The general description of "social" I gathered from word of mouth and the Carolingia list seemed to be very flirty, which I had previously observed to be SCAdian for "touchy.
I would say that dance practice *is* both more flirty and more touchy than Carolingian average; that said, it's rather less so than it once was, and probably not exceptional. That's partly a matter of shifting social norms, and partly because the average age is simply older than it used to be. There's a moderate bit of casual hugging and backrubs of friends, but not as much puppy-pile as there once was.
That said, the social atmosphere point is a good one, and trickier to address than some. Avoiding implicit and unintentional social pressure requires a lot of care and attention...
Re: oddly- or poorly-socialized people
I would say that dance practice *is* both more flirty and more touchy than Carolingian average; that said, it's rather less so than it once was, and probably not exceptional. That's partly a matter of shifting social norms, and partly because the average age is simply older than it used to be. There's a moderate bit of casual hugging and backrubs of friends, but not as much puppy-pile as there once was.
That said, the social atmosphere point is a good one, and trickier to address than some. Avoiding implicit and unintentional social pressure requires a lot of care and attention...