Dance Geek Code Block: Let's do this thing, you guys!

[sorcyress]

Warning: Dance Geekery ahead! Read (and contribute) at your own risk!

So. About a billion years ago, there was a comment thread that led me to scrawl this down in reference to myself: W(+) w wcs C+ R SCD+ ECD.

If you think that looks a bit like a geek code block, congratulations, that's exactly what it is. Except that it's not your standard one that keeps floating around the internet¹, it's my original Dance Geek Code Block and should be parsed as:

Waltz (vintage): good
waltz (modern): capable
west coast swing: capable (and I fucked up, it should be ecs)
Contra: good
Regency: capable
Scottish Country Dance: good
English Country Dance: capable

(and it should be noted that this is from 2008, and slightly before I figured out how good I actually am at dancing in comparison to much of the population. A more recent DGCB³ would have a lot more plusses in it, thankssomuch.)

At any rate, mine was based off of lonebear's, which was W+++ w T t-- ta--- B P Lh++(a+) wcs jive++ mwsd(c3b+) Cx R++s++. The extra things in there should be parsed as:

Tango vintage: capable
tango modern: ick
tango Argentinean: really ick
Blues vintage: capable
Polka vintage: capable
Lindyhop: Very good with ariels good
west coast swing: capable
modern jive: very good
modern western square dance: challenge level 3b and invited to elite dance
Contra: will never dance again
Regency good with snobbery high

Then MagusMarc² chimed in with a suggested scale for Regency, which you can see below

and...nothing else really happened with the project, except that it's kept being on my mind ever since then --every once in a while I try to write down lists of dances or scales or whatever. Because damnit, I think it would be a really fun little project to do, and I would just *love* to have a button with my block to wear at NEFFA or something.

So...here's the deal: I want to make a Dance Geek Code Block. I want help, because I am lazy, and I want advice, because otherwise I will forget things. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, . is to help me with that goal!

The way I see it, there are three main kinds of dance, which would be the three main sections of the block --single dance, couple dance, and set dance. Additionally, there are (at least!) four modifiers that would be required for any given dance form --play music, teach, call, and get paid for a dance.

You can help by pointing out Incredibly Important dance forms that I've missed, or hell, even sections (some international dances are done in circles/groups? Is that a separate thing?), and by providing ideas for ranking systems --generally I'm aiming for a scale of ----- to +++++, such as the Regency one listed above.

Here's what I've got so far:

Universal Modifiers

• $ I get paid for this


• # I call for this


• ! I teach this


• % I play music for this


• p I dance this for performance


• s snobbery


• x I will never dance this again


• X I dance the opposite gender role to my usual presenting gender, or I dance both roles

Specific Thoughts: I'm not convinced on any of these symbols except the $. I do kinda like # for calling (for no real reason), but I'm willing to entertain other symbology for other things.

I'm real shaky on the X symbol --I want something to indicate an ability to both lead and follow, or dance both roles of a dance, I'm not precisely sure what that symbology should be. Perhaps instead of a symbol applicable to any given dance, it could be a universal symbol, to be presented at the beginning or end of the code block? My only problem there is that I know people (myself included) who will happily dance both roles for some dance forms, and only one role for others.

There also needs to be a better symbology for performance, which is not always synonymous with $.

Single Dance

• B Ballet (with modifier p for en pointe)


• BD Bellydancing


• d disco


• hh hip-hop


• j jazz


• s stripping


• t tap


• TWTime Warp

Specific Thoughts: Theoretically, B should be blues (vintage). This is a problem I decided not to worry about much in this initial version, what with the letters overlapping, but I would love suggestions of better letter choices, for anywhere there is overlap.

