tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post5519463828595898239..comments2023-06-16T16:08:23.446+01:00Comments on Edinburgh Housewife: Further Thoughts on Acceptance and Exclusion in DanceMrs McLeanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-3036475733311497112015-09-25T09:45:36.590+01:002015-09-25T09:45:36.590+01:00I am so heartened by these shared experiences. The...I am so heartened by these shared experiences. The funny thing--or the thing that gives me the most hope--is that one of the kindest, sweetest women I know is a swing-dance A-Lister in Montreal. Also, it must be said that there are three A-Listers in my town who do indeed give me the time of day--two gals, one gent--possibly because they are unusually friendly people. Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-39657396623783437112015-09-25T09:39:58.073+01:002015-09-25T09:39:58.073+01:00Eeek, I could not listen to "Shake, Rattle an...Eeek, I could not listen to "Shake, Rattle and Roll" over and over again myself. My sympathies! I am not a rockabilly gal. Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-6353504791330738642015-09-25T06:15:05.723+01:002015-09-25T06:15:05.723+01:00I have been swing dancing for years--decades, now,...I have been swing dancing for years--decades, now, actually--and I too got frustrated by the "scene." I finally concluded that it was a re-enactment of high school and that I was happiest with my own favorite partners, who generally were not A-listers but were fun to dance with, and ignoring the snooty (or shy?) A-listers. I am an advanced dancer but still have nights like the one you described. How well a night goes depends on the dance, the city, the occasion, the teacher affiliated with the dance/practice, the ratio of men to women, and like you said, my starting emotional state. It's a complex formula. If I didn't absolutely love swing dancing I'd have quit long ago, for sure. One thing I love about it is that when I travel (invariably alone), it's a great & safe way to get out and meet people. wordgirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-1071433726210703612015-09-24T23:41:45.619+01:002015-09-24T23:41:45.619+01:00That is a great song. I'd never heard it. I wa...That is a great song. I'd never heard it. I was thinking of "Shake, Rattle and Roll," which I always misname. It's a good song, I just got tired of it. I like big band and jazz myself, but no matter what the sound is, I get bored quickly with particular songs.<br /><br />The Big Bill Turner version is terrific https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Feq_Nt3nM, but my club always played the Bill Haley one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B7xr_EjbzE. It is also good, but after hearing it every week for a whole summer, I was over it.sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-55378982949123256682015-09-24T19:48:39.053+01:002015-09-24T19:48:39.053+01:00I sigh. I just have never come across group dynami...I sigh. I just have never come across group dynamics like this for YEARS.Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-25955209868562240782015-09-24T16:06:32.362+01:002015-09-24T16:06:32.362+01:00Woot! If this is it, I haven't heard it before...Woot! If this is it, I haven't heard it before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz76X2Kvovk<br /><br />If I never hear again our special song for Well-Established People having a birthday or going away, I will be okay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1gfZwejPv8 <br /><br />However, I have always loved Big Band and other dance jazz, and nothing has killed it yet. I think I must have grown up with it--I suspect a strong grandmotherly influence, plus Elwy Yost and his show "Magic Shadows" on TVO, which every person my age or older born in Ontario can tell you about.Mrs McLeanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18095035617334068201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-28693794018563260922015-09-24T15:57:49.734+01:002015-09-24T15:57:49.734+01:00What you have described is exactly my experience, ...What you have described is exactly my experience, although with social ballroom/Latin instead of swing. Tonight was a good class, although the social after was a little small - none of the 'regulars' asked me to dance - they were all busy dancing with girls who have recently started classes. But the saving grace was that they put on 'progressive' dances, where during the course of the dance you are continually changing partners as you go round the circle. This is great because you at least get to say hello to everyone and it breaks up some guys who NEVER change partners.. (If they never changed while dancing with me, that would be a different story.. ) Yet despite all this, I still love dancing and the better I get the more I enjoy it. I admit to not trying very hard to make friends with the 'in' group, because, quite frankly, I doubt we would ever have more in common than a love of the Mayfair Quickstep. You could say my trials are partly of my own choosing...Clarenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-670426779858438488.post-2017365136861371472015-09-24T14:14:55.034+01:002015-09-24T14:14:55.034+01:00Contra dancing is more open to beginners because e...Contra dancing is more open to beginners because everyone just lines up however.<br /><br />I was one of the people who dropped swing because of the obnoxious social aspects. That, and because the music got boring for me after one summer. There's only so many times I can act like "One eyed cat" is a fun, exciting song I just heard for the first time. sciencegirlnoreply@blogger.com