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Not-very-gay Gay Square Dancing
Jul. 9th, 2012 10:01 amBill has covered a lot about our recent trip to Vancouver, so I won't go through all that - since our friends lists overlap almost compleletely. But I did want to comment on the event itself.
This was my 16th consecutive convention - I can't quite believe I've invested well over $16,000 dollars in this event! (Typical cost with airfare and hotel, convention fees etc). The cost may well be the reason that attendance has been declining in recent years, but that's a different topic.
I enjoyed this convention, only because I consider convention to be a family reunion of sorts. I communicate regularly with a few dancers outside Albuquerque, but for the most part, this is the only time in a year when I get to see people; and yet conversations flow as if with old friends - it is remarkable that we can as it were just 'pick up' where we left off last year. Thankfully as we all get older, we're all prone to forget some back-story for each other, which makes old discussions new again!
The convention itself was horribly low-key; rather than feeling as most do that this was a FABULOUS gathering of FABULOUS gay men (and women), it felt more like we all happened to meet at business convention. Missing were such items as the 'welcome gift' we usually receive - I have various bags and water bottles that I've received from past conventions; nothing from this one.
The convention traditionally opens with a Grand March - where members from each club group together and march from some external point into the ballroom for the opening remarks, national anthems, and sometimes performances, together with the opening dance.
Every year convention organizers try out new forms of the Grand March, some successful, some not. DC for example introduced the concept of a seating area for the opening ceremony, followed by the grand march and dancing - a great concept adopted by the Atlanta convention last year. Some ideas have been less successful, like interminable speeches of welcome from politcal hacks, while everyone stands around in the ballroom (no seats). We're all getting a bit old to sit on the floor for long periods... In previous years, some Grand Marches have taken us through the gardens of the hotel, and one (infamous in the lack of forethought) had the whole thing in the gardens in blazing sun, without warning anyone to bring hats or sunscreen. But the point of the Grand March, just like the Pride Parades, was to announce to the locals We Are Here, and We Are Fabulous.
This year, the grand march was a short walk up a flight of stairs, well out of the sight of other guests or Vancouver in general. There was precious little organization in the ballroom (which became an issue later for 'progressive squares') and there were no speeches of welcome. A tradition I know many people missed was the singing of the American, Canadian, and Japanese national anthems. (We all learned the Japanese one in LA, where they had the thing playing on the hotel TV channel for days! We then forgot it the day after). And again, traditionally, the callers are all introduced during the opening ceremony, but this year they were absent. I was told (but have no confirmation) that a certain straight caller had objected to being on stage during the opening ceremony, because they weren't being paid for it. I hope that isn't true, but it wouldn't surprise me).
This is supposed to be a GAY event, which requires a certain flourish. But there were no decorations, no gay flags, no drag queens dressed as Scarlett or Mammy - nothing to make if feel special.
Another disappointment to me was the setting for the display of the memorial panels - these hold the badges of dancers who have died. It's always very moving for me as I take a moment to stop by and visit with old friends who are no longer here. But this year, instead of setting aside a quiet room with appropriate lighting and music, the organizers apparently just stuck the panels out of the way at the end of a corridor, next to one of the dance halls.
I sense that money was a problem for this convention, and I'm sure they did the best they could with the people and money they had available. The three organizers are all lovely people and are expreienced in this kind of project; but it was I think worst convention I've attended (setting aside the wreckage (literally) of the Las Vegas convention, which had to be hastily re-arranged after they imploded the original host hotel!)
I am hoping for Great Things for San Francisco next year - I don't think they'll disappoint!
This was my 16th consecutive convention - I can't quite believe I've invested well over $16,000 dollars in this event! (Typical cost with airfare and hotel, convention fees etc). The cost may well be the reason that attendance has been declining in recent years, but that's a different topic.
I enjoyed this convention, only because I consider convention to be a family reunion of sorts. I communicate regularly with a few dancers outside Albuquerque, but for the most part, this is the only time in a year when I get to see people; and yet conversations flow as if with old friends - it is remarkable that we can as it were just 'pick up' where we left off last year. Thankfully as we all get older, we're all prone to forget some back-story for each other, which makes old discussions new again!
The convention itself was horribly low-key; rather than feeling as most do that this was a FABULOUS gathering of FABULOUS gay men (and women), it felt more like we all happened to meet at business convention. Missing were such items as the 'welcome gift' we usually receive - I have various bags and water bottles that I've received from past conventions; nothing from this one.
The convention traditionally opens with a Grand March - where members from each club group together and march from some external point into the ballroom for the opening remarks, national anthems, and sometimes performances, together with the opening dance.
Every year convention organizers try out new forms of the Grand March, some successful, some not. DC for example introduced the concept of a seating area for the opening ceremony, followed by the grand march and dancing - a great concept adopted by the Atlanta convention last year. Some ideas have been less successful, like interminable speeches of welcome from politcal hacks, while everyone stands around in the ballroom (no seats). We're all getting a bit old to sit on the floor for long periods... In previous years, some Grand Marches have taken us through the gardens of the hotel, and one (infamous in the lack of forethought) had the whole thing in the gardens in blazing sun, without warning anyone to bring hats or sunscreen. But the point of the Grand March, just like the Pride Parades, was to announce to the locals We Are Here, and We Are Fabulous.
This year, the grand march was a short walk up a flight of stairs, well out of the sight of other guests or Vancouver in general. There was precious little organization in the ballroom (which became an issue later for 'progressive squares') and there were no speeches of welcome. A tradition I know many people missed was the singing of the American, Canadian, and Japanese national anthems. (We all learned the Japanese one in LA, where they had the thing playing on the hotel TV channel for days! We then forgot it the day after). And again, traditionally, the callers are all introduced during the opening ceremony, but this year they were absent. I was told (but have no confirmation) that a certain straight caller had objected to being on stage during the opening ceremony, because they weren't being paid for it. I hope that isn't true, but it wouldn't surprise me).
This is supposed to be a GAY event, which requires a certain flourish. But there were no decorations, no gay flags, no drag queens dressed as Scarlett or Mammy - nothing to make if feel special.
Another disappointment to me was the setting for the display of the memorial panels - these hold the badges of dancers who have died. It's always very moving for me as I take a moment to stop by and visit with old friends who are no longer here. But this year, instead of setting aside a quiet room with appropriate lighting and music, the organizers apparently just stuck the panels out of the way at the end of a corridor, next to one of the dance halls.
I sense that money was a problem for this convention, and I'm sure they did the best they could with the people and money they had available. The three organizers are all lovely people and are expreienced in this kind of project; but it was I think worst convention I've attended (setting aside the wreckage (literally) of the Las Vegas convention, which had to be hastily re-arranged after they imploded the original host hotel!)
I am hoping for Great Things for San Francisco next year - I don't think they'll disappoint!
