Once again, great music [at Shindig on the Green], but [I’m] disappointed by continued opposition to audience dancing.
After several attempts by email to encourage participation and thorough enjoyment by all, I was once again rebuffed by the OCD rejection by the “controllers” of free music, with unkind, unrealistic oversight of the activity. They have maintained that the staged dancing as entertainment is the only acceptable form. If however, anyone foolish wants to enjoy the music by dancing, go dance in the area designated for children and fools.
“Shindig“ by definition [is a] dance, party, lively gathering (sitting is hardly lively = nonparticipation). Square dancing was initiated in 17th-century England, 18th-century France. Clogging evolved in the mid-1700s in Appalachia. Buck dancing, flatfooting, is a solo dancing style and the oldest form of truly American folk dance, not of European origin.
Keep this in mind, Shindig organizers, when you squelch dancing, the true natural response to our American Shindig — dance, party, lively gathering! [It] honestly requires participation in the music, not separation from it, as an entertaining art form.
Kudos to the awesome musicians, who are the real magic makers! ($5 fees in the parking garage = ripoff).
— Cheryl Shepley
Marshall
Editor’s note: A response to this letter can be found in the letter “Safety is First Concern at Shindig.“