Couples Dance

• B/b Blues vintage / blues modern


• C Charleston


• FT/ft Foxtrot vintage / foxtrot modern


• Lh(a) Lindyhop (ariels)


• jive modern jive


• OS/os One Step vintage / one step modern


• P/p Polka vintage / polka modern


• msrd Modern Social Round Dancing (Rounds)


• S Schottische


• Ssa(Ru)Salsa(Salsa-Rueda)


• wcs swing: west-coast


• ecs swing: east-coast


• T/t/ta Tango vintage / tango modern / tango Argentinean


• W/w Waltz vintage / waltz modern


• wxs waltz cross-step


• z zwiefacher

Specific Thoughts: I'm not actually sure all of these have both a vintage and modern version, but there you go. In general, and with all the forms, I tried to indicate vintage-type dancing with capital letters, and more modern-type dancing with lowercase.

Also, I don't know if jive is a couples, or sets, or group dance, being as I don't dance it, same with Charleston. For any of these forms, please feel free to call me out if I made an egregious categorization mistake.

As stated above, I'd really love a way to indicate whether one typically leads, follows or both on these dances (though is that getting to be too much information? I don't know. Arg!) --perhaps as simple as including a l/f/b at the end of a rank.

Set Dance

• c contra


• CW Civil War


• ECD English Country Dance


• M Medieval
⁵

• mwsd Modern Western Squares Dance


• R Regency
  

  R+++++ I am Susan de Guardiola.
  R++++  I can dance an 8-bar solo sequence.
  R+++   I can dance the star figure of the Royal Scotch Quadrille.
  R++    I can do figures and steps at the same time.
  R+     I can do figures without getting lost.
  R      I've heard of Regency dancing.
  R-     I get lost dancing a hey.
  R--    I get lost dancing rights & lefts.
  R---   I get lost dancing four hands round and back.
  R----  I turn single.
  R----- I am [name redacted].



• SCD Scottish Country Dance


• V Victorian

Specific Thoughts: mwsd, unlike everything else, shouldn't have a +/- scale, it should have your level, since mwsd, unlike everything else, actually has officially/universally recognized levels. (ie, I should be able to go to any mainstream club in the world, and know all the figures they use)

There's a lot of international dance that I'm not at all familiar with beyond knowing that it exists, hence I haven't done a very good job of including it. Please help me fill in the most major groups.

Group Dance

• Ru Rueda

...whew. I think that's everything I've got right now --I will try to keep an editlog if I get a lot of people offering useful input.

And this is why I consider myself to be a Big Damn Geek about dancing. Hey, I had to earn my demigoddess⁶ status *some*how.

~Sor
MOOP!

1: GM/ED/O(dance) dx-- s--:- a21 C++ W+++ w++ M++ PS++ PE Y+ PGP- t? 5? X? R+ tv- b+++ e++ h+ r+++ z+++**

2: I have been doing this with his name since I met him practically. His handle, everywhere, is marcmagus, but because I refer to him as both Magus and Marc with near even frequency, I tend to reverse it.

3: Written before I wrote down the lists of dance forms, so I could do an even *more* accurate one W++ w wxs++ b P+ OS+ FT+ S+ ecs+ msrd(x) mwsd(m+)⁴ SCD+++ R+++ ECD++ c+++ CW+ V+

4: Okay, technically I don't know any plus level calls, and technically I haven't finished mainstream. Give me to the end of the semester, and this should officially be my ranking.

5: Allegations that this is on here just to annoy SdG (and make my mother smile!) are completely unfounded.

6: Yeeeeears ago, mek declared me to be the Demigoddess of Dance, and if I ever make calling cards in the style of Magus's, that title will most certainly go on there. Some days I think it's a more true thought than others.

EDITS:
20101029 2144: Added TW, Ssa (ru), group dance, Ru

Comments

[lonebear.livejournal.com]

msrd is also leveled. I stopped at 3 :) I even have the Round dance syllabus through level 6 if you want a copy :)

edit1: diff between vintage and modern polka? Is there?

[kdsorceress.livejournal.com]

I have _no interest_ in learning msrd, ever. I'm not really sure what the difference is, where being called moves for squares is awesome and being called moves for a couples dance makes my skin crawl, but I refuse to submit to that.

