Kilts and Ghillies Scottish Dance Project

Westchester - 18 January 2012

2012-01-20T14:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Burns' night is growing near and it falls on me this year to double deal - not only is Wednesday the 25th the last class in this winter session it is also the date chosen to celebrate Robert Burns - and I get to put together that double duty party program. So many thanks to Naomi Lasher for, lo these many years ago, sending me a list of dances with connections to the Scottish Bard.

Last week we did The Lea Rig, this week we did Red House, and Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes.

Life has been interesting which, in a very round about way, brings me to certain "Rules of Life". Bill Wagstaff, who I rather wish I had met, had one: Always buy Hondas and Apples (computers). I'm on his side now.

Last week my computer (a spotted cow if there ever was one), decided to process a number of updates even though I told it to do so "later". Top notch programming rule: never let the user specify how much later - and in the middle of class it shut down leaving me to reboot - never a quick procedure with Windows (I WANT A MAC!) and that meant Louis Perez, his wife being away, had the opportunity to fill the time by telling a joke. I REALLY REALLY want my Mac back!!

Then, this week, in trying to reconcile a number of "unknown' bands and albums, all of which had that information input, the computer 'lost' about 25 albums and the associated music files. It is a very good thing that I live nowhere near the Microsoft engineers. There would be a new term for someone (me) going on a shooting spree - "he went windows". I have spent about 15 hours relocating and relinking all those music files.
Ground down teeth and several glasses of wine later....

Other than discovering that several of the music files I had planned on using were mislaid I had a splendid evening, the dancers left happy and I will miss teaching the group.

The evenings dances were:
Swashbuckling Iain (32 J 2) San Francisco 2
Simon Brodie (32 S 3) 18C
Red House (40 R 2) 7/2
Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes (32 S 2) 16/8
Sunday Afternoon Jig (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Monymusk (32 S 3) 11/2

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Swashbuckling Iain:- Done as a walk-through warm up dance, the music is good, the dance too. It has been a while since I last danced it so that little chore is now on my to-do list. Verification of a dance requires more that watching it takes dancing, and this dance has caught my eye again.

Simon Brodie:- Not for wimps! The last formation requires strong steps, good strong handing and forethought in the phrasing. And the music, by Dave Wiesler and Mara Shea, a set of really good, strong traditional strathspeys is wonderful... and why I chose to teach the dance. Recommended.

Red House:- The list I received said there is a connection to Bobby Burns, I don't know what it is - anyone? This is one of my favourite dances and full of opportunities to embroider and play (and over do).

Originally a 48 bar dance - 3 part music - AA BB CC - the Scottish Dance Society chose to edit out one of the As. I can understand why, but only half heartily agree.

The original (Playford ca. 1650):
A1 Set, cast to 2nd place:
A2 Repeat back to place.

That in 2 phrases of music/16 bars - so given our modern Scottish style it would be: set for 4 bars; cast for 4 bars: that again: which is, I agree, a bit much and so the edit.

What the Society may not have realized is that in English Country Dance the term "set" can also apply to "advance and retire" i.e set advancing then set retiring. Dancers can do that or use a simple walking step instead, which creates a delightful surge - especially where it follows the first cast- i.e. adv & retire; cast off; (here it comes) adv & ret.; cast back to place.

In English CD they keep the 48 bars but even up the dancing by splitting the parts between 1C and 2C:
A1 1C fwd & back set & cast off;
A2 2C the same. (everyone home)
B1 1C chase.
B2 2C chase (again, everyone home)
C1 1C 2M reel of 3 across (2M cuts the reel Rsh to 1L)
C2 1C 2L reel of 3 across (2L cuts the reel Lsh to 1M) and with an extra pass all end progressed.

The Scottish 40 bar version where the reels are on the sides: -
A1 1C set, cast; set, cast back.
B1 1C chase end below 2C.
B2 1C (1L followed by 1M) chase. End home.
C1 1M 2M pass Lsh to begin AS 1L dances down and across to below 2M's place where she enters the
reel by giving Rsh to her partner. Last 2 bars 1L dances home as men pass again to progress.
C2 1L 2L pass Rsh AS 1M (from 2nd place) dances across to below 2L's place where he enters the
reel by giving Lsh to his partner. Last 2 bars 1M dances across to 2nd man's place as 1L 2L pass more
time to progress.

My inclination would be to dance the first half closer to the ECD style and keep the Scottish version of the reels which are so delightfully different.
A1 1C Adv and Ret; set, and cast off.
A2 1C repeat, back to place.
B1 1C chase
B2 1C chase back?
C1 Scottish style reel
C2 The same.

Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes:- The connection here is the incredible tune to which Burns wrote the words.
Dougie MacLean sings a wonderful rendition on his CD "Tribute" and Marian Anderson, Judith Linton and Muriel Johnstone have a dynamite set on their CD "North of the Tweed" that begins with the true tune.

Unfortunately Ca' the Ewes... is a song tune and the RSCDS chose to set the dance to a different tune, a strong traditional style strathspey and, in so doing, cut the connection to Bobby Burns. Sigh. FYI the official RSCDS recording (made by Bobby Crowe) uses "Miss Mariane Oliphant (Rossie)" as the lead tune for the dance.

