From: robert@slipknot.rain.com (Robert Reed)
Subject: Footnotes
Organization: Home Animation Ltd.
Date: Sun, 10 Jan 1993 11:16:49 GMT

		Portland Country Dance Community + Jan/Feb, 1993

				SPECIAL EVENTS

Welcome to 1993--truly a prime year for dancing! (Actually, as all of you former
math majors will recognize, 1993 will be a prime year for everything.)

PCDC's First Friday Dance starts at an earlier hour than usual this month: 12
AM.  Several callers and bands will entertain you, and there will be a festive
Dessert Potluck, yet we'll wrap it all up by 1 AM!  Are we getting efficient, or
what?  January 1, at the Multnomah Art Center.

Just as the Potluck's sweet tastes begin to fade, replace them with the dulcet
tones of the NewTonians at PCDC's English Country Dance, Saturday January 2.
Molly Libby will teach you the steps to this kinder and gentler dance form.  8
PM at Fulton Community Center.

The Beginner Musician Sessions have diversified.  There is some kind of jam
every Wednesday, and all sessions are open to any of you bearing any instrument.
On the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Wednesdays of each month the action will be at the
Horse Brass Pub (4534 SE Belmont) from 7 to 8 PM.  Musicians get in free, and
are paid in applause and tips--the latter usually being first converted into,
ah, liquid currency.  Tempos at the Horse Brass will be a bit livelier than at
the other two monthly jams.  The 2nd and 4th Wednesday sessions will be at Sue
Songer's house.  The 2nd Wednesday will be taught by either Dan Compton or
George Penk, both incredible fiddlers and incredibly patient teachers.  The 4th
Wednesday will be an open jam.  Questions?  Call Sue at 503/293-1446.

It's going to be a hot night at the PCDC Second Saturday Dance, January 9.
Proud pappy Rich Kuras will call a mixture of squares and contras, while the
Rose City Aces pour out the tunes to keep your toes tapping.  8 PM at MAC.

If you don't already know about PCDC's Ski-Dance Weekend, January 29-31 at the
Mt. Hood Kiwanis Camp, then you're probably too late.  Still, you might call
Barbara Smoody (503/249-8300) to check for last minute cancellations.  Seattle's
Mike Richardson, Anita Anderson and Stuart Williams will be on hand to deal with
your dancing needs, and Mt. Hood's record setting snowfalls will take care of
the rest.

Announcing the birth of a new regular dance series!  Or, more accurately, a new
intermittent regular dance series: the Fifth Saturday Rose City Aces Country
Dance.  Seems those Aces just have so much music building up inside them, they
had to find more occasions to release it.  The series opener features the
calling of Sherry Nevins.  Sherry is one of the founders of contra- and
square-dancing in the Northwest, yet her repertoire and enthusiasm continue to
grow each year.  Plan on a great time!  January 30, 8pm at FCC.

The PCDC First Friday Dance of February 5 will welcome caller Jana Rygas up from
Eugene.  Several bands are still fighting for the opportunity to play for her--
watch for further announcements.  Jana has a reputation for picking great dances
and teaching them efficiently, so you can expect a fun-filled evening.  8 PM at
MAC.

The annual Dean Kenty Benefit Scholarship Dance will be held at PCDC's Second
Saturday Dance on February 13.  All proceeds will go to the PCDC Scholarship
Fund, which provides subsidies to help PCDC members attend dance-related events
both locally and throughout the country.  Callers will be Maria Falasca and
Merilee Karr, and the bands donating their energy will be Cat's Cradle and Clyde
& Susan Curley.  8 PM at MAC.


			DEAR PROFESSOR DANCE...

  This week I had the pleasure of attending my first dance camp away from home--
Northern week at Ashokan.  It's been wonderful--fabulous music, great dancing,
sociable sauna.  I've felt very much at home in this friendly group despite a
few behavioral differences...in particular, there seem to be far fewer CPG's
here than in the PNW.  The majority of gentlemen at Ashokan seem happily
committed to their chosen sweeties, some are obviously anxious to waste no time
and form commitments with other campers, and a few others clearly ought to be
committed.  All in all, Ashokan has offered me the pleasurable opportunity to
experience a higher number of commitment desirous men than has been available
to me back on the West Coast.

