My apologies for my absence. I have been engaged in another project. More on that later.
Thank you Chrissy for your articulate outward expression of critical thoughts about my comments concerning the importance of live music at contra dances. As callers, we need to place a high value on criticism and feedback. You certainly did so and I, for one, appreciate and applaud your frank and direct critique. We need more of that on this list. Without the freedom for all of us to express our views--no matter how foreign or controversial--the exchange of ideas will become tepid and unproductive. I certainly do not come here merely to get support and encouragement. We need that, of course, but I would hope we can respect each other for holding divergent views.
As you point out I was, perhaps, insular and judgmental in my comments about recorded music. I am sorry if I offended anyone who works with recorded music. This is a skill that I have little exposure to. I have seen a club-style square dance caller work with recorded music and his performance was anything but "shabby."
Regardless of my respect for that art I have never been inclined to personally develop those skills and this is, to a great extent, an outgrowth of my love of live music. Most of us are fortunate to have a large number of talented musicians in our area and I have simply never felt the need to call or attend dances done to recorded music.
Apparently there is a consensus here that calling to live music, when possible, is the best possible configuration--both for the caller and for the dancers. With this in mind I hope we can work together toward making this experience as widely available as possible. At the same time we can work toward greater support and better pay for both callers and musicians. I see these goals as entirely compatible.
Thank you for reminding me that while we, as callers, share a set of perspectives and skills our personal reasons for practicing this art form are often very different. We have different talents and widely divergent ideas about what the job of the caller is and even the purpose of the dance form itself.
I would like to hear your thoughts on "Dance as Social Change Agent." Callers function simultaneously both as holders of tradition and as agents of change. As agents of change we are necessarily committed to improving the dance form, and the society. That starts with our recognition that there is room for improvement, and that recognition demands that we be "critical" of the current state of affairs. I hope that we can all recognize that criticism is necessary for the evolution of calling itself and endeavor to accept personal criticism as an inherent part of the art of calling.
I look forward to spirited conversations about many other issues.