Sunday Afternoon Jig:- The first dance that I have taught from the "Dunsmuir Dances" collection that has me less than thrilled. But it is worth trying again, and when I do I will make every effort to be in the set and dancing it.

Monymusk:- Another of my favourite dances. It wasn't until I danced to it to music played by Liz Donaldson and all her regular suspects with the following additions: Earl Gaddis, Steve Hickman and Alasdair Fraser. Oh my did that change my mind. If the music is anything but strong, dark and handsome I wouldn't bother. If the music is all that then I would called to the dance floor.

Westchester - 11 January 2012

2012-01-14T10:11:00.003-05:00

Another good turn out with three full sets and a few extras and a good bit of ground got covered too. The Westchester Burns Night Party and their End-of-Session Party coincide this year and I decided to do some party prep.

I was taught how to handle the bars 15-16 transition in The Lea Rig a particular way that is not as written and I wanted to address that - some dancers and teachers tend to get bent out of shape if you do not hew the line and a few of them were present. I also wanted to do some remedial work on Caberfei, one of my top 10 favourite reels (it's the MUSIC!)

The dances we did were:
Sister Blanche of St. Andrew's (32 J 3) B. McMurtry
The Lea Rig (32 S 2) 21/5
Caberfei (32 R 3) 18C
Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2) B. Priddey
Flight of the Falcon (32 J 3) B. Priddey
Glen Feshie (32 S 3) anon. - Grampian Coll.
Montgomeries' Rant (32 R 3) 10/1

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Sister Blanche:- A simple jig with a poussette which means it is not a beginner's dance. But that didn't matter because we walked it for warm up. Cold and Raw finally hit the North East. It isn't special, but there is room in my box for simple, easy to teach dances that have a nice story.

The Lea Rig:- The dance itself is, in my opinion, somewhat tedious. The music and song however are sublime. The problem I have is that as second man I have never liked dancing between 1C as they set to one another on bars 15&16 which is how it is written. That setting is still their moment even though they have already had three of them. My other problem is that I am a creature of habit and inertia: I was taught a different way and I like that way - which is for 2nd man to dance down behind 1st man on those bars as 2nd lady turns into place - and since it doesn't change the dance in any substantive way, no one else is affected and it gives 1C their moment, I see no reason to change how I dance or teach The Lea Rig. That is basically what I said last night and I gave everyone permission to compare the two versions which they did and that was a real joy to see
Oh yes, one other thing - the move from right hands across into position for the half poussette is still one of the nicest moves in Scottish dancing, or any dancing for that matter.

Caberfei:- (aka The Deer's Antlers) - The music is, quite simply, joyful; and it is such a good dance, such a fun, playful dance and the suffering I see whenever it is done! Half set and half reel - oh the pain, and such pain, and it's all habit. Don't you hear it? "Only 1 pas de basque?! Impossible! I can't do just one! I have to do two, one on the right and one on the left" and so forth and so on and on...

And those are three of the moments in the dance - the two half sets into half reels and the half set into the half circle. Moments where it is no longer rote, common or everyday. Where this one is different and you get to really dance. And most dances only have one or two such moments. Oh, and the other moment is the down-for-one, up-for-one lead - it too is different and eye contact with partner in that moment makes the moment.

On an esthetic note: The stag's antlers – this dance is the only one in the country dance repertoire where it is permited for the men to raise their arms and take the highland antler position. But for heaven's sake, if you can't hold your arms UP there don't do it! Wimpy arms with hands next to the ears looks horrible and that is saying it kindly!

The Burn of Sorrow:- one of Barry Priddey's easier dances and, like so many of his, includes the Tourbillon figure. The more I dance it the more I see how 'large' it can become. And that is really rather large. I am tempted to see haw far I can go in making all the moves 'touch and go' and reduce the hand holding to a minimum. Just because.

The Flight of the Falcon:- Basically 16 bars of tandem, lead change reels of three. On the New Haven Highland Ball. Which I still have to sign up for.

Glen Feshie:- A nice basic strathspey with a little kick to it. Needs good music, music that will hold the interest because otherwise the dance can lean to the tedious. I use Petr White's Kendoon Strathspey.

Montgomeries' Rant:- What does this dance have that, no matter how often all we teachers present it, the dancers still have huge smiles when coming off the floor?

Dancing on the Heights - 9 January 2012

2012-01-10T19:07:00.002-05:00

The first meeting of the new year and and we covered a lot of territory. We looked at Terry Glasspool's dance Chocolate Raspberry Swirl from his Picton Workshop and corrected a long running error in my teaching of The Fireside Reel - I learned it some 30 years ago and have been teaching it that same way ever since - incorrectly - despite having the original directions in front of me for some 20 years. Time was also spent discussing the upcoming Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance which should be inked in your calendar.