I don't know if there's a difference between modern and vintage polka! Or indeed, for one-steps or foxtrots as well. I shall have to investigate at some point.

~Sor

[lonebear.livejournal.com]

I stopped Rounds when I started dancing.

[nurrynur.livejournal.com]

I think this project is awesome.

If you have a modifier for calling, and for performing, and for teaching, and for playing music, any of which can earn you $, I think either you should 1) lump them all together in $ or 2) get rid of $ - what would it indicate that isn't already covered in the other symbols?

I think you should reserve ! for "refuse to dance this" - what you are using x for now. ! is refuse to participate in the original Geek Code and I think it would be very confusing to have it mean something totally different in the Dance Code.

Other not-so-humble-opinions:
Use ONLY symbols for modifiers, NOT additional letters. Letters should be reserved to indicate specific dance forms only. or else this gets too confusing too quickly.

There are symbols available that you haven't used. My suggestions:
= I only dance the typical role of my presenting gender
* I only dance the typical role of the OPPOSITE of my presenting gender (SEE NOTE AT BOTTOM)
& I dance both lead and follow
@ snobbery
! refuse to participate
~ performance (or maybe @ for performance and ~ for snobbery. either seems good)

Pluses and minuses should be standardized over all forms - maybe include the Regency-specific things to the side, but something like,

+++++ I am considered the/an authority on this dance form
----- I couldn't dance this dance even if someone else was moving my hands and feet for me.

I think having something akin to a in the geek code (Age) would be good, to indicate how many years you have been dancing. like maybe xpInteger, so, for me, xp2.. But, I don't think it's very important, it's just "fun".


)))NOTE((( Tracy suggested the asterisk for arky when I presented the question as "if you could choose a symbol from the top row of the keyboard to represent something 'weird or opposite', which would you choose?".
His first answer was exclam, but I really really really think you should reserve that for Refuse. So his second choice was the asterisk.

[nurrynur.livejournal.com]

RE: plus and minus rankings for squares.
I still think rankings are appropriate here, because there is a wide range of competency at each level.

So.. how about use the parentheses to indicate the highest level you have learned, or the one you regularly dance at, and then use plus and minus to indicate if you are merely an average dancer at that level or a really good one, or you're not so great.
so for me, I'd have mwsd(A1) because I can dance A1 and I consider myself an average dancer at that level. Or I could do mwsd(P)+.


More thoughts:

Use Ba or Bal for ballet, then you won't have overlap with blues.

what about traditional square dancing? Lots of contra dancers have experience with that, but maybe not modern western.
How about Sq/sq, and your key would indicate that sq is Modern Western.

Drat - you were using ! for teach, now I have to think of another symbol for teaching.. maybe ^ (caret)? or @ for teaching and ^ for snobbery (raised nose?)

(Next step: find someone to make/program a Dance Geek Code Block generator.. and decoder :)

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

How about | for teaching, since it involves passing things on to others? (Yes, I am a computer geek as well as a dance geek.)

[marcmagus]

I agree with you regarding !. I'd be tempted to go for ~ for the opposite gender signifier, since it's often used for bitwise negation (where ! is logical). * would suggest a wildcard; possibly I dance all roles, possibly something else.

I like your suggestion for the top/bottom of the scale. It might be useful to have form-specific guidelines for what that means still (and is consistent with GCB). Of course, this is getting into the useful vs. silly/fun discussion; GCB clearly opted for the latter.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

The thing about calling, teaching, performing, and playing is that they can all be done without pay. For example, I've never been paid for performing SCD or longsword (unless you count entrance to dance festivals or the branch getting paid; I've never seen a dime of cash, though). I have been paid for teaching and playing for SCD, but I've also done plenty of it for free.

