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dancing under existential threat
Jan. 27th, 2025 08:17 am(yes, this is very self-centered, like most of my posts).
Yesterday I went to the BIDA mask-required dance.
https://www.bidadance.org/
The (new?) time for the 4th Sunday was different from what I remembered and I was late, but stayed until the end, which meant that I did one dance and then there was a 20 minute break, which I spent not chatting, mostly. Somewhat after the break the lights dimmed and the room was lit primarily by the disco ball, hence the icon above. I had a moment of personal gratification later. There are traditional roles for people dancing on the left or right of a couple, but they are referred to as Larks and Robins instead of gentlemen and ladies or whatever. I asked someone to dance who happened to be standing near where we were in the previous dance, and inquired whether he wanted to be L or R. He initially said "Lark" and then changed immediately to robin, saying that I seemed to have been doing a good job of lark in the previous dance when we were "neighbors." I thanked him and glowed a bit. It has been true for many years that such dances around here are more gender-fluid in terms of clothing as well. All of this makes it more comfortable (I presume) for nonbinary and trans people to just be themselves, and there are other people whose only chance this is to expand their choices. It dawned on me that some percentage of the dancers are at a real threat to their existence under the current Republican administration (even worse than previously). Then I realized that that is at least slightly true of almost every group I'm in. There is one trans knitter, although she hasn't attended in years. She's still on the weekly email list and hasn't asked to be removed. I don't know that anybody in my particular tap class is trans or nonbinary, but there were >1 in the Monday evening group that we sometimes combine with. There was a time period where there were several folks in the Tai Chi class. I don't think so now, but the school is welcoming. Bellringing in the Boston area? Yes. The point being that my personal existence is not under threat, but justice issues aside, parts of my life would be touched.
Yesterday I went to the BIDA mask-required dance.
https://www.bidadance.org/
The (new?) time for the 4th Sunday was different from what I remembered and I was late, but stayed until the end, which meant that I did one dance and then there was a 20 minute break, which I spent not chatting, mostly. Somewhat after the break the lights dimmed and the room was lit primarily by the disco ball, hence the icon above. I had a moment of personal gratification later. There are traditional roles for people dancing on the left or right of a couple, but they are referred to as Larks and Robins instead of gentlemen and ladies or whatever. I asked someone to dance who happened to be standing near where we were in the previous dance, and inquired whether he wanted to be L or R. He initially said "Lark" and then changed immediately to robin, saying that I seemed to have been doing a good job of lark in the previous dance when we were "neighbors." I thanked him and glowed a bit. It has been true for many years that such dances around here are more gender-fluid in terms of clothing as well. All of this makes it more comfortable (I presume) for nonbinary and trans people to just be themselves, and there are other people whose only chance this is to expand their choices. It dawned on me that some percentage of the dancers are at a real threat to their existence under the current Republican administration (even worse than previously). Then I realized that that is at least slightly true of almost every group I'm in. There is one trans knitter, although she hasn't attended in years. She's still on the weekly email list and hasn't asked to be removed. I don't know that anybody in my particular tap class is trans or nonbinary, but there were >1 in the Monday evening group that we sometimes combine with. There was a time period where there were several folks in the Tai Chi class. I don't think so now, but the school is welcoming. Bellringing in the Boston area? Yes. The point being that my personal existence is not under threat, but justice issues aside, parts of my life would be touched.