Date: April 28, 2012
Time: 3:00 pm start
Location: South Britain Congregational Church, East Flat Hill Road, Southbury, CT.
Band: Terry Traub and Alice Backer
Cost: $20 in advance/ $25 at the door.
Refreshments: Desserts and finger food served at the break.

The above is my current understanding and may get carved in stone in the next week or so.

The evenings dances were:
Saw Ye My Wee Thing (32 J 2) 25/9
Chocolate Raspberry Swirl (40 S 3) T. Glasspool
Fireside Reel (32 R 3) 18C
Broadway (32 S 3 set) C. Ronald

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Saw Ye My Wee Thing:- I used to think this dance was a throw away but it is growing on me. We did it as a walk through- literally walking it because the hall was quite chill and it did a nice job of warming the muscles without stressing any. And I find I am liking the tune which is more than half the partnership. A good tune will carry a mediocre dance. A good dance will not carry a mediocre tune.

Chocolate Raspberry Swirl:- One of Terry's outside-the-box dances, that seems to be about figures crossing the phrases of the music. The hook on which the dance hangs (or not) is in the transition from Right Hands Across (5 places) for 4 corners into LHA for 6 dancers once round in 3 steps and then into an unwinding. The important distinction is between the actual 6-hands across and the virtual grouping of 3s within the bigger 6. To make the point I actually had each group of three take hands and then merge their wheels to get the 6 hands across. It worked all too well. The dance didn't fall apart as in previous trials but now there are handing issues.

This is a real challenge dance. First time through is rough because there are so many small details that everyone has to remember or the dance falls apart. I am on the fence over whether or not the dance is a really a repeater. I saw great satisfaction in the mastering of the dance but not the spontaneous joy of a great dance worth doing and redoing. No Dancer's Choice Award for this one. Better music would help. There are very few 40 bar strathspey recordings, none of them spectacular, and this dance, I think, needs its own special music.

Fireside Reel:- I learned this dance from teachers who had it from their Boston teachers and, as I found out from Bob Houghton (teaching Tenafly, NJ on Jan 4), we all had it wrong. And the insult to this injury is that Ken Way (teacher in Middletown, CT) tried to point it out to me a few years ago and I didn't get it!

The opening 8 bars for the different dancers are uneven, not symmetrical, there being overlapping phrases.
1M dances bars 1-4; 2L dances bars 3-6, 1L dances bars 5-8.

1M has 2 bars to cast and 2 to turn 2L with the RH. He has had his 4 bars and is done. 2L has 4 bar of dancing: she has a 2 bar turn with 1M (starting on bar 3) about half round, and then 2 bars to dance up and curve right into top ladies' place as 1L begins her 4 bars - she has 2 bars to cast, and this is the important point, NOT around 1M (in 2L's place), but rather she enters between 1st and 2nd places - i.e. above 1M - and then has 2 bars to turn 2M.

Broadway:- Fun - and growing on the dancers each time they dance it. Recommended!

Elmsford - 4 January 2012

2012-01-05T00:22:00.001-05:00

A lovely evening, with two sets and a bit. Nothing esoteric on the program so we were able to get through 8 dances.

The dances were:
Trip to Gatlinburg (32 J 3) Shengzhang Tang
Meyer Lemon Strathspey (32 S 2) Houston 30th
Scotland's Gardens (32 R 3) R. Goldring
Gypsy Weaver (32 S 3) D. Peet
The Captain (32 R 3) Russ King
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) 37/7
Strathglass House (32 S 3) 13/9
Flowers of Edinburgh (32 R 3)

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Trip to Gatlinburgh:- A simple, jig with a variant weave making it progressive. Very good at warming up the dancers but otherwise a bit on the light side. Fun occasionally.

Meyer Lemon Strathspey:- Introduced to me by Ralph Stoddard who was teaching at the Nutmeg Workshop held in Middletown, CT., this past fall. Good dancer he, also good teacher and all round good person. Dance is somewhat simplistic but that means you must dance it clean because any error is most obvious.

While simple the dance is good enough that it is going one the shortlist for the next program I devise (at the suggestion of Miss Wendy).

Scotland's Gardens:- From the pen of Roy Goldring, a lovely dance in MHO, and except for the awkward end effect, would give The Highland Rambler a run for the money.

Gypsy Weaver:- The music, by Liz Donaldson, is simply divine and the dance ain't bad either. It's all about eye contact but please don't over play it. Keep it respectful and the dance is worth doing again. Camp it up and it is only funny once because the dance doesn't go there and big googly eyes simply don't fit. Play is fun when not overdone.

The Captain:- Yet another round of applause. 1M gets a great kilt moment and considering what I am seeing now I eagerly await the evening when all the men are wearing their kilts. Even the ladies dancing as men are getting into the swing of the moment.

The Nurseryman:- One of the top 10 jigs IMHO. The transition out of the LHA into lines of three across advancing is one of the great moments in Scottish dancing. The secret is to drop hands about half way round and spiral out into the lines across and then the dancers can surge toward the other line. If dancers hold their hands too long forming the lines is problematic and there is no momentum, and tonight, finally, the class began to get it. Oh yeah!

Strathglass House:- The music makes the dance and calls for good strong steps, and when that is there...