  Tell me, Professor Dance, is the percentage of CPG's lower on the East coast,
or did I just get lucky at Ashokan?

  --Homeward bound, but starry-eyed.

Dear Starry-eyed:

  As we discovered last time, the CPG (Commitment Phobic Gentleman) problem may
be an illusion caused by a reaction to the SAD (Shut-up And Dance) women who
haunt West Coast dances, using gentlemen for their pleasure and then casting
them away.  Since 90% of the letters we receive are from women, perhaps their
views have dominated this column and distorted the nature of the problem.  (On
the other hand, if it wasn't for the intellectual curiosity fo the ladies,
especially Seattle ladies, there probably wouldn't be a Professor Dance column
at all.)

  Perhaps it wasn't that you were lucky but rather it was the East Coast 
gentlemen who were lucky not to have been traumatized by too many SAD women.

  However, you didn't fully explain the most important part of your letter:
what is a "sociable sauna"?  Is this something about which we should be
concerned?

  --Professor Dance


Dear Professor Dance:

  This past August two of us had the pleasure of attending an outdoor
contradance in Bellingham.

  At the break it became apparent that my friend and I were attracted to the
same woman, whom I'll call Susan.  We wished each other good luck and turned our
attention to the second half of the dance.  Well, it came down to the last waltz
and I was standing near the jaune femme.  I asked her to waltz and she said yes.
We waltzed halfway around the room enjoying ourselves when my friend, whom I'll
call Jerry because that's his name, tapped me on the shoulder and asked if he
could cut in.  I was momentarily speechless.  What should I have done,
Professor?  Politely declined?  Asked him to step outside?  Challenged him to a
duel?  As it turned out I asked the lady what she wanted and she simply shrugged
her shoulders.  In the end I yielded.

  --Morris in Seattle

Dear Morris (because that's your name) in Seattle:

  We can't speak from personal experience as this has only happened to us once
and the lady objected, holding onto us tightly whispering "Don't let him touch
me, don't let him touch me."

  As you suggested you could have asked Jerry to step outside.  Since the dance
was outdoors already you would have had a few extra turns around the floor while
he figured out how to step MORE outside.  You could have replied in a loud
whisper "Don't get excited Jerry, you don't want to break your parole again."
Then to Susan, "Don't worry, he won't do anything while I'm around."

  Proper etiquette says your response was the correct one.  If you are a much
better waltzer than your rival you might have done yourself the most good by
yielding.

  Please write and tell us what actually did happen to the lives of Susan,
Morris and Jerry.  Did she stay with you or did she get on the plane?  On the
other hand, it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people
don't amount to a hill o' beans in this crazy world.  Someday you'll understand
that.

  --Professor Dance

No matter how humble, Professor Dance will answer your questions.  Write him at
the Professor Dance Library, Box 9644, Spokane WA 99209.




			FROM THE BALLROOM TO HELL

  "I do not believe that any woman can or does waltz without being improperly
aroused, to a greater or less degree.  She may not, at first, understand her
feelings, or recognize as harmful or sinful those emotions which must come to
every woman who has a particle of warmth in her nature, when in such close
connection with the opposite sex; but she is, though unconciously, none the less
surely sowing seed which will one day ripen, if not into open sin and shame,
into a nature more or less depraved and health more or less impaired.  Any woman
with a nature so cold as not to be aroused by the perfect execution of the
waltz, is entirely unfit to make any man happy as his wife, and if she be
willing to indulge in such pleasures with every ball-room libertine, she is not
the woman any man wants for a wife.  It is a noticeable fact that a man who
knows the ways of a ball-room rarely seeks a wife there.  When he wishes to
marry he chooses for a wife a woman who has not been fondled and embraced by
every dancing man in town.

  "It is also noticeable that after marriage few men care to dance, or to have
their wives dance."
							--Ex Dancing Master


				   CALENDAR


JANUARY

  1st (Fr) PCDC First Friday Dance.  Cancelled.  (Our musicians are still
    recovering from last night.)

  2nd (Sa) PCDC English Country Dance. 8pm at Fulton Community Center. Caller:
    Molly Libby.  Music: the NewTonians.

