Author: Dorothy McLean
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The September 2024 Party
Were I possessed of adequate funds, I would offer weekly dance lessons to my Traditional Latin Mass community. Given that my parties take place on Sunday afternoons, I would also offer lunch. There are any number of improvements I would like to make to the tangible form of Mrs McLean’s Waltzing Party, but they will…
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What is the waltz for?
I am indebted to a Facebook-using reader of Dr. Kwasnieski’s “Tradition & Sanity” substack for asking “How is dancing with members of the opposite sex better than other forms of recreation?” Like partner dancing, good questions set guidelines and limits. These are very helpful when expressing thoughts and arguments. The acute inquirer has asked not…
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Closer to heaven
I had two unpleasant shocks on Thursday. The first was the ferocious attack by a small but deeply convinced minority upon the “Tradition & Sanity” post to which I contributed the central part. The article is called “Why Catholics Should Learn to Dance,” and it should be regarded as the beginning, not the definitive result,…
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Against ‘singles’ dances
TL/DR: Dances should be for adolescents and adults of an entire community, while acknowledging that single, childless people are the cohort most likely to attend. Entitling a book “Seraphic Singles” showed my innocence of the marketing world. As I was flying the Singles flag while writing the blog that became the book, I didn’t consider…
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An argument for live music
In his astonishing yet compelling essay “A Different Drummer,” Michael Platt reviles the advent of amplification and its driving of music out of cozy rooms into enormous halls. Like other 20th century technology, the electrification of music has had unexpected implications for human ways of living. Platt writes: The electrification of the traditional folk and…
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How to ask for a dance
Gentlemen tell me that asking a lady for a dance is difficult at first but easier with practice. At Mrs McLean’s Waltzing Party, we are old school, so waltz lessons involve the gentleman asking the lady to dance. Generally he does this by walking up to his chosen (or assigned) lady, holding out his right…