Flowers of Edinburgh:- One of the standards for good reason. I've done it lots and it is still good fun and went really nicely to an old recording - George Stirrat and his Band ca. 1960. It is really something when you can hear the band having fun.

Elmsford - 21 December 2011

2011-12-22T14:03:00.001-05:00

Another good evening with two dances that needed thorough teaching. Forget Me Knot, a repeat from last week, and Peggy Spouse M.B.E.. The latter was a surprise because I was sure it had been taught here by one of the other teachers.

The evening's dances were:

Ann Arbor (32 J 3) Bob Gregg
Forget Me Knot (32 S 3 set) Brian Youngman
The Captain (32 R 3) Russ King
Balgeddie Reel (32 R 5) Mary S. Brandon
Gary Scott's Jig (32 J 3) Tim Wilson
Peggy Spouse M.B.E. (32 S 3) 46/1
The Kilt Maker (32 R 4) P. Burrage

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Ann Arbor:- Another good opening jig from New Haven's Bob Gregg. A trick I learned from this dance was how to get a set to assume the proper width - have them walk an advance and retire. They will retire to the proper width even if they had begun with too narrow a set.

Forget Me Knot:- I got bogged down yet again. I did not pick one teaching method but was hung up trying to teach the dance two differing ways. In hindsight this dance should be taught in pure Society method. I walk it, they walk it; I dance it, they dance it - for each eight bar phrase.

The key to this dance is phrasing - it needs to be precise because good dancing is rewarded and sloppy dancing is punished. The hooks on which this dance succeeds (or fails) are the turns which transition into the two half reels.

DanceData has the crib and the links to both the full instruction set and the paper music for this dance.

The Captain:- A simple dance and well received... yet again. Seems to becoming a regular thing too. I suspect the music has a lot to do with it. I have been using the Dave Wiesler/Mara Shea recording for Sleepwalking off their Heather Hills Cd. Hot stuff & recommended.

Balgeddie Reel:- Another dance that ended with cheers and clapping and a cry for 'once-and-to-the-bottom!'
There is definitely a place for simple but fun dances and this one qualifies. Dancer's Choice Award.

Gary Scott's Jig:- It has its moments but tonight, for the first time, the setting (10 bars worth) was a burden and not a joy. Hmmm.

Peggy Spouse M.B.E.:- I remember listening in on a long involved discussion concerning the transition into the half strathspey poussette the crux of which was the adjustment necessary for the 1st man and 2nd woman. We did not have a problem. Both couples were able to give hands with no more than a slight stepping in by supporting partners. There is a reason and it is the fact of how close the dancers in this area (tristate area certainly) stand and form sets. The uTube videos of British dancers show a much wider set. Look up the Society's summer school demos in Younger Hall. Astonishing.

The Kilt Maker:- Describes, in dance, the measuring, weaving, pleating, sewing and showing off of a kilt. Two thumbs up!

Elmsford - 14 December 2011

2011-12-21T16:51:00.001-05:00

I find it difficult to remember and stay aware of what I know and what the different groups I teach don't know. When I started dancing, for example, The Saint John River was on many programs for several years. I have done it. To death. I have always considered it a "fun once in awhile dance" and that means about once a year or so and it is therefore never on my mind when I prepare class or party programs which means I have not taught it - ever - until this night when it was requested by a new teacher who had only done it her first year of dancing and wanted to learn it.

I also taught Forget Me Knot for no reason other than I had the music and wanted to try the dance. I like the music (by Mara Shea and Dave Wiesler) so much that I am sorely tempted to use it for many of the 3C set strathspeys I like. Not a good habit to fall into. If the dance is good enough it should be done to it's name tune, and the name tune should be reserved for it's dance. Rats.

I am going to do Forget Me Knot again because I lost track of time and had to rush the teaching. Never a good thing. Here's to better time control and, the next time, I will be more conscious of the oddities of the dance

The evening's dances were:

Collie Law (32 J 2) Goldring

The Docent's Tour (32 S 3) Tim Wilson

The Wandering Drummer (32 R 3 set) Iain Boyd

Forget Me Knot (32 S 3 set) Brian Youngman

Mrs. Stewart's Jig (32 J 3) 35/1

The St. John River (32 S 4) P. Edwards
Knights' Heys (32 H 3) T. Glasspool

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Collie Law:- Good dance for teaching 2C allemande, it also is a reasonable opening dance to get dancers warmed up gently.

The Docent's Tour:- A delightful dance from Tim Wilson. I am 'featuring' him on next year's Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance by putting three of his dances on the program: The Docent's Tour, The Elusive Muse, Gary Scott's Jig. All are from the RSCDS San Francisco Branch's book Measures of Pleasure and there isn't a turkey in the bunch, in fact many of the dances are great. I remember when I bought a book if there was ONE good dance in it (Grampian Collection for example for Rest and Be Thankful). I am now getting spoiled.

The Wandering Drummer:- I just had to do it because I didn't want to do two strathspeys in a row. Nice simple beginner reel I keep it in my box for those times I have a beginner walk in.

