While you're at it you can make them eat Brussels sprouts and bring a white board so you can give a calculus lesson. Both good things that everyone should be into.
On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 1:33 PM, Dave Casserly <david.j.casse...@gmail.com>wrote: > If men in the UK are so uncomfortable touching another man that they don't > want to swing (which is, in its essence, simply placing one hand on the > man's back and one on a hand, not exactly an intimate embrace), that is > unacceptably homophobic. I know there are some on this list who don't > agree that callers have any part in "social engineering" or letting our > calling reflect our values as humans, but personally, if I were asked to > call a dance where the men were that afraid of touching each other, I would > have no problem with challenging their perceptions by asking them to swing > with each other (obviously there are some people afraid of touching other > people for other reasons, but in that case, their fear isn't gendered). In > that situation, a little "stress" is appropriate; I have no problem with > causing homophobic people some minor stress when it's their own awful views > that lead to their stress. > > I'm not a big fan of Galway swings. I like to standard, ballroom-position > contra swing, which is quite easily learned from either position once you > know how to share weight and buzz-step. Galway swings seem to tend towards > people trying to swing as fast as possible, rather than form a real > connection and dance with their partner. > > -Dave > > > On Wed, Apr 10, 2013 at 10:25 AM, John Sweeney <i...@contrafusion.co.uk > >wrote: > > > There have been suggestions that same-gender interaction can be > > stressful. In my experience this is especially true with men in the UK. > > > > Someone said "My impression is that most urban contra environments have > > at least a few people who swap genders". This may be true in the USA, > > and lots of ladies in the UK do take the man's role where numbers are > > not balanced. But very few UK men take the lady's role on a regular > > basis. > > > > When I do I often find that other men appear to be uncomfortable with a > > close-hold swing. I normally now go for a Galway Swing when I meet > > another man for a swing: Start with an Allemande Right hold, hook your > > left fingers around the other man's right elbow and buzz-step - makes > > for a great symmetrical swing. > > > > Here is a dance that uses it to give same-gender swings without stress: > > > > Galway Swing (by John Sweeney) > > Contra; Improper > > > > A1: Men Galway Swing > > Partner Gypsy to an Ocean Wave (Men in the middle with Left > > hands) > > A2: Balance the Wave (R/L); Slide to the Right (Rory O'More) > > Ladies Galway Swing > > B1: Neighbour Gypsy Meltdown into a Swing > > A2: Long Lines Go Forward & Back > > A2: Half Hey (Ladies start Right Shoulder) - Men look for a new Man > > after passing Right Shoulders with the old Man > > > > The main challenge is stopping your swing at the right point so you can > > flow into the gypsy - plan ahead! > > > > > > Happy dancing, > > John > > > > John Sweeney, Dancer, England j...@modernjive.com 01233 625 362 > > http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Callers mailing list > > call...@sharedweight.net > > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers > > > > > > -- > David Casserly > (cell) 781 258-2761 > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > call...@sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers >
