On 1/3/2013 8:21 AM, Aahz Maruch wrote:
On Thu, Jan 03, 2013, Alan Winston wrote:
I don't think you need this for the argument; there were flourishes
when I started contra dancing in 1985 (but we called the people who
did them "hot-doggers" and complained about them).
Which "we" are you talking about?
I'm one of them. It's possible to flourish responsibly, but that is
often not the case. At the Berkeley dance last night I saw a couple of
overenthusiastic dippers/lifters smack people in adjacent lines with
parts of their partners, and more than once heard a surprised partner or
neighbor shriek as she was dipped or lifted in ways she wasn't prepared
for. You really don't want folks getting airborne in a crowded hall.
It's just not cool. I've danced many times with partners who decided
that I was by god going to twirl 4 or 5 times, and it turned into a bit
of a battle to keep my arm (and the speed) down. I've also danced with
women who were weirdly insistent on getting twirled, a lot, all the
time. When I dance the gent's part I'm pretty basic. I get my partners
where they need to be, on time and facing the right way, but I don't do
anything fancy. Flourishes can be really fun to do and cool to watch,
but only if the folks doing them are exceptionally careful with their
awareness of the dancers around them, and respectful of whether the
folks they're dancing with _want_ to do the fancy stuff.
OK, I'm done ranting now.
Kalia