Forget Me Knot:- My goodness the music is simply divine. Thank you Dave for the set and the lead tune.

The dance, on first visit, is pretty good but has some oddities that dancers found mildly disconcerting. The big one being the unequal nature of the central figure where first corners dance pass and turn, half reel, then dance Lsh pass & turn and half reel home. 2nd corners reel don't get any pass & turn at all.

Mrs Stewart's Jig:- It is one of the standards and for good reason: it is dance-able many times without getting heartily sick of it and it has been and is getting danced many times in the greater NY area.

The St. John River:- My big oops for the night. I either wasn't looking or I was looking but my tongue took on a life of it's own. The third figure is down the middle and up with 2C, 3c and 4C following. Not what I said. It is definately different and, in my opinion, a better dance with the arches being made sequentially. There was a TAC Talk newsletter that dealt with local variations (frowned upon). The timing of the arches I agree on the issue of whether or not 4C meet and touch hands - or not - is a mountain over a mole hill issue in my opinion. Off my soap box now. Good night all.

Knights' Heys:- One of my all time, top 50, favourite reels. Great dance! The reels were designed to imitate the move of the knight in chess.

Christmas Party on the Heights - 12 December 2011

2011-12-13T18:35:00.000-05:00

Party Night! and have you noticed that when you say that how many more dancers you get?

The evening's programme was:

Aldebaran (32 J 3) Bob Gregg
Adieu Mon Ami (32 S 3) Bk 24/11
Solway Reel (48 R 4) Joseph Killeen
Pete and Marilynn's Welcome Home (32 J 3) Glasspool
The Kilt Maker (32 R 4) P. Burrage
Airie Bennan (32 J 5) H. Foss
The Docent's Tour (32 S 3) Tim Wilson
Knights' Heys (32 R 3) T. Glasspool

Elmsford - 7 December 2011

2011-12-13T18:24:00.000-05:00

Just another evening of dance. A few dances from the upcoming Westchester New Year's eve program and a few from the Kilts and Ghillies' Tea Dance program and we have an full evening.

The evening's dances were:
Cabbages and Kings (32 J 3) Harbour City Coll.
The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh (32 S 3) Bk 23/4
The Chicago Loop (32 R 3) Kent Smith
The Elusive Muse (32 J 3 set) Tim Wilson
The Border Weavers (32 S 3 set) Alex Grey
Christine M. Phillips (32 J 3) Bk 46/1
Broadway (32 S 3 set) Chris Ronald

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Cabbages and Kings:- A simple introduction to corners and a fine opening (read warm-up) dance.

The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh:- I taught this in 2002 and not again until this summer. It is growing on me but isn't likely to become my favourite strathspey of all time but, as I said, it is growing on me. I am not sure why the original directions for bars 17-20 read as two simultaneous half rights & lefts with the couple at the top crossing to begin and 3rd and 1st couples facing on the side to begin. It is an interesting concept but all it really is is a half grand chain 2 bars per hand. I find it much easier for the dancers to wrap their aching heads around that concept then the "as written" one.

The Chicago Loop:- This dance, in the words of the great contra-dance caller Ralph Paige, is "a little stinker".
Looks nice and easy until you have to remember the correct hand to use on bar 21.

The Elusive Muse:- This dance keeps garnering hearty applause and wide smiles when it is over. Neat dance and well deserving of its Dancer's Choice Award. Tim Wilson has written a number of very nice dances and is fast becoming one of my favourite devisors. I have put this one, and two others of his, on the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance in the hope that he becomes popular. He deserves it.

The Border Weavers:- The music for this dance is just scrumptious and carries the dance. Which needs space so the set can expand to accommodate the three couple petronella into line. Only a B/B+ dance in my opinion the music kicks it up a notch and it is worth doing again.

Christine M. Phillips:- A dancer's dance. If you still do not know how to dance a half reel of four, still do not know that if you start in the middle you MUST pass somebody by left shoulders on bar 4 you should stay in your chair. This dance rewards good knowledgeable dancers and that is why it too is on the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance program.

Broadway:- What a neat dance! Recommended.

Elmsford - 30 November 2011

2011-12-08T17:31:00.001-05:00

What an eventful evening! Margaret Green, our 93yo wonder, took a serious tumble while casting around first corner, took a pressure cut from her glasses and cracked or bruised (we're not yet sure which) a rib. EMTs, police, fire and ambulance, ride to the hospital, all in all the full nine yards, and I took over the class that evening because Sue Ferguson was still under the weather, and she is almost never under the weather. Even with all that and only about 24 hour notice I had a good evening teaching. Which begs the question: what is a good evening for a teacher. For me it is an evening where I make no major faux pas, at least one person has an "aha!" moment and that night it was I.

My moment came when I taught Jean Attwood's dance Five Penny Ness to a group of of good dancers who had a tough time with it. It hadn't looked difficult, in fact it looked positively easy, even easy enough for beginners, and all I can say now is that looks can be deceiving. This dance does NOT dance as easily as it looks. (Some dances, especially most of John Drewry's, dance easier than they look or read). I took Five Penny Ness off the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance as soon as I got home that evening.

