will definitely be
mentioned.

-- Sharon

===============================================================================
 -- These are facts.       |Sharon Rosenberg --         |        
 -- Facts are the enemy    |srg0913@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu    |   I am NOT short! 
     of truth.             |Petunias, QL convert, M-1.75|   I'm vertically 
 Dr. Carusca & Don Quixote |Square-dancer, Mary's Roomie|     challenged!      
   "Man of La Mancha"      |"Don't call me Doc!"        |
===============================================================================
From: steinr@convex.cl.msu.edu (Robert Stein (Physics))
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Subject: Dancing in Huntsville
Date: 13 Apr 92 22:07:08 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: Michigan State University, East Lansing

I am in Huntsville, AL this week (13-16 April) and would like to dance
contra, square, international if there is some dancing going on.
Please send me e-mail [steinr@convex.cl.msu.edu] if you know of
any.  Thanks very much.
Bob Stein
From: gtillman@neptune.urbana.mcd.mot.com (Greg Tillman)
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Subject: Re: Etiquette Question
Date: 8 Apr 92 16:42:22 GMT
Article-I.D.: urbana.1992Apr8.164222.4468
Reply-To: gtillman@urbana.mcd.mot.com
Organization: Motorola Computer Group, Urbana Design Center


|> In article <204155@unix.cis.pitt.edu>, pedersen@polar.bowdoin.edu
(Sharon L. Pedersen) writes:
|> What do people think is the correct etiquette at a contradance for
|> asking and/or accepting and/or declining invitations to dance with
|> someone of the same sex?

I wasn't going to jump into this thread, but it seems to need at least 
one response from a more reserved (you can read that "inhibited" if it
makes you feel good) dancer.

Maybe I just have more hangups than y'all, but I don't really care
for dancing with other men.  There are just too many sexual overtones
in dancing for it to be a comfortable thing.  If I'm ever asked, I
think a polite "No, thank you for asking" is (I hope) an acceptable
decline.

It doesn't bother me at all to see it done, or to be in the same set/line
with a same-gender pair; just not something I want to do.

Similarly, I don't like to ballroom-swing with other men - it seems a
little more intimate than the symmetrical swing.  I don't have a dance
partner handy so I can't analyze exactly why that is, but that's the
way it seems to me.  The objections I've read to this swing (you forget
which side to be dropped off on, you don't get to actually experience the
opposite role) seem to apply more within a same-gender pair than with
swings from that pair to other couples.   If you're offended by this
preference I apologize.  I do think dancing requires occasional compromise 
(and I have done ballroom swing with men when, in one of those fairly 
rapid in-dance adjustments, he seemed to want to ballroom swing more than I
wanted a symmetrical swing).
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
From: suzanne@iastate.edu (Linda S Lewis)
Subject: Scottish Country Dance Ball
Keywords: Scottish, Celtic, dance
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Wed, 15 Apr 1992 02:22:19 GMT
Expires: Thu, 7 May 1992 05:00:00 GMT

The Scottish Country Dancers of Central Iowa are sponsoring a ball May
9, l992.  It will be held at the Great Hall, Iowa State University
Memorial Union, Ames, Iowa.  Music will be provided by Susan Brown and
Roger Alexander and the McDuff Ceilidh Band (Mike Briggs, Joe
Laurence, and Barbara James of the Madison, Wis- consin area).  There
will be a walk-thru starting at 11 am Saturday and a brunch in
Brookside Park (weather permitting) Mother's Day morning.  Sooo......
Dust off your gillies and come join us!!

If you need information, please email me at the above address.


                           
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
From: bignate@next09wor.wam.umd.edu (Nathan W. Holland)
Subject: test
Organization: Workstations at Maryland, University of Maryland, College Park
Distribution: usa
Date: Thu, 9 Apr 1992 17:34:49 GMT


this is a test.
From: htr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (helena.t.robinson)
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Subject: Re: Dance Stew
Summary: 2nd generation dancers/callers
Date: 10 Apr 92 11:37:08 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T

In article <204268@unix.cis.pitt.edu> sievertl@hpcc33.corp.hp.com (Lisa Sieverts) writes (in part):
>Really, I want to know how many second generation contra
>dancers there are out there.  I carry my status as a badge
>of distinction, and am curious about whether I really am the
>only daughter of 2 contra dancers who still dances herself.

While I can't speak for the contra community, similar examples abound in the 
world of WSD.  Our home caller, Betsy Gotta, learned to call from her late 
father, Art Seele.  Advanced and challenge dancers are probably aware of Lee 
and Steve Kopman (father & son), and Swersie Norris and Sandra Bryant
(mother/daughter).  I'm sure there are many others; including several round 
dance leaders.

As for dancers, I can name an example a bit closer to home.  ;-)
My in-laws used to dance - as a matter of fact, that's how I (eventually) met
my husband...

