The Dance

STONE 33 MEAD STONE THE DANCE It is not a very complicated dance. Four people are required. Two male, two female. Each participant lines up on a point of the compass, equadistant from the participant on his/her right and on his/her left so that when each participant's arms are held straight out, that participant's fingers wUl touch those of the participant on his/her right and on his/her left. This is the ready position. It should resemble a square when viewed from above or from below. This square is called the family. When the ready position has been attained, the person on the North point of the compass (often designated the "Leader") shall say, "Come on, let us dance." This is the accepted signal for the dance to begin. North turns to East, East to North and South turns to West, West to South. This step is called the familiarization of the participants. Once familiarization has taken place, North turns to West, West to North and South turns to East, East to South, and the step is repeated. Familiarization is repeated a third time, North to South and East to West. Once the family has become familiarized with one another, primary socialization may be initiated by North (the Leader). He/She may choose any participant he/she wishes to socialize with (excepting, of course, him/herself ) AS LONG AS HE/SHE DOES NOT MOVE FROM HIS/HER ORIGINAL STARTING POSITION. This rule applies for each of the other participants as well. (N.B.: An advanced group of participants might wish to move on to secondary socialization almost immediately, but this step is optional and is not recommended for beginners.) Primary socialization is repeated in the same fashion as familiarization, in three distinct stages or steps (often called: play, games, and sport). Once all of the participants have been thoroughly socialized, they are ready to enter into the dance proper. The dance proper consists of two major elements: murder and love. Each participant must decide to murder or to love some other family member. It is during the dance proper that one often finds beginners becoming very confused and thereby turning the dance into something quite out of the ordinary. This should not be the case. The primary rule of the dance proper is: EACH PARTICIPANT MUST NOT BETRAY HIS/HER INTENTIONS TO ANY OF THE OTHER PARTICIPANTS. Hence, there is no justification whatsoever for the dance to become in any way disorganized. Each participant may choose whomever he/she wishes to murder or to love, but he/she must remember at all times not to indicate to the other family members either the choice made 34 THE MINNESOTA REVIEW or toward whom it is directed. Music as an accompaniment is generally frowned upon. If accompaniment is desired, a fifth participant (a "reader") may be allowed to read appropriate selections. The dance ends in one of three ways. 1 ) Someone has been successfully murdered. 2) A child has been added to the group of participants directly as a result of a successful attempt to murder or to love another participant. 3) A participant has been discovered in the act of murdering or of loving another participant in which case one participant is to be murdered and the other participant is to be loved, and the game ends. It is not such a complicated dance, once one has got the hang of it. ...