On Sep 11, 2009, at 9:57 AM, Jack Mitchell wrote:
One other thing I had thought about doing in a workshop is to have a few people in each line with a red ball cap or a particular shirt or some other identifying mark,
Among the several methods of identifying dance roles without respect to gender, the most common in New England is the LCFD (Lavender Country and Folk Dancers) method pioneered by Chris Ricciotti in 1989 at the Jamaica Plain (MA) dance. Chris instituted the use of an armband for the person dancing the traditional gent's role, and no armband for the "barearm" dancer in the traditional lady's role. Orange surveyors tape has become the most popular material for this purpose at gender role free events. Although "bands" and "bares" are still the terms used to denote dance roles in place of "gents" and "ladies," sometimes the identifying mark is no longer worn on the arm. It may be a bright headband, or a clip-on rainbow ribbon adorning a shirt pocket; still, the meaning is clear as you approach a new couple within a contra set.
Skillful role-free calling depends upon much more than convincing half your dancers to wear an armband. For those who are planning to participate in a workshop or otherwise experiment with role free calling, I can't stress highly enough the importance of going to the LCFD site at http://www.lcfd.org/ Scroll to the "News and Articles" section and click on "Gender-free caller's manual and history" to download Chris Ricciotti's history of and instructions for role-free dancing. This is the most important resource that I know of. It includes popular contra dances written out with traditional calling terminology and role-free terminology side by side.
Although popular within the gay and lesbian community, role-free dancing is available to and enjoyable for everyone. NEFFA's first programmed role-free session, using armbands, took place in 1990, and these sessions have become a NEFFA tradition.
There are distinct advantages for callers who become fully comfortable with dancing either role, even if you never call a specifically role-free evening of dance. For example, as you plan an evening program, you will find that you develop better sequences of dances to call. As you review a dance for possible inclusion in your program, you'll think more about how the dance choreography works for either traditional role. After calling a dance that emphasizes the lady's role, you'll be less likely to follow up with one or two more dances that make the women do all the work, but will instead make sure that the gent's role receives proper attention within the overall flow of dance. The discovery of many more advantages awaits the caller who looks further into this subject. ... Bob
Robert Jon Golder New Bedford, MA
