Hosting a regular dance
Feb. 26th, 2012 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sorcyressSo here's the thing. I was talking at it some with Nurit and Tracy over second breakfast, and it has reawkanened my urge to actually _do_ this thing. So let's talk about this thing and see if it gets anywhere good.
I want to host a regular dance night. This would be a chance to do quote "the kinds of dances I like, in the ways I like." unquote. It would probably happen once or twice a month, depending on money and time. Gender would be strictly uncoupled from role. You wouldn't have to bring a partner. The dancing would be both set stuff (SCD, vintage, contra, squares?) and couples stuff (waltzing, polkas, one-steps, swing). The secret project name1 for this idea is Oella North2.
1: I enjoy giving names to secret projects. I almost never use these names publicly (despite the fact that I could), but I do enjoy having them.
2: Oella prime would, of course, be the bi-monthly dancing that happens at the Westchester Community Center in Oella Maryland or something. It is run by Larry, largely because he wanted a space to do the sorts of dancing he enjoys mot, in the ways he likes. It's the best thing ever, despite being very very small, and I miss it dearly.
In a perfect world, I would be able to find a space that would fit...let's say ten couples or three squares/SCD sets. It wouldn't cost more than about 150$ for four hours (which would probably be no more than three hours of dancing with some time before and after for set-up and socializing). It would be T accessible, and on my side of the Charles River. In a really perfect world I would have a better job, and be able to just pay for this space once a month without worrying about if the donations hat3 got enough money to cover it.
3: Which is to say, I would be hoping for/expecting people to toss me some money, which I would then use to host more dances or buy delicious food or whatever.
Now, there is a space on the fourth floor of Porter Exchange that is perfect in size and location. I need to find out if I can rent it, how much it costs, and if there are alumni advantages, because I really want to do this. If I can't rent that space, I want to find out if there's another good place that would meet my semi-arbitrary parameters. And then comes the hard part.
The hard part is planning dances. My general theory is that they'd start as...not private, but not exactly largely announced, either. I would invite a bunch of friends, and welcome them to invite other friends, but I wouldn't be making announcements at other dances, or passing out flyers.
The dances that would happen would be, officially, an assortment of things I liked. It would depend who would be around to dance with me, but I would be encouraging/hoping for doing some more challenging figures and applications. There would be a fair amount of waltzing, and polkas.
I would like it a lot if there could be teaching --I could do some, cross-step waltz4, some Scottish Country5, maybe some Regency, a little bit of one-step or polkas...but that's it. Swing, blues, contra, squares, lindy, ECD, international, flailing...all of those would have to have other people be willing to come in and teach.
4: Although I don't know a ton of variations, so that would be frequent harassment of Susan de Gardiola and perusal of YouToobs.
5: Except I'm not certified to teach, and I don't know if that means the RSCDS6 will send its goons out to kneecap me. I don't want to be kneecapped!
6: Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Or we could just play the music and let people go for it. But honestly, I want to have teaching. Especially as part of the genesis for this is the idea of having a space to do Scottish Country where no one cares about your gender or who you're dancing with. I love the Springstep class, but man, it is upsettingly heteronormative sometimes. I want to be able to dance as a gent with an male person as my lady, and they simply won't let me ("think of the newbies!").
Regardless of how much teaching actually goes on, I don't think it'd be suggested as a group friendly to complete dance beginners. If you don't get the fundamentals of moving yourself to a rhythm, giving weight, and not crushing your partners' hands...maybe you should dance somewhere else for a bit.
I think I'm about done babbling for now, so I'd love to hear thoughts if anyone has them.
I want to host a regular dance night. This would be a chance to do quote "the kinds of dances I like, in the ways I like." unquote. It would probably happen once or twice a month, depending on money and time. Gender would be strictly uncoupled from role. You wouldn't have to bring a partner. The dancing would be both set stuff (SCD, vintage, contra, squares?) and couples stuff (waltzing, polkas, one-steps, swing). The secret project name1 for this idea is Oella North2.
1: I enjoy giving names to secret projects. I almost never use these names publicly (despite the fact that I could), but I do enjoy having them.
2: Oella prime would, of course, be the bi-monthly dancing that happens at the Westchester Community Center in Oella Maryland or something. It is run by Larry, largely because he wanted a space to do the sorts of dancing he enjoys mot, in the ways he likes. It's the best thing ever, despite being very very small, and I miss it dearly.
In a perfect world, I would be able to find a space that would fit...let's say ten couples or three squares/SCD sets. It wouldn't cost more than about 150$ for four hours (which would probably be no more than three hours of dancing with some time before and after for set-up and socializing). It would be T accessible, and on my side of the Charles River. In a really perfect world I would have a better job, and be able to just pay for this space once a month without worrying about if the donations hat3 got enough money to cover it.
3: Which is to say, I would be hoping for/expecting people to toss me some money, which I would then use to host more dances or buy delicious food or whatever.
Now, there is a space on the fourth floor of Porter Exchange that is perfect in size and location. I need to find out if I can rent it, how much it costs, and if there are alumni advantages, because I really want to do this. If I can't rent that space, I want to find out if there's another good place that would meet my semi-arbitrary parameters. And then comes the hard part.
The hard part is planning dances. My general theory is that they'd start as...not private, but not exactly largely announced, either. I would invite a bunch of friends, and welcome them to invite other friends, but I wouldn't be making announcements at other dances, or passing out flyers.
The dances that would happen would be, officially, an assortment of things I liked. It would depend who would be around to dance with me, but I would be encouraging/hoping for doing some more challenging figures and applications. There would be a fair amount of waltzing, and polkas.
I would like it a lot if there could be teaching --I could do some, cross-step waltz4, some Scottish Country5, maybe some Regency, a little bit of one-step or polkas...but that's it. Swing, blues, contra, squares, lindy, ECD, international, flailing...all of those would have to have other people be willing to come in and teach.
4: Although I don't know a ton of variations, so that would be frequent harassment of Susan de Gardiola and perusal of YouToobs.
5: Except I'm not certified to teach, and I don't know if that means the RSCDS6 will send its goons out to kneecap me. I don't want to be kneecapped!
6: Royal Scottish Country Dance Society
Or we could just play the music and let people go for it. But honestly, I want to have teaching. Especially as part of the genesis for this is the idea of having a space to do Scottish Country where no one cares about your gender or who you're dancing with. I love the Springstep class, but man, it is upsettingly heteronormative sometimes. I want to be able to dance as a gent with an male person as my lady, and they simply won't let me ("think of the newbies!").
Regardless of how much teaching actually goes on, I don't think it'd be suggested as a group friendly to complete dance beginners. If you don't get the fundamentals of moving yourself to a rhythm, giving weight, and not crushing your partners' hands...maybe you should dance somewhere else for a bit.
I think I'm about done babbling for now, so I'd love to hear thoughts if anyone has them.
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no subject
on 2012-02-27 03:50 pm (UTC)I can teach any of the ballroom dances, swing, and contra (I've been a collegiate competitive ballroom dancer for four years, I've taught a swing workshop in Burlington two summers in a row, and I call contra).
I hope Project Oella North gets off the ground!