Joyous Dancing Contras and English edition by Henry Morgenstein Jenny Buzzard Jacqui Morgenstein Arts Photography eBooks
Download As PDF : Joyous Dancing Contras and English edition by Henry Morgenstein Jenny Buzzard Jacqui Morgenstein Arts Photography eBooks 
Essays on Contra Dancing, English Country Dancing, Calling Contras and Organizing dance weekends and dance weeks.
Newly revised, updated version (based on intelligent criticism in review) .
Joyous Dancing Contras and English edition by Henry Morgenstein Jenny Buzzard Jacqui Morgenstein Arts Photography eBooks
I've just finished Henry Morgenstein's book, Joyous Dancing: Contras and English, after purchasing it about two weeks ago. I've been social dancing about five or six years now, and only recently joined the CDSS and saw this book recommended on their Facebook page and bought it the same day. My initial reason for purchasing it was simply to support a Contra dancer and author who had written a book on a subject dear to my heart and who had made it available at a reasonable price in the Kindle format. However, after looking at the table of contents and reading a sample, I realized it was worthy of a read for much more than that reason.Firstly the book is an exhaustive, almost encyclopedic, treatment of the subject. A brief look at the table of contents will give you a glimpse of what you're in store for. Covered are subjects like the ways in which Contras reflect society, why so many people are so reluctant to dance at first, the essential differences between social dances and ballroom dances, what makes a "good" dance (in the author's opinion), reflections on dancing and calling, why so many of us only do Contra or ECD, but not both, the differences between dances in the UK and the USA, the experience of running dance weekends, and on and on.
Despite the many areas covered, the topics are broken into bite sized essays most of which are just a few pages long. There is also nothing too technical - although the author clearly understands the finer points of dance (as evidenced by his enthusiastic citing of Mary Dart's 'Contra Dance Choreography') the book is geared towards the average dancer. It's an easy, enjoyable read for the most part - you can read a chapter, go on about your day, and come back and start a new chapter on a new subject.
Still, there's a lot of food for thought contained in its pages. Many of the author's points made me consciously realize something for the first time, but which I knew from experience to be true. For instance, I love social dances - I do Contra, English, and Scottish - but have zero interest in ballroom dances. Morgenstein points out that at its core, ballroom dancing is fundamentally an individual, competitive, activity and that even your partner is essentially at the periphery of your experience. Social dances require cooperation - we are not just dancing with ourselves, or even our partner - we depend on every single other person in the hall to do their part in order for us to succeed in the dance. He points out that these two different style of dance naturally appeal to different sorts of people, which is why even though there are many ballroom dance classes, groups, etc, ballroom dancers are not filling up our Contra dances and vice versa. I'm sure the point has been made by others in the past, but this was my first time encountering it so clearly and concisely.
Another example - early in the book the author gives reflections on dancing the woman's part, and muses on why so many men at Contra dances are unwilling to dance with other men. I've danced the woman's part many many times in English & Scottish- when I first started doing English country dances, I danced with men or danced the woman's part far more often than I danced with a lady. I have, however, never, never, never danced as a woman or danced with another man at a Contra dance. I suppose its because Contra dancing can be so much more up close and personal, and intimate, with gypsies and swings. The author gives his positive experience of dancing with men - "I've achieved speed in the swing, with men, that I've never come close to achieving with women" and the benefits to be gained - letting someone else have control, trusting him, learning what it feels like to be twirled, etc. All of which makes me rethink my reluctance - As I said, I've never danced with a man at Contra, and have turned down a man before and seen the confused, slighted look it caused. If I'm ever in the situation again, I think I'll give it a go.
