[Squaredancing] CA Dancer Asks - Are We "Sameing" Ourselves toDeath?

[Cynde Sadler]

Hi Candy,
 I think these are very good reasons to dance square dance and it pleases me 
that you have danced 'off and on' which means you can take a year or two off 
anytime and still jump in and enjoy dancing and the club in town has not 
changed levels up to SDP 10+*  New people will keep coming and bringing 
their friends if they are ENJOYING themselves.

I think that many people enjoy dancing smoothly,  '' and they like to "kick 
back" a little sometimes and just dance to a simple easy-to-understand 
series of calls, particularly if the caller has paid a lot of attention to 
good body flow and "intuitive" choreography'' to quote you. This activity 
should be fun above all.

I 'forced' my mother to start against her will and she has never had so much 
fun. She has to admit she has met people whom she may never have met 
otherwise in her line of work and have turned out to be GREAT friends (and 
she gets to dance, too!)

About clothes, I know about clubs (my mom's for one) who have had sewing 
bees to help each other make pretty dresses and also clothes trading 'bees' 
where old clothes can be traded (or sold cheaply) around to each other. This 
should be encouraged in my opinion. We all get tired of our old rags and new 
ones aren't always cheap (cheaper than horse riding, hang gliding or formula 
car racing, though)
 "square dancing is friendship set to music" may be hokey but well, music 
and friendship are two very valuable things that make life a bit more 
livable.
Cynde
in Finland
*super duper pooper ten plus


... have chosen not to take classes in different programs,
> in the Northwest we are fortunate that there is an active and
> widespread Mainstream program;  not only that, we are getting NEW
> dancers in their 30s and 40s ... and they are STAYING and bringing
> their friends ... and the older dancers are bringing their
> grandchildren too.

> that motto "square dancing is friendship set to music" .. strikes most
> as being hokey ... we need a new formulation that SAYS the same thing
>
> Candy
>
> (just some stuff from off the top of my head)
>
>