  6th (We) Beginner Music Session. 7-9pm at Horse Brass Pub.  See Special
    Events.

  8th (Fr) Second Friday English Country Dance. 8pm at Burlingame Water Tower. 
    Caller: Nan Evans.  Music: George Penk, Fred Nussbaum & Heather Pinney. (no
    street shoes allowed.)

  9th (Sa) PCDC Second Saturday Dance. 8pm at Multnomah Art Center.  Caller:
    Rich Kuras.  Music: Rose City Aces.

  13th (We) Beginner Music Session. 6:30pm.  Leader: George Penk or Dan Compton.

  15th (Fr) Portland Ceili Society Dance. 8:30pm at Portland Police Athletic
    Association.

  16th (Sa) Third Saturday Contradance. 8pm at FCC.  Caller: Paul McCullough.
    Music: Alan Garren & friends.

  20th (We) Beginner Music Session. 7-9pm at HBP.  See Special Events.

  22nd (Fr) Fourth Friday Contra & Square Dance Party.  8pm at BWT.  Caller:
    Maria Falasca.  Music: Cat's Cradle. (No street shoes allowed.)

  22nd (Fr) Fourth Friday Scandinavian Dance. 8pm at IOOF Lodge, 187 High NE,
    Salem.  Check with Sharon (503/364-6713) to confirm.

  23rd (Sa) Fourth Saturday Contradance. 8pm at FCC.  Caller: Ted Remillard.
    Music: The Contradance String Quartet: Dan Compton, Clyde Curley, Fred
    Nussbaum & George Penk.

  26th (Tu) PCDC Board Meeting. 6:30pm at Nan's.

  27th (We) Beginner Music Session. 6:30pm.  Leader: George Penk or Dan Compton.

  29th-31st (Fr-Su) PCDC Ski-Dance Weekend.  See Special Events.

  30th (Sa) Fifth Saturday Rose City Aces Country Dance.  8pm at FCC. Caller:
    Sherry Nevins.  See Special Events.

FEBRUARY

  3rd (We) Beginner Music Session. 7-9pm at HBP.  See Special Events.

  5th (Fr) PCDC First Friday Dance.  8pm at MAC.  Caller: Jana Rygas.  Music:
    TBA.

  6th (Sa) PCDC English Country Dance. 8pm at FCC. Caller: Dick Lewis.  Music:
    the NewTonians.

  6th (Sa) Ad Vielle Que Pourra in Concert.  French village dance music.  8pm at
    Northwest Service Center.  503/283-2688 for more details.

  10th (We) Beginner Music Session. 6:30pm.  Leader: George Penk or Dan Compton.

  12th (Fr) Second Friday English Country Dance. 8pm at BWT. Caller: Nan Evans.
    Music: Kathleen Towers, Beverly Stafford, Dave Goldman & Fred Nussbaum. (No
    street shoes allowed.)

  13th (Sa) PCDC's Dean Kenty Benefit Scholarship Dance.  8pm at MAC.  Callers:
    Maria Falasca, Merilee Karr.  Music: Cat's Cradle; Susan and Clyde Curley.
    See Special Events.

  17th (We) Beginner Music Session. 7-9pm at HBP.  See Special Events.

  19th (Fr) Portland Ceili Society Dance. 8:30pm at PPAA.

  20th (Sa) Third Saturday Contradance. 8pm at FCC.  Caller: Paul McCullough.
    Music: George Penk, Heather Pinney & Dan Compton.

  20th (Sa) John McCutcheon in Concert.  8pm at NWSC.  503/283-2688 for more
    details.

  24th (We) Beginner Music Session. 6:30pm.  Leader: George Penk or Dan Compton.

  26th (Fr) Fourth Friday Contra & Square Dance Party.  8pm at BWT.  Caller:
    Nan Evans..  Music: Dance Compton, Fran Slefer, Lauren Sheehan, Ron Nagy.
    (No street shoes allowed.)

  26th (Fr) Fourth Friday Scandinavian Dance. 8pm at IOOF Lodge, 187 High NE,
    Salem.  Check with Sharon (503/364-6713) to confirm.