Helena Robinson
AT&T
Basking Ridge, NJ
attmail!hrobinson
From: rsholmes@rodan.syr.EDU (Rich Holmes)
Subject: Re: contra-gypsies
In-reply-to: pciszek@isis.cs.du.edu's message of 8 Apr 92 02:19:40 GMT
Organization: Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
	<1992Apr8.021940.22158@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>
Date: Mon, 13 Apr 92 10:59:34 EDT

In article <1992Apr8.021940.22158@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu> pciszek@isis.cs.du.edu (Paul Ciszek) writes:

>Well, I for one LIKE the Gypsy.  I find that most women either meet my
>intent Valentinoesque stare with equal melodrama, or break out laughing.
>We're supposed to be having FUN, dammit.
>
>Of course, I am also fond of the "balance-and-STOMP!" move.

What he said. I'd even go so far as to say I like gypsies more than
swings -- partly because they're rarer, partly because one can ham
them up so much. Ever tried doing a gypsy at a distance of about 6
feet? (requires a sparsely-attended dance!) at about 0.5 feet? Way up
on tiptoe? a la Groucho Marx? with a haughty, I-am-the-king-of-the-
gypsies expression? crosseyed? ad infinitum.

But as for smouldering stares -- they're optional, and very rarely
taken seriously. *Too* rarely, sometimes...  ;-)

Balancing and STOMPing back at ya -


--
 - Rich Holmes                            rich@suhep.bitnet or
   Syracuse U. Physics Dept.              rich@suhep.phy.syr.edu

		 How's my .sig?  Call 1-800-WAR-LORD
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
From: HF.SLK@forsythe.stanford.edu (Stewart Kramer)
Subject: Re: Dancing Do's and Don'ts
Organization: Stanford University, California, USA
Distribution: usa
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 23:32:17 GMT

In article <1992Apr8.231728.12656@morrow.stanford.edu>,
HF.SLK@forsythe.stanford.edu (Stewart Kramer) writes the same thing
4 times, because he should have remembered that ctrl-C doesn't work
in that situation.

(It's not true that I'm trying to increase Challenge WSD's presence
on rec.folk-dancing, honest!)
---
Stewart Kramer
From: pearl@spectacle.sw.stratus.com (Dan Pearl)
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing,rec.music.folk
Subject: CDSS Programs at Pinewoods Camp
Date: 9 Apr 92 14:43:07 GMT
Article-I.D.: transfer.2047
Followup-To: rec.folk-dancing
Distribution: na
Organization: Stratus Computer, Software Engineering

I have it on good authority that there are spaces available at Pinewoods
this summer.  Most weeks have openings, with the exception of a couple
of weeks that have short waiting lists for single women (which is to
say single men and couples could probably get in).

CDSS operates several week-long programs at Pinewoods Camp in Plymouth
Massachusetts.   Situated between two ponds, small rustic cabins and
open-air dance pavilions dot the wooded, rolling landscape.  CDSS has been
running programs there for many, many, years.  It is a special experience.

CDSS offers the following events: English Dance Week, American Dance Week,
 English and American Dance Week, Folk Music Week, Family Week, and
 Campers Week.  All weeks feature classes during the day led by 
 well-renowned dance and music instructors, and evening dances. 

 Family Week and Campers Week accept kids -- the other weeks are for 
 adults.

The typical week costs around $400, including room and board.  Early
Music week tends to be somewhat more expensive, due to the larger staff
that provides individual instruction.  Campers Week is less expensive
because the campers lead activities of their own choosing.

To get a schedule and application form, call CDSS at
413-584-9913 or write them at 17 New South St., Northampton MA 01060.

I encourage you to apply as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Pearl  **  Stratus Computer, Inc.  **  pearl@spectacle.sw.stratus.com
From: UTWILL@UNC.BITNET (Tom Wills)
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Subject: contra-gypsies
Date: 7 Apr 92 21:12:32 GMT
Article-I.D.: unix.204534


