[MWSD] Chesapeake Squares
Oct. 6th, 2004 01:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jbsegalI went up to Baltimore to dance with Chesapeake Squares tonight. Their caller is Dayle Hodge.
It was an interesting night. They're a gay club, with a (generous) 2 hour dace time that covers Mainstream through (combined) Advanced. There were 2 MS squares and one+ for Plus and A2.
The night went (more or less): Dancer's Choice (plus tonight), MS, A, Plus (I think - this tip might not actually have occur, MS, Short A, MS (tag-team called by the 2 callers in training of the club, with Dayle watching over them, mic-in-hand to pull their bacon out of the fire if needed), 'hot hash' MS (IE: calling as fast as the calls can be done - faster than Callerlab's suggested beat count, allowing for as little space between them as possible.
I danced arky for most of the MS/Plus and Man for the A tips.
My A is still nowhere near what it should be. My arky MS/Plus is pretty good, but is still susceptible to: the occasional slide through failure, a likelihood of allemanding left to my partner rather than my corner, and more vulnerable to weakness in the square than when I'm dancing 'normal'.
This was a much touchier (in the touchy-feelie sense) club than the Minnesota Wild Roses (see an entry about them sometime in Mid-March)... each tip ended with a group Thank You (cross-armed in and out)(as opposed to the Tech out-only) FOLLOWED by a whole series of one-on-one hugs... about 20% of the time, a front-back couple (what's the term?) in a square awaiting further calls (while, say, the other square cleans themselves up), there'd be some sort of flirtatious contact.
I can't say it was all unpleasant, though there were few people there I found attractive. There were times it was a bit over the top, but I gather that the club culture is fine with that. I completely understand why Tech isn't that way, though I can't really say I'd be upset if it had more of it; I know that many would be, though, including the 'Tute, and I'm fine with it being different that way from most of the other social circles I hang out in.
My caller list has been appropriately updated.
(Oh! One of the dancers there went one of the Boston Uncommons fly-ins and expressed dismay that Tech wasn't a gay club and thus that the Tech dancers there were less likely to be appropriate flirtation targets. :)
It was an interesting night. They're a gay club, with a (generous) 2 hour dace time that covers Mainstream through (combined) Advanced. There were 2 MS squares and one+ for Plus and A2.
The night went (more or less): Dancer's Choice (plus tonight), MS, A, Plus (I think - this tip might not actually have occur, MS, Short A, MS (tag-team called by the 2 callers in training of the club, with Dayle watching over them, mic-in-hand to pull their bacon out of the fire if needed), 'hot hash' MS (IE: calling as fast as the calls can be done - faster than Callerlab's suggested beat count, allowing for as little space between them as possible.
I danced arky for most of the MS/Plus and Man for the A tips.
My A is still nowhere near what it should be. My arky MS/Plus is pretty good, but is still susceptible to: the occasional slide through failure, a likelihood of allemanding left to my partner rather than my corner, and more vulnerable to weakness in the square than when I'm dancing 'normal'.
This was a much touchier (in the touchy-feelie sense) club than the Minnesota Wild Roses (see an entry about them sometime in Mid-March)... each tip ended with a group Thank You (cross-armed in and out)(as opposed to the Tech out-only) FOLLOWED by a whole series of one-on-one hugs... about 20% of the time, a front-back couple (what's the term?) in a square awaiting further calls (while, say, the other square cleans themselves up), there'd be some sort of flirtatious contact.
I can't say it was all unpleasant, though there were few people there I found attractive. There were times it was a bit over the top, but I gather that the club culture is fine with that. I completely understand why Tech isn't that way, though I can't really say I'd be upset if it had more of it; I know that many would be, though, including the 'Tute, and I'm fine with it being different that way from most of the other social circles I hang out in.
My caller list has been appropriately updated.
(Oh! One of the dancers there went one of the Boston Uncommons fly-ins and expressed dismay that Tech wasn't a gay club and thus that the Tech dancers there were less likely to be appropriate flirtation targets. :)
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no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 12:47 am (UTC)More seriously, there was some pressure a little bit ago, I think for multiple years running, for Tech Squares to be listed as a gay group in some national directory of gay square dancing. Some member of the group running the directory (who happened to know a very little about Tech Squares) contacted us and leaned on us to register as a gay group on the theory that we were gay-friendly and not old people and that was good enough. Everyone I talked to was not in favor of being listed as a gay group, and was mildly irritated at the amount of pressure being brought to bear; everyone felt that while we were perfectly happy to be gay-friendly, gay culture was not a cornerstone of Tech Squares, and therefore saying we were a gay club for the purpose of advertising or filling out a roster was really inappropriate.
a front-back couple (what's the term?)
Do you mean a tandem? Like in a completed double pass thru?
In terms of club culture, it sounds pretty similar to the Uncommons, and sounds like descriptions I've heard of other gay clubs. For whatever that's worth. :)
And I have completely lost the ability to slide thru since I've started really dancing arky. :)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 07:34 am (UTC)I've danced at Puddletown Dancers, a gay club in Seattle, and while I remember them as being touchy-feely as a group, by and large that flirtatiousness didn't extend to me. (Then again, my obliviousness to being flirted with is well-known.)
no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 09:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 09:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 09:52 am (UTC)Long answer includes the fact that I should talk less in public, learn to keep things to myself and deal with them quietly, I would also get bent out of shape if someone attractive flirted with me under certain conditions (probably a subset of those an unattractive flirter would trigger), broken | differently calibrated feedback loops, building up to situations, whether or not I'm in Rome or not.
I'm willing to dive into details of the long answer if you want, but am trying to turn over some new leaves, so won't here.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 09:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 09:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 10:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 11:17 am (UTC)I don't do it, but I like it. I also like the challenge of keeping "sane" in a square with lots of the goofing off happening around, and trying to keep going despite the distractions/changes/etc.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 11:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 12:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 12:26 pm (UTC)Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2004-10-06 12:32 pm (UTC)<hint>ASL</hint>
wow
Date: 2004-10-07 07:45 am (UTC)Re: wow
Date: 2004-10-07 09:27 pm (UTC)Where do you dance, and when? (I've got Tuesday off this week and next, and Monday after next available, too.)
Re: wow
Date: 2004-10-08 05:38 am (UTC)we'll talk on sunday.