Our community here in Tri Cities, WA, surveyed our dance community at the end of 2021 in preparation to begin dancing again in 2022. The majority of the community did not reply. Of those that did, about 50% preferred restrictions & 50% preferred no restrictions. Of those respondents 70% said they would dance regardless of policy, as they would take the precautions they needed to feel safe. We talked about alternating dances, restrictions one month and non restrictions the next.
We ended up having 6 dances over the course of the year. The first with Vaccine requirements with masks optional - one line for masked and one line for those not wearing a mask. What we found is the majority danced in the unmasked line. Since our bands and callers were willing to play and call with no restrictions, the following month we held a dance with no restrictions, had masks and gloves available and went from there. The remaining dances had no restrictions - except that they were symptom free. We always had masks, gloves and hand sanitizer available. We had people sign in with their email addresses and sent an email out a couple days after each dance to ask anyone with symptoms to test and let us know results so we could anonymously inform the rest of the dancers . Only one dance did we have anyone become sick and that was the day after, and they tested negative and were better within a day or two. So of those dances, we had no reports of Covid contracted as a result of the dance. So for our community, this worked. Out of concern for those that may not be attending because of lack of restrictions, we sent out a message asking them to let us know if they weren't coming due to lack of restrictions, that we were wanting to accomodate all and willing to host restricted dances and received no reply. Our dances prior to Covid were minimally attended, and the numbers remained the same when we started again in 2022 with no restrictions. Joe, I agree with many of your perspectives, but I also respect the perspectives of others that differ. I'm with those who spoke about listening to what your community wants and needs. If you have a contingent that wants dances without restrictions, is it possible that they be given the opportunity to coordinate a dance if they can find bands and callers willing, while keeping the dances with restrictions for those that need/want them in place as well? It seems to me we can work together meeting the needs/desires of all if resources and people are available and willing. Or not? Anyway, I just thought I'd put my 2 cents out there. Best to all! Terri On Tue, Jan 3, 2023 at 3:21 PM Joe Harrington via Organizers < organizers@lists.sharedweight.net> wrote: > While I'm happy to comply with any COVID policy in order to dance, and I > choose to wear a mask at bigger events, I question whether the contra > communities' strict policies are doing us much good, either in protecting > us medically or in getting dances going again. Consider: > > 1. Even in the most restricted states (New England, etc.), nearly everyone > is maskless nearly all the time in normal life, including most dancers. > People eat in very crowded restaurants, ride public transportation, fly on > airplanes, sit in airports, go shopping, work, attend school, do sports, go > to the gym, sing, interact with friends and family members who have been > out in the community maskless, etc., mostly without masks. > > 2. As a result of #1, covid is spreading quite effectively in our > communities, even if a few groups are still masking. > > 3. As a result of #2, protocols at a dance cannot much alter community > spread rates, even if the dance spread rate were zero. > > But, this isn't concerning most people because: > > 4. Vaccines do keep nearly every infected person out of the hospital and > reduce long covid. > > 5. For those going to the hospital or suspected to be at risk, monoclonal > and other treatments are quite effective. > > 6. As a result, the mortality of covid-19 is now down to three times that > of a bad flu season, which is way down from the mass carnage of 2020. > > It is questionable what anything but masking is doing for us: > > 7. Unmasked contra dancing, even with a vaccine and negative test, does > lead to rapid covid spread. Several camps in summer 2022 had 50+ infected > dancers, even though they were all vaccinated and all had tested negative > on arrival. The incubation period and false-negative rate are enough to > allow one or two cases through, and the vaccine no longer keeps you from > getting it, it just dramatically reduces severity. > > Since: > > 8. Even in the most conservative, vaccine-averse Southern communities, > 90+% of contra dancers at big events say they are vaccinated (per survey at > Summer Contradancers Delight Holiday in Tennessee). > > 9. Choosing to wear a mask remains an option for everyone, and is quite > effective at keeping the wearer healthy, though it is not foolproof (but > neither is life). > > And: > > 10. People have options for recreational and social activities, and many > are choosing those with fewer or no restrictions, especially young people > who don't have much personal risk from covid. > > 11. Essentially all other organized dance communities besides > contra/English/etc. are dancing without restrictions on a national level, > and have been since early 2022: Square, swing, blues, ballroom, salsa, > tango, etc. > > It may therefore be time for communities to reconsider absolute > restrictions, and instead encourage vaccination and mask-wearing as > effective ways to stop the spread of diseases like covid, but also the flu, > RSV, and other pathogens. > > People can still (and I do) choose to wear masks if they are concerned > about getting covid. The idea of reducing spread at dances would be a good > one if the rest of society were playing along. But, it isn't. When I was a > teen, I boycotted China. China didn't change. > > Communities with a large component of at-risk dancers who mask in general > life and who are vaccinated may wish to continue requiring vax+mask. In > areas with many dancers, two dances, one requiring masks and one > mask-optional, may make the most sense. > > I am especially concerned at the reduced percentage of younger dancers I > have seen at recent events. While it seemed, prepandemic, that there was a > nascent resurgence in the popularity of contra among the current > twentysomethings, few of the young dancers I used to see are showing up to > dances post-covid. When I go to swing and blues, there are lots of younger > dancers. I am certain that if we required masks at my college contra > dance, students would just go to ballroom, salsa, or swing. > > If we want to get contra going again, and especially if we want to attract > many new younger dancers, who are not worried that getting covid represents > a big risk to them and who have plenty of unrestricted options in > recreational activities, perhaps it's time not to ask, "does this policy > stop covid from transmitting at our dance," but rather, "does this policy > significantly lower the total covid risk our dancers face?" > > I argue that strict policies no longer do that, given our behavior in > society. Nonetheless, those of us who are concerned can still choose to > reduce our own risk substantially by being vaccinated and wearing a > well-fitting KN95 or better mask whenever we are in a crowd, including at > dances, without requiring it of others. I do. > > Thanks, > > --jh-- > Joe Harrington > Organizer, Greater Orlando Contra Dance > Faculty Advisor, Contra Knights, the UCF contra dancing club > contraknights.org > FB, Ig: Contra Knights > contradancer...@gmail.com > > _______________________________________________ > Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net > To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net >
_______________________________________________ Organizers mailing list -- organizers@lists.sharedweight.net To unsubscribe send an email to organizers-le...@lists.sharedweight.net
