The "Stag Line": A Cape Breton Dance Hall Etiquette (part of Cape Breton Social Heritage)

The Stag Line, a male high school dance etiquette, was certainly indigenous to Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia Canada.

Remember those Cape Breton school dances in the 1960s?

The community hall or gymnasium would be dimly lighted by a few flood lights. Whether the music was delivered by a jukebox, a DJ or live band, the use of a color organ and strobe light was prevalent. Waiting in anticipation of being asked to dance, the teenage ladies were seated along the walls of the dance floor while some of the young girls started things off by dancing with each other.

In Cape Breton this familiar 1960s dance scene now took a radical depart from the norm. The young gents, dressed in typical macho denim jeans 'n jacket, entered the dance hall 'struttin' their stuff'. Then, like "the March of the Penguins", these young males, 2 or 3 abreast, began a deliberate saunter (always in counter clockwise direction) around the dance floor.

This procession of "eligible male dance partners" (hence the name '''stag line''') expanded with more guys joining their buddies in the "dance floor walk about". In short order, this stag line grew to a solid moving procession (2 to 4 wide) of guys. For the entire evening, this organized stag line circled the dance floor, positioned between the dancing masses and the eligible ladies sitting along the edge of the gymnasium.

What was the purpose of this Cape Breton dance-matching ritual?

Being in the stag line, provided each male ample opportunity (multiple loops of the dance floor) to scope out the females, both dancing and sitting. He would spot his next potential dance partner. With both the encouragement and jabs from his immediate stag line buddies, once he worked up the nerve, (usually after 4-10 passes) the male would simply step out of the stag line in front of the chosen sitting lady and request a dance.

Now here is the shear brilliance of the stag line. It really was a simple male support system for those almost always shy and awkward teenage guys working up the courage to ask a girl to dance. If the female response was affirmative, the gentlemen simply escorted her to the dance floor then danced to as many tunes as was enjoyable for both. When the dancing was ended by either party, the guy escorted her back to her seat and then (this is perfect) rejoined his comrades in the stag line parade.

Now, should a female's response to a dance request be 'negatory' or even a little hesitant, the "stag line extracted" male need simply to step back into the line right next to the comfort and support ( or jabs) of his buddies. And likely only a few people even noticed the rejection let alone the valiant attempt. Everyone kept face. And the recovering male, once re-composed, would start the hunt for the next dance partner.

How did the stag line practice get started?

One plausible theory about the origin of the stag line is that at a dance enters the local 'fonzie,tough guy with his entourage of tough guys. Being the top catch for any lady, these tough guys started to strut in front of the ladies seated around the dance floor. Low and behold, the 'regular', 'not so tough', 'but wanting to be part of the tough guy club' guys started following behind these tough guys. And so the 'stag line' was born. The stage line phenomenon appears to have only survived the 1960's teenage generation. Not sure if any photographs have captured this social dance practice.

So the stag line really brought a kind social order to Cape Breton teenage dances. No one got hurt and males learned to deal with rejection and ridicule in a more supportive (sometimes not) team environment.

Maybe stag lines should re-introduced for those over 50 dances. If for no other reason, seniors would get their walking exercise. Picture that.....

Carl Chesal is a business development consultant, trainer, photographer, and avid snowmobiler. He operates BizFare Enterprsie Inc, Foursight Marketing and Consulting, and Foursight Photography, which provide business, marketing, and internet marketing consulting services. He also co-operates a number of e-commerce web-sites with his wife: MyLeatherExpressions.com, PewterExpressions.com and CoolComfortWear.com, which provide Pewter Home Decor, custom leather bags and casual and activewear apparel.

90's dance music

Laila Ali - From Ring to Dance Floor

Laila Ali's inspiring career as a boxer, following in her famous father's footsteps, has only been enhanced by her life and accomplishments outside of the ring.

Laila Ali was born December 30, 1977 to former Heavyweight Champion of the World Muhammed Ali and his third wife, Veronica Porsche Anderson. She is currently the women's boxing Triple Crown Super Middleweight Champion as well as a contestant on ABC's popular Dancing with the Stars.

Ali earned a degree in Business Management at Santa Monica College and then went on to own and operate a successful nail salon in California. She had planned to attend the University of Southern California Business School, but after watching women's boxing on television for the first time, she decided to become a boxer. Approximately a year later, Ali sold her business and started training to become a professional fighter.

Ali made her professional boxing debut on October 8, 1999, at the age of 21. She insisted that the press not record videos of this fight. Her opponent, April Fowler, was a 0-1 fighter who worked as a waitress. 31 seconds into the 1st round, she knocked out her opponent, April Fowler. After Ali's pro debut, she told reporters that she had made her father proud, and that she would knock out every one of her opponents and that it was a promise.

Born: December 30, 1977
Died: --
Famous For: Undefeated World Boxing Champion; Daughter of former Heavyweight Champion of the World Muhammed Ali; named one of People Magazine's Most 100 Beautiful People of 2007.
Key Accomplishments: Earned a degree in Business Management from Santa Monica College; Undefeated World Boxing Champion, Author; Model.
Significant Quote: "There's so many other things that I'm talented at, so many things that I could be doing, that I wouldn't be boxing if it wasn't what I loved to do."
Fun Quote: "I didn't even know that women boxed. And then when I saw it for the first time I wanted to do it."

Ali went on to win her next 8 fights by knockout, and in October of 2000, she beat the then-reigning champion Kendra Lendhart. She won 3 more belts in 2002. On August 17, 2002, she became the new IBA super middleweight champion after defeating Suzy Taylor in the second round. Then, on November 8, 2002, she won the WIBA and the IWBF supper middleweight titles after her opponent, Valerie Mahfood, forced the referee to stop the action at 1:14 of round eight. Next, she had to beat Christy Martin, who was considered the best female fighter in the sport. On August 23rd, 2003, Ali knocked Martin down for the first time in 50 professional bouts, and stopped her in the fourth round.

In her last fight, on February 3rd, 2006, Ali knocked out her opponent, Gwendolyn O'Neal, in just 56 seconds. The bout, which was held in Johannesburg, South Africa, was attended by Nelson Mandela. Ali had the opportunity to meet him prior to the fight.

On February 20, 2007, ABC announced that Ali would participate in the fourth season of Dancing with the Stars. Her partner is Maksim Chmerkivskiy, and together they received the first 10 from judge Len Goodman for their rumba.

Ali also wrote a motivational book, which is called Reach!. She wrote the book to help inspire other young women. In it, she uses her own experiences and challenges as examples for her readers. She also loves to cook, enjoys Pilates, and has done some modeling, including appearances in Sports Illustrated, People, Ebony, Glamour, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Essence, ESPN the Magazine, and Time. Ali is currently engaged to former pro football player Curtis Conway. They plan to wed in July, 2007.

Mitch Mueller writes on a variety of web topics, always trying to make it easy for folks to use the web to better their lives.

http://www.keepandshare.com/htm/biographies/paris_hilton_biography.php

http://www.keepandshare.com/htm/biographies/laila_ali_biography.php

http://www.keepandshare.com/htm/biographies/simon_cowell_biography.php

dance music 2007