     I am writing to solicit comments of dancers' and callers'
feeling for the contra dance figures gypsy and gypsy meltdown.
For those who aren't familiar, the gypsy is a slow, staring-
into-the-partner's-eyes swing without arms, that is, the part-
ners walk around one another maintaining eye contact but not
touching.  The meltdown begins the same but then after some
"mutually and spontaneously decided" length of time whilst
unconsummated attraction wells up, the two turn the gypsy
smoothly into a swing.
     You may have discerned from this description that I don't
like the gypsy, and you would be right.  Part of my reason for
writing is in hopes that callers will stop calling them alto-
gether, or at least think twice about them.  The other part is
that I have been trying to figure out why I don't like them and
I hoped some discussion would clarify things.
     To begin the discussion:  first of all, the move feels
artificial.  I guess all dance moves are artificial in some
way of thinking, but this one seems especially forced;  the
socio-sexual interactions which are subtler in other moves,
but charged with fully as much longing, seem in the gypsy to be
done on command.
     It's a setup:  you are constrained at the caller's whim to
engage in the imitation of desire.  This
is not so bad when the dance calls for a gypsy between chosen
partners (with whom you could agree to disobey and just swing)
but is insulting when done with every neighbor down the pike.
It then becomes an enactment of Hell, where a frozen grin and
a stare replace real interaction.(Compare with the scene in
"A Boy and His Dog" in which the hero is symbolically and
surgically married to dozens of young maidens while he is
strapped down.)
     Second:  it's boring.  This has to be the least active of
all moves.
     Third:  the so-called meltdown due to spontaneous combus-
tion is for most dancers a sham.  What people actually do is
gypsy half the allotted beats, then swing.
     So that's what I think.
{This sentence, contains three errers.}
From: htr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (helena.t.robinson)
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Subject: Re: Dancing Do's and Don'ts
Summary: some clarification
Keywords: not-so-beginners, encouragement, fun, WSD, Challenge
Date: 10 Apr 92 11:49:19 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T

In article <1992Apr8.165236.20870@ads.com> charleen@ADS.COM (Charleen Bunjiovianna) writes (in part):
>
>Helena says we should remember that we were all beginners once.  I say
>that we still are; the nature of the activity is such so that you can't
>say "I've learned everything I need to know to dance perfectly."  (With
>the possible exception of Stewart. :-)  And going on to a new program
>level, if one chooses to do so, is a humbling experience.  Possibly the
>people who tend to be impatient with beginners have stagnated at their
>level and have forgotten what it's like to be the new kid on the block.

That last sentence is exactly the audience to whom I was addressing my 
remarks.  Keep in mind that constantly moving up levels/programs (no matter 
how quickly/slowly) is not for everybody - nor should it be.  There are many 
dancers out there for whom Mainstream - or even Basics - is as much challenge 
as they ever want to see; and that's perfectly fine.  Dancers who decide they 
want to pursue challenge should be made aware (if possible) that they will 
rarely (if ever) stop "learning" - particularly if they choose to move to the 
"higher" programs (C3 and beyond, where you wind up re-learning all those 
quarterlies you hated years ago and prayed you'd never see again).

Helena Robinson
AT&T
Basking Ridge, NJ
attmail!hrobinson
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
From: htr@cbnewsl.cb.att.com (helena.t.robinson)
Subject: Re: Dancing Do's and Don'ts
Organization: AT&T
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 8 Apr 1992 12:26:16 GMT
Summary: one comment for now
Keywords: beginners, encouragement, fun

In article <92095.172913ARLENJ@MAINE.MAINE.EDU> ARLENJ@MAINE.MAINE.EDU writes
(in part):
>
>In article <1992Apr1.213303.26320@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> srg0913@
>uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Sharon Rosenburg) writes:
>
>>Well it's approaching that time of the semester again...
>>We are about to release a flock of new dancers out onto the
>>dance floors of the nation.  OY VAY!

I've been trying to come up with something in response to the original 
question, but haven't succeeded just yet; except for the following:

>One of the aspects of folk-dancing I have always greatly enjoyed
>is helping newcomers become more confident and more skillful
>dancers.  Different people will have different difficulties, and
>some folks are more agile than others.  But everyone should be
>encouraged to participate...I was once stunned to hear a middle-
>aged man snap loudly at some first-time dancers (college students
>who were enthousiastic and trying hard to pick up the moves),
>"if you don't know how to do it, get off the floor!"

>...But, inexperienced dancers aren't so much irritating as they are
>humorous, and it takes a lot of courage to risk looking silly and
>feeling awkward.  What is irritating, to me, are the experienced
>dancers (sometimes not so experienced) who snap irritably at
>newcomers when they make mistakes.  Even experienced dancers make
>mistakes...or even miss a call while paying attention to something
>else (heaven forbid!!! ;-).

And yes, not everyone is capable (for whatever reason) of being able to 
"handle" (for lack of a better term) newcomers and their specific needs.
It's probably best that those who know they can't (or truly prefer not to) 
avoid it, for the sake of themselves and the newcomers.  Oops, this is 
venturing into Roger's "Dance Nazi" comments - better not elaborate for now.

I suppose I'll get to view this in action Saturday, since I just agreed to 
serve as a Hall Monitor for awhile in the Approaching Mainstream (student 
level) hall at the NJ Convention...

>Newcomers need patience.  If they are doing something wrong, I
>usually tell them firmly what they need to change, but I smile,
>laugh and try to give them encouragement too.  They usually
>respond really well, and most people can pick the basics up very
>quickly when shown how they are done.  It's exciting to watch a
>new dancer's enthusiasm when they get comfortable with the
>movements.