Lastly, the book has helped me better understand and appreciate my own dance community, and how lucky I am to have it. I live in Las Vegas, which has an active, though somewhat small, dance scene. Las Vegas is a city with a rather transient population, made worse by the recent economic downturn, people came, people went. Not many put down roots, and it has never been a town best known for its appreciation of art, culture, or anything "traditional." However, I am so thankful not to have ever had to experience some of the things described by the author - such as groups who refuse to dance in a square formation (huh?) or even try a traditional (ECD) Contra (how horrible!) or who rebel against the caller for not having dances with enough swings. We're fortunate to have great callers/teachers who ease newcomers in and neither pushes them to the point of confusion nor lets them get bored. Maybe I just started dancing at a point when the above were no longer issues in the wider Contra dance community, or maybe its just here - either way I appreciate what I have much more after reading this book.
For all the good things about this book, of course, there are negatives, as with anything else. The author says this is the first book he's published without the aid of an editor, and at times it shows. He freely admits that some essays repeat points made in earlier essays (he even has two introductions), but chose to leave them in since they express his viewpoints at the time when he wrote them. This I found to be a bit of an understatement - at times two (or more!) essays follow directly after one another on the same exact subject that repeat many of the same points in almost exactly the same words. Oftentimes entire quotations are repeated. This is less annoying when something from the beginning of the book is repeated at the end of the book, but in some cases a statement is made two different times at the beginning of the book and then repeated later on as well. I remember somewhere around the middle of the book, a chapter that started almost exactly identical to the chapter I just read - I threw up my hands in frustration and skipped the entire chapter - I still haven't read it.
In most cases the repetition is forgivable, since one essay still manages to make additional points that the earlier one did not. I can't help but feel the book would have been better, clearer, and more concise if the similar essays had been skillfully edited and combined. Eighty slightly longer chapters might have served better than the one hundred and twenty shorter chapters currently in place. Of course, if he had done so, this would not have been the same book, which brings me to my last point -
In many ways, this is more a book about the experience of *being* a Contra/English dancer than *about* Contra or English country dancing. It is really more of a journal of one man's personal experiences and thoughts than a linear, academic treatment of the subject. It is even, in some ways, more about the psychological state and idiosyncrasies of this one particular dancer than a generalization about all dancers. Morgenstein's passion for the subject comes out in every page in describing both his ups and downs as a dancer and caller, many of which I have experienced myself. It is a twisting, turning, rambling, rollicking journey through the topography of the social dance landscape. In short, its just the sort of book I'd expect an enthusiastic Contra dancer to have written.
I think its a must read for every Contra/English country dancer.
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Joyous Dancing Contras and English edition by Henry Morgenstein Jenny Buzzard Jacqui Morgenstein Arts Photography eBooks Reviews
very much enjoyed it but it does have more moralizing then I would prefer
I've just finished Henry Morgenstein's book, Joyous Dancing Contras and English, after purchasing it about two weeks ago. I've been social dancing about five or six years now, and only recently joined the CDSS and saw this book recommended on their Facebook page and bought it the same day. My initial reason for purchasing it was simply to support a Contra dancer and author who had written a book on a subject dear to my heart and who had made it available at a reasonable price in the format. However, after looking at the table of contents and reading a sample, I realized it was worthy of a read for much more than that reason.
Firstly the book is an exhaustive, almost encyclopedic, treatment of the subject. A brief look at the table of contents will give you a glimpse of what you're in store for. Covered are subjects like the ways in which Contras reflect society, why so many people are so reluctant to dance at first, the essential differences between social dances and ballroom dances, what makes a "good" dance (in the author's opinion), reflections on dancing and calling, why so many of us only do Contra or ECD, but not both, the differences between dances in the UK and the USA, the experience of running dance weekends, and on and on.
Despite the many areas covered, the topics are broken into bite sized essays most of which are just a few pages long. There is also nothing too technical - although the author clearly understands the finer points of dance (as evidenced by his enthusiastic citing of Mary Dart's 'Contra Dance Choreography') the book is geared towards the average dancer. It's an easy, enjoyable read for the most part - you can read a chapter, go on about your day, and come back and start a new chapter on a new subject.
