> Have I opened a huge can of worms here? > ~Barbara Yes indeed! :-)
I love chocolate ice cream. I can eat chocolate ice cream over and over again. But dessert would be dull if there was no other dessert in the world except chocolate ice cream. Sometimes I want mango coconut ice cream, or baklava, or... I love duple minor contra dances with a neighbor swing and a partner swing. But life would be dull, etc., and you get the idea, that when there is too much of a good thing then sometimes it no longer is a good thing. Why should dancing always be the same? Don't we have TV for that? The smart caller keeps an eye open for opportunities to increase dancers' enjoyment of the evening. On a hot summer night, that means alternating neighbor/partner swing dances with partner-only-swing, actives-only-swing, and similar dances to beat the heat. And if you perceive that your group is receptive, and not wedded to hard-and-fast expectations, and you have a band that can play the tune for "Money Musk" or play marches for "British Sorrow," you'll be surprised to find that a) half the dancers will thank you for calling an old traditional triple minor contra dance, b) the other half will thank you for inventing a new, unique, and ultra-modern style of contra dance, and c) these dances are so much fun that some dancers may not even notice that there is no swing in either dance. PS: Sometimes a shadow swing is good too. ... Bob -- Robert Jon Golder 164 Maxfield St New Bedford, MA 02740 (508) 999-2486
