If the group is alert, what my dance partners and I occasionally enjoy, is memorizing both roles in the dance, then each iteration when there is a swing your partner, we swap gender roles.
ie: first swing I lead, then the next time we come back to swing my partner immediately takes the lead role and swings me.  Some dances are challenging and if the grey matter is slow, or it is late in the evening this can really snafu the line.
 
Chris Ricciotti has a great web resouce on Gender Free Contra on this web site.
http://www.lcfd.org/Articles/GFManual/index.html
 
Mark Galipeau
Queer Contra Dancer
We swing both ways, and then some.


--- On Wed, 9/9/09, Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti at gmail.com> wrote:


From: Jerome Grisanti <jerome.grisanti at gmail.com>
Subject: [Callers] Gender Swapping
To: callers at sharedweight.net
Date: Wednesday, September 9, 2009, 2:27 PM


Barbara,

The two things that are most confusing when changing genders are the chain
and the swing.

For the chain, you might review courtesy turn and also the twirl. Make sure
twirlers know their hand should be directly over the head of the twirlee,
and their hand should remain open (not gripping).

When I mentioned to one group that the twirler's hand should remain open, a
roar of women's voices said "Yes!" and I just added, "gentlemen, the
twirlees have spoken..."

--Jerome





> Message: 2
> Date: Tue, 8 Sep 2009 19:59:44 -0500
> From: "Barbara Groh" <barbaragroh at bellsouth.net>
> To: <callers at sharedweight.net>
> Subject: [Callers] workshop ideas
> Message-ID: <5FA24AD8CD704FACAB0B65CA47B4C4AC at Babs>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
>        reply-type=original
>
> Hey, y'all,
>
> I'm going to be facilitating a "gender-swap" w.s. at Moondance in a few
> days.  I've never been to a workshop on this topic, and I thought I would
> solicit ideas from the group.   Has anybody been to (or perhaps led) a
> gender-swap session?   Any gems you can share with me on what worked well
> or
> what didn't?
>
> Thanks!!
> Barbara
>
> --
> Jerome Grisanti
> 660-528-0858
> http://www.jeromegrisanti.com
>
> For the good are always the merry,
> Save by an evil chance,
> And the merry love the fiddle
> And the merry love to dance. ~ William Butler Yeats
>
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