[thorog.livejournal.com]

Missing: a number of different forms of latin (rumba, cha, bachata, zouk, merengue) and their ballroom equivalents. Also, jive is couples, and completely different to modern jive. Plenty of other swing styles here too.

Like everything else, a geek code block quickly disintegrates into any number of subdivisions. The folks who like salsa will start bitching that you don't have any method of indicating whether you're talking about linear or the other one.

Bitch, bitch, moan, dick joke, etc.

[lyrwen.livejournal.com]

Disreagard that, he sucks cocks.

[lyrwen.livejournal.com]

S P E L L O A R S T I N G SPELLORARING yes

Plus/minuses suggestions?

[nurrynur.livejournal.com]

5 pluses: I am regarded as an authority / expert of this dance form
4 pluses: I would be able to, or do, teach this dance well enough to get paid for it
3 pluses: I regularly and successfully help others.
2 pluses: I am proficient in this dance.
1 plus: I can dance this, and I even do it well.
no +/- : Basic competency -- I can dance this.
1 minus: I can dance this, but I'm not good at it.
2 minus: I need a lot more practice
3 minus: I'm still learning this dance form.
4 minus: I've heard of it, and want to learn it.
5 minus: When I show up, I'm asked to leave the hall.

[gravitrue.livejournal.com]

Bal for Ballet would collide with Balboa. In the mutant crossover department, NYC seems to be growing a SwingBal scene, SwingGoth is now bicoastal, and I often dance 4-count at Swing dances, which isn't a form so much as a blues dancer who doesn't triple-step faking it. Contact Improv, Israeli Folk, Russian Folk... did you get the full Latin set? (A quick skim doesn't reveal Rhumba or Cha-Cha).

I'm sure there must be multiple social dance taxonomies around.

You're going to run out of modifiers; reserve a character for use as an extension designator. And always include a version number. Always.

Print the code blocks as QR codes. Wear around as buttons and t-shirts. Then surveillance cameras can trigger an alert system. "ATTENTION OCCUPANTS! You have fifteen polka dancers! Music will deploy in a five-and-a-four-and-a-three..."

By vintage blues do you mean slow drag, black bottom, cakewalk?

For international stuff, of which I am quite sure there must be thousands of forms, you could try latitude, longitude, year, social class.

And why the heck have I still not seen you at Blues Union? Or even MIT Swing?

[dhs.livejournal.com]

Then surveillance cameras can trigger an alert system. "ATTENTION OCCUPANTS! You have fifteen polka dancers! Music will deploy in a five-and-a-four-and-a-three..."


*snerk*

But really, we have too much data here for printing on buttons. The thing to do is encode it in high-capacity RFID widgets.

[netpositive.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I see this... and it makes me afraid to dance with anyone.

[olszowka.livejournal.com]

If you want to pursue this thoroughly, there are quite a few dance forms and other details you need to add.

1) Traditional squares include Western (not MWSD), Southern, and New England
2) Polka done at Polish-American festivals is not the same as polka done at vintage intsa polka done at IFD
3) Dance forms done regularly in the Boston area that I don't see on your list include
a) International Folk Dance (IFD)
b) Balkan
c) Bulgarian
d) Greek
e) Armenian
f) Scandanavian
g) Springar
h) Polish (traditional)
i) Polish (contemporary American)
j) Colonial (ancestor of contra)
k) Breton
(oops, you already said zweifacher)
m) Croatian
n) Cajun
o) Zydeco
p) Irish Step
q) Scottish ladies step
r) Highland
s) Morris - Cotswold
t) Morris - Border
u) Rapper
v) Longsword
w) English clogging - garland
4) The distinction between ECS and LH. Most advanced dancers incorporate elements of both within a single dance.
5) In fact, morris dance geeks would want a system for encoding each of those traditions they know. A sample list includes Fieldtown, Bampton, Litchfield, Minneapolis, Ducklington, Oddington, ...