  27th (Sa) Fourth Saturday Contradance. 8pm at FCC.  Caller: Ted Remillard.
    Music: Cat's Cradle.


MARCH

  5th (Fr) PCDC First Friday Dance.  8pm at MAC.  Caller: TBA.  Music: TBA.

  6th (Sa) PCDC English Country Dance. 8pm at FCC. Caller: Molly Libby.  Music:
    the NewTonians.

  13th (Sa) PCDC Second Saturday Dance.  8pm at MAC.  Caller: Elinor Preston.
    Music: George Penk, Clyde Curley, Dan Compton.



				GIVING WEIGHT
			       A WEIGHTY TOPIC

     	  by Erik Hoffman, reprinted from the Santa Barbara Dance Star


  "Giving weight" is a thing we callers and dancers often talk about, and wonder
why some people are naturals, others never seem to get it, and yet most develop.
So now I take this opportunity to write a few words about it, in the hope that
it might expand discussion and experimentation, and thus people might look at
themselves and see if they can (or need) to take the next step in improving
their dancing.

  First, what is meant by giving weight?  I think of it in terms of connection. 
The limp arm "fish grip" is the opposite of what establishes this connection.
A firm connection--support in the arms, bent elbows, unlocked knees, coming from
your center of gravity, moving with confidence--all this goes into this concept
of giving weight.

  In ballroom dance they call it making a frame, or "framing."  When a couple
stands in ballroom position (close to our swing position) with the man's right
hand behind the woman's back, her left on his shoulder, and the other hands
joined in "free space" they make a "frame," a kind of circle with their arms
and bodies.

  If this frame is well supported, if both are operating from their center of
gravity, and they are pushing ever so slightly against each toher, causing a bit
of tension in their arms and carriage, then they are ready to respond
immediately to each other, with hardly any work.  Information about where you
are going and what figure is next is transmitted almost immediately through this
frame.  If instead one person does not hold his or her own, the other person has
to carry the "weight" of both, and the conduit of communication along the frame
is all but lost.  This is extremely tiring for the person carrying the weight.

  This is important: giving weight actually makes it easier to dance.  It
increases efficiency, makes it easier to get around, makes the connection
between you and your partners stronger, and makes dancing all around much more
pleasurable.

  So, how can you learn to give weight?  The first and most important way is to
learn to dance from your center of gravity.  This is somewhere in your lower
abdomen.  Physicists will tell you that this changes depending on how you are
holding your body, but for dancing purposes this is the "center" from where we
move, the resting center of gravity.

  One way to find it is to spread your feet apart, and stand with your knees
bent.  Bounce up and down from your knees, forward and back.  Feel where the
weight of your torso centers: the part that you seem to be moving around, where
the "heft" is.  This is the center that you move from.

  To see its importance, try this Aikido exercise with a friend.  Stand with
your feet under your shoulders, knees slightly bent, relaxed.  Imagine your
weight at the top of your forehead--put your attention there and breathe a
couple times, focusing on that lofty location.  Then have your friend gently
push your shoulder, and feel how well balanced you are.  Now take your stance
again, this time putting your focus on the center of your lower abdomen, your
"center."  Breathe again, from this center, and then have your friend again give
the push.  See if you can tell a difference.

  It is from this "center" that our best dancing comes.  I find that having that
center face the direction of movement opens up my dancing.  When the center
faces my partner it gives a firm support and openness that makes for great
dancing.  When the center leads my dancing, it makes dancing almost effortless.

  In contradancing, the frame can be between two people--as in allemandes,
swings, or promenades, or more, as in circles, lines, basket swings, and the
like.  When the "frame" is created, it transmits the movement throughout the
figure.  Weight in a circle, supportive arms coming from your center, increases
the awareness of all in the circle, making it one of the most rewarding and
satisfying figures.  Weight in an allemande not only makes it possible to
complete the figure on time, but if it's a leisurely one it makes it feel great.
Giving (and getting) weigth increases the flow and improves the ability to move
through the figures, as well as just increasing the all-around fun of dancing.

  So look at yourself, see if you are a "fish gripper," experiment with your
sense of center, and see how your dancing changes.  And when it all comes down,
give weight!