Solid B. As a dancer I love them. They happen so rarely that they’re a
treat. Are there really all that many people I actively DON’T want a swing
with? No.

Sure, I enjoy swinging with some more than others. But, I probably do 50x
as many “service dances” (as in, no, I didn’t really want to dance with
that person, but someone needs to, because we are an inclusive community,
and I didn’t have the heart to say no) as shadow swings. By stats, the
shadow swing will be much better than a service dance. Maybe I get one or
two shadow swings a year, vs. several service dances a night.

I’m just speaking my own thoughts about my personal dance experience, here,
and not saying others need to apply the same logic to themselves.

—jh—


On Wed, Jul 17, 2024 at 1:07 PM Gabrielle Taylor via Contra Callers <
[email protected]> wrote:

> I recently danced in two dances with shadow swings, one at NEFFA and one
> at the experienced ("zesty") dance in Boulder, CO. In both dances, it
> seemed like spending so much time with the shadow wound up making dancers
> more confused, since if anyone got switched around then the dancers would
> worry about finding their original shadow. Getting switched around is
> especially common with experienced dances nowadays, since many dancers will
> swap roles with their partners, and of course there's just the risk of
> someone messing up. In addition, there's the concern that others brought
> up, where it's a lot of interaction throughout the dance with a partner
> that you didn't choose.
>
> I'd personally stay away from them, unless you have an _extremely_
> confident group of dancers or the dance just really needs the swing there.
>
> Thanks,
> Gabrielle Taylor
>
> On Jul 17, 2024, at 08:39, Maia McCormick via Contra Callers <
> [email protected]> wrote:
>
> Prompted by some recent conversations, I’m curious how folks here feel
> about shadow swings!
>
> 1. As a caller, do you:
> A) not have an issue with shadow swings, and program them freely
> B) not tend to program them just bc they don’t come up in your repertoire,
> but have no issue with them
> C) not program shadow swings as a matter of principle
> D) some secret fourth thing (feel free to elaborate!)?
>
> 2. How do you feel about shadow swings as a dancer?
>
> Will weigh in with my thoughts later, both to avoid biasing the
> conversation from the outset, and also because I’m currently in transit 😅
>
> Thanks for participating in the data gathering!
>
> Cheers,
> Maia
>
> --
> Maia McCormick (she/her)
> 917.279.8194
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