[mogwit.livejournal.com]

x) Morris - Northwest
y) English clog
z) English Lancashire heel-and-toe
aa) English waltz clog
ab) French Canadian step dancing
ac) French Canadian waltz clog
...and more I'm forgetting right now.

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

ad) Cape Breton step
ae) Romanian
af) French
ag) Italian
ah) Israeli

(The last four all fall under IFD, though Israeli (at least) also has groups of its own in the Boston area (and, confusingly, is also abbreviated IFD).)

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Also, categorizations of many of those (assuming that things done in circles, lines, etc. count as group):

a) assorted
b) group
c) group
d) group
e) group?
f) couple

j) set
k) group
m) group

o) couple?
p) individual
q) individual
r) individual
s) set* (but there are also dances that aren't really done in sets, more like individual but usually more than one person at a time -- I think mostly jigs? Someone who actually does Morris can speak up.)
t) set*
u) group*
v) group*
w) set*
x) set*
y) individual?
z) individual?
aa) individual
ab) individual?
ac) individual?
ad) individual
ae) group
af) group/set?
ag) group/set (depends on the dance; might depend on the region of Italy; possibly the same for French)
ah) group (but I think there might be some couple dances, too)

Oh, and a couple more:
ai) Molly - set*
aj) Balinese - individual

A quick glance at this year's NEFFA schedule reveals quite a few more, particularly non-European ones. Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_dance_style_categories , though that page needs a lot of work (ECD is a performance style?).

* or performance, pending a decision on the classification divisions.

[mogwit.livejournal.com]

I would argue for calling it "performance dance" instead of "single dance." I dance morris (and other performance-oriented (sometimes reconstructed) traditional Anglo folk dance), and it's done in a set, but it's not a set dance as you've categorized it.
I see the potential for this to get enormous and out of control. Good luck?

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

The question is, does doing it in a bar or club in a non-organized capacity still count as performance? There are a number of forms that are commonly done like that, e.g. disco and Cape Breton step, and a number of others that can be or originated that way. And then, the question is whether to categorize based on the form of the dancing or the context. The distinction between couple, set, and group is purely one of form, since all of those are done in a social context.

[mogwit.livejournal.com]

I think so - I know most step-dancing developed for entertaiment/show-off purposes, and i think flashy disco moves are totally performance. As for how to categorize, I have no idea. I'm glad I am not running this project - taxonomies overwhelm me.

[mneme]

Ok, I'll say it; there's no (or almost no) reconstructed medieval dance. There is renn dance, which can be very loosely divided into Inns of Court, 15th C Italian, 16th C Italian, Gresley dances (15th century English), 16th C french dances, and probably some categories I've forgotten or combined.

Most Renn dance is performance dance (but usually performed by couples or small sets); later period dance does include some set or circle dances (bransles being probably the best example of a circle dance).

Also, yeah, good luck. :) I'd hesitate to describe myself as R+++, though I'm clearly that or higher on your chart. :)

[tirerim.livejournal.com]

Oh, and here's a first crack at an example for me, incorporating most of the suggestions below, and making up designations for things as appropriate:

Bal TW++ Hi+ CB S P+ W w++(&) wxs+ c+++(&++) CW+ ECD+++&%$ R++ SCD++++&|$%$@ ls++@ IFD+

Parse:
Ballet: capable
Time Warp: proficient
Highland: good
Cape Breton: capable
Schottische: capable
Vintage Polka: good
Vintage Waltz: capable
Modern Waltz: proficient (capable at opposite gender role)
Cross-step Waltz: good
Contra: very good (proficient at opposite gender role)
Civil War: good
English Country Dance: very good, both gender roles, paid for music
Regency: proficient
Scottish Country Dance: excellent, both gender roles, paid for teaching, paid for music, dance for performance
Longsword: proficient, dance for performance
International Folk Dance: good

I'm just going to keep thinking of these

[mogwit.livejournal.com]

Appalachian clog
Appalachian flatfoot