At my home dance I usually call a circle mixer as the second dance of
the evening. I often use La Bastringue, and I generally teach it from
the floor and dance it. (Fun for me, and a useful way to connect with
the dancers.) I don't sense any grumbling or resistance. (But then
again I'm an insensitive guy...)
Aside from other plusses, a mixer like La Bastringue gives us a
chance to dance all in one set (especially if one circle is possible)
and feel united in a different way than contras allow for.
Richard
On Jul 19, 2010, at 12:36 PM, Bronwyn Woods wrote:
As a dancer, I much prefer mixers to no-partner-swing dances. I
haven't
called either much, but in my experience as a dancer in various
communities
I have often seen mixers favorably received. In fact, I've been to
a number
of smaller dance weekends where mixers were welcomed as a way to
see who was
there, "scout" for partners, add variety to the evening, etc. In
those
situations, the idea of "forcing" beginners to integrate wasn't
relevant. I
think mixers at regularly scheduled dances can serve the same purpose.
Maybe in communities with a lot of booking ahead for partners
mixers might
cause more of a stir.
Another point:
I (like many people) only dance with any particular partner once
during the
course of a normal length dance evening. If a no-partner-swing
dance means
I don't get to swing with a good/favorite partner, I feel gypped.
However,
I don't count a mixer as a dance with any particular partner so I
get the
benefit of lots of interaction with many dancers without feeling
like I'm
ignoring or missing out on dancing with my partner.
That being said, I wouldn't totally discount dances without a
partner swing.
If the dance were unique or particularly interesting in some way I
would
consider it. But if there were a similar dance with a partner
swing I would
chose that one instead.
-Bronwyn
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