I like to say, at the end of a dance and moving on to the next one, "Ask someone else to dance... Or let them ask you!"
Ben Allbrandt ---- James Saxe via Callers <[email protected]> wrote: > I like to say things to promote the custom of frequent partner > changes. So after a dance, I would say at least > > Thank your partner and find a partner for the next contra > [or "... for a waltz" or whatever is next]. > > and more likely > > ... and find someone new for ... > > or > > ... switch around ... > > and perhaps at some point early in the evening > > ... and as usual [or "as is our custom"*] find someone new ... > > [*When I first heard "as is our custom" said by Ted Sannella, it > struck me that by injecting those four words, said in a relaxed > tone and taking about two seconds to say, he'd gotten the point > across as effectively, and far more pleasantly, than somebody could > with a two-minute harangue on the subject.] > > To be clear, if I see some dancers (new or experienced) who came as > a couple and seem glued together, I will not by any means attempt > to *pressure* them to separate and dance with different partners. > But I do want to empower people to feel comfortable mingling. In > particular, I don't want dancers who are new and unfamiliar with > the prevailing customs to have the agony of wondering > > "If I don't keep this partner for the next dance, will (s)he > think I didn't like dancing with her/him?" > > or conversely > > "My partner just thanked me and then ran off to dance with > someone else. Did I do something wrong?" > > Also, if new dancers are worried about imposing their klutziness on > experienced dancers, they will perhaps be less timid about making > or accepting an offer to dance if they understand that it's only > expected to be for one dance. > > And finally, if someone asks a member of one of those glued-together > couples for a dance, I hope that even if they say "No", awareness > that most people are mingling will keep them from being affronted > by the invitation. > > --Jim > > On Oct 31, 2016, at 7:28 AM, Ron Blechner wrote: > > I'd like to hear some examples of things you as a caller (or you as an > > organizer encouraging callers) say on the mic during a dance to promote > > positive dance values. > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.sharedweight.net/listinfo.cgi/callers-sharedweight.net