The dances I taught were:
The Captain (32 R 3) San Francisco Solstice Party
The Belle of Bon Accord (32 S 4) J. Drewry
Five Penny Ness (32 J 5) Jean Attwood
Ann Arbor (32 J 3) Bob Gregg
reprise of Ann Arbor
The Dancing Man (32 H 3) Roy Goldring

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The Belle of Bon Accord:- A lovely dance that I had not been exposed to until this year's John Drewry Night sponsored by the Brooklyn class of the NY Branch. Now on my top 50 strathspey list.

Five Penny Ness:- I think it is the meanwhile figure and the piece count which is high and the position changes at both ends. Scrapped. No longer on the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance program.

The Captain, Ann Arbor, and The Dancing Man I have discussed previously.

New Haven Branch Class - 29 November 2011

2011-11-30T11:29:00.000-05:00

There was a nice turnout last night - 7 couples plus an extra which made a nice even number for dancing The Earl of Mansfield, a four couple dance from John Drewry, published by the Society as a leaflet. And where have I been? I know I looked at it sometime ago and I usually have enough of an eye to pick out interesting and fun dances so how did I miss this one?

There is a "John Drewry" night dance coming up this weekend in Brooklyn, NY. That means there is a strong push from dancers to "be prepared" which can be rather limiting for teachers. I have, thankfully, gotten exposure to 2 dances I would never have done otherwise: The Earl of Mansfield and The Belle of Bon Accord. I am not sure I would put them in my top 10 list but they certainly make the top 50. Fun and different enough to be attention getters.

The evening's dances were:
Ann Arbor (32 J 3) Bob Gregg
Earl of Mansfield (48 R 4) John Drewry
Duchess Tree (32 S 3) John Drewry
The Elusive Muse (32 J 3) Tim Wilson
Anna Holden's Strathspey (32 S 2) John Drewry
Solway Reel (48 R 4) Joseph Killeen

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Ann Arbor :- It's a pleasant wee dance that does a very subtle but lovely thing: it sets the proper width of the set with the advance and retire in 2nd eight bar phrase. It is also a nice warm up to the rest of the evening. Thank you Bob.

Earl of Mansfield :- You will not survive falling asleep in this dance. And the 'hook' on which the entire dance hangs together is the bar 31-32 moment when 3rd couple must, absolutely must, end back in place with a proper gap between themselves and 2nd couple who are concurrently stepping up to top place. If 3C places themselves in the middle of the gap between 2C at the top and 4C at the bottom then poor 1st man has no idea who is truly his first corner (3L? 4L?) and the chance of recovery is, at best, poor.

Duchess Tree :- Two points. First - yes both 1C and 3C casts into the initial cross over reel but NOT in the same way. 3C is asked to (what I call) 'cuddle' cast. They dance into the middle to meet one another before they pull shoulders back and start their actual cast. I find teachers are leaving that piece of it out and dancers are doing what they are told, are not meeting, and that is throwing the timing of the reel off.
Secondly,the "Set, Circle, Turn (moving the circle along as you turn), Circle" sequence began here, in this dance, and is now, unfortunately, migrating - dancers are now doing it it other dances where there is no need to move the circle on and no has asked them to. They are doing that on their own and it needs to stop! It should remain unique to this dance (IMHO).

But the best dance of the night, the one that got a spontaneous standing ovation was...

The Elusive Muse :- Devised? by Tim Wilson and published in the San Francisco collection Measures of Pleasure this is a really fun dance full of tandem (not dolphin) half reels, a California Twirl and Set and Link for 3. A Dancer's Choice Award recipient and on the Kilts and Ghillies program in April. A Keeper!
I do not have a recording and have been using The Vale of Atholl jig medley by Mara Shea and Dave Wiesler off their Heather Hills CD.

Anna Holden's Strathspey :- One of my favourites! The key word for the 1st figure is control, control and more control. Having a good, properly wide set helps.

The Solway Reel :- The one name tune recording I have for this dance is, I regret to say, a poor one - I don't like the music chosen or how it is played so I continue to use the music I picked when I didn't have a proper recording at all. I use the Jimmy Blair set for Lady Sophia Ann of Bute off his old vinyl record Highland Dance Party. (Teacher's Choice Award).

This year the dance was on NY's Jeannie Carmichael Ball and I was called because they wanted 'my' music. I was certainly feeling warm and fuzzy (not to mention smug and self satisfied) after dancing it at West Point. By the way Parcel of Rogues is a wonderful band - two thumbs up.

Gentle Annie 32 S 3 E. Hurd, Del Val 25th Anniversary Book

2011-11-16T12:19:00.001-05:00

Gentle Annie
32 S 3C(4)

1-4 1C turn BH x1_1/2; end in 2nd place center of the dance
and stay close:
5-6 1C set right & strong left
7-8 1L 2C and 1M 3C dance RH Across halfway (2 steps)

9-12 All dance chase to other end and form lines of 3
- 1M btwn 3C at top facing down and 1W
btwn 2C in 3rd place facing up.
13-14 All set
15-16 1C advance to take promenade hold AS
2C 3C turn ptnr RH half round into promenade hold.
All end facing down.

