At the risk of brickbats (keep 'em red please):

If you want Folk Dancing done properly go to "Social Folk Dances" or "English Country Dances" or "Scottish Country Dance"

My preference is for folk dancing. Ain't never seen a horse dance - well not at a ceilidh anyway.

The nearest I need to "proper" is not to bump into everyone. ie Polka free for all. I can advise beginners, help them, but the next time I get pushed when I am about to move, the perpetrator might get an earful. I might explain some physiology about short-term memory and danger signals. And man-handling and loud noises are just such that wipe your 7 second loop, leaving you clear to deal with the idiot, but not the dance. So watch out for him at Chippenham in the Squares and Contra dances. The best help is a pointed finger BTW.

beginners are the life blood of Ceilidhs/Barn Dances. They put the folk into Folk. And some of 'em realise it is all about fun.

I always speak to newcomers at Stroud Ceilidhs (Old Swan Band Apr 14th) and inevitably include my mantra "the two golden rules are 1) smile & 2) don't freeze - keep moving" oh and maybe add "listening to the caller helps" - they appreciate that, and it shows we are not elitist (I hope). It all adds-up to Folk. If petrol suddenly doubled in price (and rising) our community would comprise where we live instead of what we do. And we would get to know folk and commune accordingly. I would talk to my neighbours much more (including the one on the right that is) because we would be forced to commune locally.

AND that's another thing............