I am for dancing that...

This list began at a workshop held during CDSS's Pinewoods English Week in 2016. Get in touch to add your own contribution!

I am for dancing that is joyful and purposeful in its participants' lives.

I am for dancing that responds to its surroundings, immediate and cultural, and honors local specificities.

I am for dancing that respects the art of music and dance, that cultivates artistry and treats it with care.

I am for dancing that celebrates both tradition and innovation.

I am for dancing that is collaborative spatial-temporal art.

I am for dancing that is not complacent, but reaches for new heights of joy, skill, community, all the time.

I am for dancing that is respectful of tradition without becoming historical dance.

I am for dancing that gives everyone something comfortable, something difficult, and something not yet possible.

I am for dancing that encourages everyone to dance every position, in the same dance if choreography allows.

I am for dancing that is particular about how things are done.

I am for dancing that appreciates new choreography (intentional and not).

I am for dancing that is its own thing. What we do is ALIVE, and therefore needs to leave room for self-expression, play, innovation.

I am for dancing that connects us, to the music, to the dance, to the space, to each other, and often neglected: to ourselves. Those soul rejuvenating moments when we are fully present and fully ourselves in the midst of dancing are magical. When everyone there is feeling it too, transcendent.

I am for dancing that lifts the spirits of those who dance.

I am for dancing that makes people feel safe, where they can laugh at their mistakes as they work on getting better.

I am for dancing that nurtures callers and dancers.

I am for dancing that embodies both grace and playfulness.

I am for dancing that embraces the great variety of tunes and set formations and explores new ones (and programs that have more 3/2 tunes than waltz time ones).

I am for dancing whose participants share what makes them love a particular dance.

I am for dancing that does not have lead and follow roles.

I am for dancing that has an open mind about tempos and challenges us to dance as the music calls for.

I am for dancing that dances with the whole hall and not just a minor set.

I am for dancing that allows and welcomes learning without judgment.

I am for dancing that explores the incredible variety the form offers, serene and boisterous, complex and simple, all the moods, all the figures, all the formations, all the musical styles. DLWP is all fine and well, but one thing I love is the different geographies of the various sets.

I am for dancing that is encouraging, welcoming, respectful. A place where learning is considered part of the fun, not a medicine you have to choke down.

I am for dancing that welcomes all people regardless of age, gender, or experience.

I am for dancing that encourages people to explore history and learn from it.

I am for dancing that wants to grow and have fun.

I am for dancing that invites musicians and dancers to be playful, encouraging, receptive, and open-hearted with one another

I am for dancing that allows dancers and musicians to relax their egos, and follow their impulses and listen to the impulses of others (i.e. physical safety aside, do you feel socially safe doing a cartwheel because the music and joy welling up inside you makes you want to do it?)

I am for dancing that strives for beautiful dancing.

I am for dancing that makes room for FUN.

I am for dancing that encourages all participants to take ownership of our collective tradition--celebrating both the old and new.

I am for dancing that is a social dance, not confined to the past, but allowed to evolve.

I am for dancing that welcomes all people, allows physical contact while also providing safety, strengthens local and global communities, and serves as a model of how to hold love for all our fellow humans.

I am for dancing that is willing to experiment with new things.

I am for dancing that is safe and welcoming to people of all backgrounds.

I am for dancing that supports its new callers, organizers, etc.

I am for dancing that creates and builds community.

I am for dancing that brings joy to those who participate.

I am for dancing that strives for and encourages excellence.

I am for dancing that brings history to life for individuals of all ages.

I am for dancing that welcomes all, no matter their age, race, gender, sexuality, religion, etc.

I am for dancing that listens to new and outside voices.

I am for dancing that allows new dancers/callers/musicians/organizers to learn in an open and judgment-free environment.

I am for dancing that builds relationships and bonds that last.

I am for dancing that lets people laugh at and learn from their mistakes.

I am for dancing that invites experimentation.

I am for dancing that questions conventional wisdom in order to get closer to history.

I am for dancing that laughs together.

I am for dancing that values playfulness and delight.

I am for dancing that strives for innovation while respecting tradition.

I am for dancing that is motivated to make itself better.

I am for dancing that moves you.

I am for dancing that makes the room swell with music and movement, that turns us each into part of an organic whole when we swing and sway.

I am for dancing that brings me into the moment, and shows me that this moment is full of joy.

I am for dancing that makes us all part of transitory beauty.

2016 authors, in no particular order: Grace Keppel, Aaron Marcus, Andrea Nettleton, Kyle Hardman, Wang, Chava Hall, Elizabeth Couture, Nicholas Rockstroh, Corinne Holroyd, Louise Siddons, Anna Rain, Megan Wilson, Leonard Lu, Sarah Spaeth

Subsequent authors: Sally Vernon, Michelle Beyer, Carolyn Shearman, Alan Winston

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