Historical Event

Tonight, I was there when history was made - there was dancing (dancing!) at Missouri Baptist College. It was English Country Dancing, which seems to be catching on among home-schooled kids and definitely caught on at the College Conservative Club at MoBap (who project themselves as non-partisan, who look at politics from a biblical perspective and who get funds from the Republican Party). I asked the college chaperone to dance - he declined, sweetly, saying he had to stick to his chaperoning duties. Yep, those wild English Country Dances really can get out of hand...

It was...a wonderful dance, something I didn't expect. It seemed as if about half of the 80 or so kids there had some prior experience, but maybe they just picked it up really quickly. The caller was Bill McDonald, whose family has been running an English Country Dance for a number of years. Dapper in his tails, he was able to shape a dance that got teenagers from zero to sixty in no time at all. His wife acted as "Dancing Mistress", getting extra couples for triplets, helping stragglers with the moves. His kids were ringers, helping to keep things together too.

I look forward to going to some of the McDonald's dances at Saint Francis Xavier. I understand they are family dances - kids, parents, grandparents. I have to see what these guys are doing that builds such enthusiasm that 200 people come to dance English Country Dancing. He said he decided early on to focus less on "styling" and more on "welcoming" and I say that's a great first step.

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