One line I use frequently - especially with newer dancers - after a "difficult" 
tip (WSD) is, "You know you're in a good square when you're having fun making 
mistakes."  And yes, this applies no matter what the level/program/dance form 
(adjust as necessary - ;-] ).

Oh yes, there's that 10th Commandment of Square Dancing: Always remember that 
thou wert once a beginner too.

Happy Dancing - no matter what the experience level!
Helena Robinson
AT&T
Basking Ridge, NJ
attmail!hrobinson
From: sandell@chowning.CNMAT.Berkeley.EDU (Gregory J. Sandell)
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
Subject: Re: contra-gypsies
Date: 7 Apr 92 23:01:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: agate.rt9l1INNeti
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: chowning.cnmat.berkeley.edu

In article <204534@unix.cis.pitt.edu> UTWILL@UNC.BITNET (Tom Wills)  
writes:
> 
> The meltdown begins the same but then after some
> "mutually and spontaneously decided" length of time whilst
> unconsummated attraction wells up, the two turn the gypsy
> smoothly into a swing.

Before I comment on the gypsy per se, I must say that I don't
think your definition of the meltdown is universal.  The gypsy
I have always danced and seen danced is one of fairly specified
duration...even in cases when it is not followed by a swing.  In
your case, I find that the duration of the gypsy is timed by the
couple so in order to make the swing last a measured number of beats
(4, 8, 16, etc.) in time with the music, which means that the gypsy ends  
and the swing begins at a fairly specific moment in time.

>      To begin the discussion:  first of all, the move feels
> artificial.  I guess all dance moves are artificial in some
> way of thinking, but this one seems especially forced;  the
> socio-sexual interactions which are subtler in other moves,
> but charged with fully as much longing, seem in the gypsy to be
> done on command.
>      It's a setup:  you are constrained at the caller's whim to
> engage in the imitation of desire.

It's not hard to agree with you that it's one of the most "artificial"
of moves, but I still like it.  Okay, it can be silly at times (I'm
not sure that it's ever been "Hell" for me, though), but it can be
just as exciting in equal measure when it works.  In other words, it's
a risky move.  It's worth it for those rare times you and your partner's
eyes lock in loving embrace and the two of you really do melt irresistably
into each other's arms.  

Even if it isn't done in a flirtacious way, it's a great way to get people  
to soften up a bit.  Some people need a way to break the ice, and the
gypsy helps a bit.  I suppose that the gypsy is premised, though, on
the fact that eye-contact is a Basic Premise of contradancing...if you
don't like eye-contact, try something else.  I must say that as far as
my own personal enjoyment of dancing goes, I think this is true.

The "imitation of desire" is an excellent description of the gypsy!
Swinging is the imitation of lovemaking itself, and the gypsy is
the imitation of desire.  Can't wait till the next dance!

--
Greg Sandell
Research Fellow, Center for New Music and Audio Technologies (CNMAT)
sandell@cnmat.cnmat.berkeley.edu or sandell@garnet.berkeley.edu
Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing
From: bsmith@osf.org (Bruce Smith)
Subject: contra peeves
Originator: bsmith@serverx.osf.org
Organization: Open Software Foundation
Date: Fri, 17 Apr 1992 17:13:47 GMT

A few weeks ago, I was waiting for a square to begin at our Thursday-night
dance. My partner was a woman I hadn't seen in a while, I don't see
all that often, and who was apparently about to leave the Boston area (this
last I didn't find out until we awaited the walk-through). As we talked,
another dancer approached my partner to book a dance, interrupting our
conversation. I felt annoyed, even angry. This same dancer, quite well known
for his tactic of running around the hall to book ahead, would the next week
shove me in an attempt to get on the floor in time to be at the head of the 
center set. Oh, not a mighty shove, just an inconsiderate and ill-timed one.

So now this character has two strikes against him, in my book, and I wasn't
exactly nuts about him to begin with. Next incident, if there is one, I'll
feel compelled to make my unhappiness with his behavior known. I don't like
this at all. I don't want to have confrontations at dances, I just want to have
a good time, but I also don't want to have my fun diminished by some pinhead.

The only other incident I can recall that got me this annoyed was the dancer
who insisted on kissing my then-SO, who complained to him and, when it didn't
stop, to me. I asked the would-be Romeo, as kindly as possible, to desist, and
indeed this seemed to work -- for a while. Soon his embraces and osculations
began again, much to my SO's displeasure. Again she complained to me, and
this time, using a sterner tone of voice, I directed Lothario to refrain
from unwanted advances. This resolved the situation for good, but its very
existence proved a source of some discomfort to me. Ah, well, dancers, I
await your own tales of woe -- or joy.

Bruce Smith




Newsgroups: rec.folk-dancing,rec.org.sca,alt.pagan