Still, there's a lot of food for thought contained in its pages. Many of the author's points made me consciously realize something for the first time, but which I knew from experience to be true. For instance, I love social dances - I do Contra, English, and Scottish - but have zero interest in ballroom dances. Morgenstein points out that at its core, ballroom dancing is fundamentally an individual, competitive, activity and that even your partner is essentially at the periphery of your experience. Social dances require cooperation - we are not just dancing with ourselves, or even our partner - we depend on every single other person in the hall to do their part in order for us to succeed in the dance. He points out that these two different style of dance naturally appeal to different sorts of people, which is why even though there are many ballroom dance classes, groups, etc, ballroom dancers are not filling up our Contra dances and vice versa. I'm sure the point has been made by others in the past, but this was my first time encountering it so clearly and concisely.
Another example - early in the book the author gives reflections on dancing the woman's part, and muses on why so many men at Contra dances are unwilling to dance with other men. I've danced the woman's part many many times in English & Scottish- when I first started doing English country dances, I danced with men or danced the woman's part far more often than I danced with a lady. I have, however, never, never, never danced as a woman or danced with another man at a Contra dance. I suppose its because Contra dancing can be so much more up close and personal, and intimate, with gypsies and swings. The author gives his positive experience of dancing with men - "I've achieved speed in the swing, with men, that I've never come close to achieving with women" and the benefits to be gained - letting someone else have control, trusting him, learning what it feels like to be twirled, etc. All of which makes me rethink my reluctance - As I said, I've never danced with a man at Contra, and have turned down a man before and seen the confused, slighted look it caused. If I'm ever in the situation again, I think I'll give it a go.
Lastly, the book has helped me better understand and appreciate my own dance community, and how lucky I am to have it. I live in Las Vegas, which has an active, though somewhat small, dance scene. Las Vegas is a city with a rather transient population, made worse by the recent economic downturn, people came, people went. Not many put down roots, and it has never been a town best known for its appreciation of art, culture, or anything "traditional." However, I am so thankful not to have ever had to experience some of the things described by the author - such as groups who refuse to dance in a square formation (huh?) or even try a traditional (ECD) Contra (how horrible!) or who rebel against the caller for not having dances with enough swings. We're fortunate to have great callers/teachers who ease newcomers in and neither pushes them to the point of confusion nor lets them get bored. Maybe I just started dancing at a point when the above were no longer issues in the wider Contra dance community, or maybe its just here - either way I appreciate what I have much more after reading this book.
For all the good things about this book, of course, there are negatives, as with anything else. The author says this is the first book he's published without the aid of an editor, and at times it shows. He freely admits that some essays repeat points made in earlier essays (he even has two introductions), but chose to leave them in since they express his viewpoints at the time when he wrote them. This I found to be a bit of an understatement - at times two (or more!) essays follow directly after one another on the same exact subject that repeat many of the same points in almost exactly the same words. Oftentimes entire quotations are repeated. This is less annoying when something from the beginning of the book is repeated at the end of the book, but in some cases a statement is made two different times at the beginning of the book and then repeated later on as well. I remember somewhere around the middle of the book, a chapter that started almost exactly identical to the chapter I just read - I threw up my hands in frustration and skipped the entire chapter - I still haven't read it.
In most cases the repetition is forgivable, since one essay still manages to make additional points that the earlier one did not. I can't help but feel the book would have been better, clearer, and more concise if the similar essays had been skillfully edited and combined. Eighty slightly longer chapters might have served better than the one hundred and twenty shorter chapters currently in place. Of course, if he had done so, this would not have been the same book, which brings me to my last point -
In many ways, this is more a book about the experience of *being* a Contra/English dancer than *about* Contra or English country dancing. It is really more of a journal of one man's personal experiences and thoughts than a linear, academic treatment of the subject. It is even, in some ways, more about the psychological state and idiosyncrasies of this one particular dancer than a generalization about all dancers. Morgenstein's passion for the subject comes out in every page in describing both his ups and downs as a dancer and caller, many of which I have experienced myself. It is a twisting, turning, rambling, rollicking journey through the topography of the social dance landscape. In short, its just the sort of book I'd expect an enthusiastic Contra dancer to have written.
I think its a must read for every Contra/English country dancer.
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