17-24 3C Allemande - start down to begin, all retire to end
on prtnr's side of the dance. End 2, 1, 3 all improper.

25-30 Lsh Reels of 3 across the dance - 1M up. 1L down.
NB - 6 bar reels. All end facing prtnr.

31-32 All cross to own sides RH.

Dancing on the Heights - 14 November 2011

2011-11-16T11:31:00.000-05:00

I have had an interesting week that culminated in a good class this Monday.

Let me begin with some ancient history.
I began dancing in 1976 and was soon doing a lot of the road trip thing. One of the road trips was an annual pilgrimage to the Delaware Valley Hogmanay ball where I met Eleanor and Robert Hurd who were a strong presence in the country dance world of contra, English and Scottish. Fast forward a few decades.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9th, at the Westchester end of session party Bob Houghton taught a dance (from the Delaware Valley 25th Anniversary book) which I had looked at years ago but never taught as I did not have the necessary music, a medley of Stephen Foster songs, and in his introduction to the dance Gentle Annie he mentioned that the dance had been written by his sister Eleanor who had married Robert Hurd and they subsequently introduced Bob to Scottish dancing.

Well, the dance stole a piece of my heart. I know this because I could remember it and write it down when I got home. I have taught it twice since then: on Sunday to Naomi Lasher's performance group - The Loch Leven Dancers, and on Monday to my class on the Heights. The response from both groups were smiles and applause even though I did not have the Stephen Foster music. Bob has promised me access to his tape when I am finally moved in at Livingston Street, my electronics are up and running and I am able to make digital copies of his analog tape. Cheers, whistles and stamping from resident peanut gallery.

Gentle Annie is utterly charming and I realized I needed to revisit the Delaware Valley 25th Anniversary book and re-view the dances. There are a number of good dances there and I have done the following: The Black Leather Kilt, The Blue Route, Bubbles in the Pond, Gentle Annie, It's Not Rocket Science, The Man in Waiting and Pete and Marilynn's Welcome Home. Commendable dances all - leaving me with five more dances to check out. The book is Recommended.

Back to Monday: I had notice that several of my regulars would not be attending and I was somewhat worried - Needlesly. The 8 dancers who showed up were great and that allowed me to play - the dances I pulled from my back pocket were all ones I have been looking at and wanting to test. Except for The Captain and The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh I had not taught any of the dances before this evening.

Monday evening's dances were:
The Captain (32 R 3) SF Solstice Party Book*
Gentle Annie (32 S 3) Del Valley 25th (E. Hurd)
Faradh Nam Fidhlearan (32 R 4) Many Happy Hours (Joubert)
Bubbles in the Pond (32 S 3) Del Valley 25th (K. Nealley)
Home and Away (32 R 3) Skelton - Celtic Book
Dean Bridge of Edinburgh (32 S 3) 23/4*

* These dances are on the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance program.

**********

The Captain :- A nice easy dance for everybody and there is a "kilt" moment between bars 24 and 25. The music I have been using is the Shea/Wiesler set for Sleepwalking and with that set of tunes the dance is smoking! I usually don't use reels for warm up dances but with only 2 bars of setting this one works if kept a bit down tempo.

Gentle Annie :- A gentle dance, a lovely dance. Reactions have been nothing but positive.

Faradh nam fidhlearan :- By Wouter Joubert, Pretoria, South Africa. My initial reading had me thinking a degree of difficulty of 5 out of 5 was appropriate. Dancers thought 3 to 4 out of 5 was more accurate. The one essential is this: dancers have to move! during the hands across into the tandem reels. The only other emphatic point is how the ladies end the reels of 3 and enter the reels of 4. Last figure (back-to-back and circles of 4) was considered by most of my class to be a cop out. My thinking is that if the dance is a difficult one then the dancers need the breathing space. If it is merely of middling difficulty then the dancer don't need the respite and my dancers are correct. I'm still on the fence.

Bubbles in the Pond :- Nice dance! - and that is also the response of the class. This was, as they remember it, their first exposure to the "Bubble Up" figure though I am sure some were present when I taught it in July 2009 (Station Master's Jig (Michael Bentley)).

In the bubble up Kate calls for the dancers to be on the sides facing in every two bars and the only way that can happen (IMHO) is if the dancers drop hands after every half turn. That is how I taught it but it needs exceptional dancing and rehearsal to be covered and looking good. Both the dancers and I preferred it when hands were kept throughout the moving turns.

Home and Away :- I thought I was going to have trouble with this one - it has the same middle figure as the dance "Best Set in the Hall". Which, as it turned out, most of the dancers knew so I didn't have any trouble at all. Lovely figure, lovely dance and the 2 half dolphin reels at the end are simply spiffin' and liked by all.

Christopher's observation that after setting to their corner 1st couple is always casting back to their own sides was very helpful

Dean Bridge of Edinburgh :- This dance is a sleeper but be warned - in Pilling the diagram for the last figure is VERY WRONG! No hands! And I (unlike Christopher) like the last figure. There may not be much eye contact/interaction between unpartnered dancers but there are lots of opportunities with partner.

As written the description of bars 17-20 call for 2 sets of half R&L. One standard (starting across), the other a variant (starting on the sides). What I see is 2 changes of a grand chain, and my dancers find the idea of the "chain" easier to comprehend.

Dancing on the Heights - 10 October 2011

2011-10-20T10:26:00.001-04:00

There was a good turnout with a full set for most of the evening allowing me to explore several 4C dances.

The dances taught were:
Lassie wi' the lint white locks (32 S 2) Priddey - SDA #115
Ginger Sharks (32 R 3) Price - 8x32 Leaflet
Gary Scott's Jig (32 J 3) T. Wilson - Measures of Pleasure
Giradet House (32 S 4 sq) Francis Carr - leaflet
Ian Powrie's Farewell to Auchterarder (128 J 4 sq) leaflet
The Kilt Maker (32 R 4) P. Burrage - Pinewoods Coll 2
Maurice (32 S 2) G. Thomas - Dunsmuir Dances

**********

Lassie wi' the lint white locks :- I love a Tournee! Especially when it has an easy entry without any change of direction and the dance has an attractive variation of a standard figure (chevron back-to-back). Keeper!

Ginger Sharks :- A Quick and dirty teaching dance I wrote a few weeks ago and published on Lara's web site http://blog.lib.umn.edu/ldfs/8x32/2011/10/312350.html The dance will never receive a Dancer's Choice Award, but it was reasonably well liked when taught to the beginners in Westchester . I wanted to try it out to a more critical audience and what I got were smiles and "It's cute."

Gary Scott's Jig :- I am a Tim Wilson fan. He writes good dances. This one is simple enough (except for the Double Triangles) and the transition from 2nd corner half reel of four into position for the DTs is sweet enough to make the dance a keeper.

Giradet House :- How this dance came into my possession is a story I won't tell at this time. It is in the repertory of Naomi Lasher's Loch Leven Dancers and I got the verbal notes. I found the original directions today, here: <Giradet House> The crossing reels of four are a fun challenge in this otherwise simple dance.

Ian Powrie's Farewell to Auchterarder :- After the long thread on strathspey.org I just had to buy the original leaflet and I found that it was written as a palindrome. I have done it a lot over the years and I still find it fun.

The Kilt Maker :- Fun! Dancer's Choice Award! I believe the original is still available. And did I say "Fun!"?

Maurice :- I love this dance and it is still fresh after 19 teachings. Do it with your sweetie: it rocks. See previous posts if you want more.

Dancing on the Heights - 12 September 2011

2011-09-13T09:35:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I threw a birthday party for myself with the help my friends and fellow dancers in New Haven.
I brought an ice cream pie and a bottle of champagne and was surprised with two more bottles of bubbly and a wonderful apple, pear and dried cherry crisp from Leslie Kearney. But best of all was the presence of my friends.

What I programmed was a set of dances that I like and hadn't done in ages.

The dances were:
Pete and Marilynn's Welcome Home (32 J 3) T. Glasspool
Scotland's Gardens (32 R 3) R. Goldring
Glen Feshie (32 S 3) Grampian Collection
Duncan's Jig (32 J 3) D. Ivory
Solway Reel (48 R 4) Carlisle and Border Anniversary
Ythanside (32 S 3) J. Drewry
Carlaverock Castle (32 R 3) P. Price

New Haven Summer Social - July and August 2011

2011-08-11T13:54:00.007-04:00

6 September 2011 - Peter Price
Half Past Two (32 J 2) Jane Lataille
Tumbleweeds (32 J 4some) Jane Lataille
The Four Poster (32 S 4some) Terry Glasspool

30 August 2011 - Peter Price
The Red Baron (32 R 2) I. Boyd
Southwest Sunset (32 S 4some) J. Lataille
The Wandering Drummer (32 R 3 set) I. Boyd
The Painted Desert (32 S 3 set) J. Lataille
Sage and Salsa (16S+16R 3 set) J. Lataille
The Cramond Wedding (32 S 3 set) I. Boyd

23 August 2011 - Peter Price
Ann Arbour (32 J 3) Rbt. Gregg
The Docent's Tour (32 S 3) T. Wilson
The Bee's Wing (32 H 3) M. Briggs
The Song of the Waves (32 S 6) B. Priddey
Christine M. Phillips (32 J 3) 46/1
Broadway (32 S 3 set) C. Ronald
Arthur's Seat (32 R 3) 18C

16 August 2011 - Brian Haeckler
EH3 7AF  (32 J 3) Roy Goldring
Rest and Be Thankful (32 R 3) Grampian Coll.
Autumn in Appin (32 S 4) 31/5
Thomas Glover's Reel (32 R 3) John Drewry
Equilibrium (32 J 3) Ian Barbour
Scott Meikle (32 R 3) 46/3

9 August 2011 - Brian Haeckler
Good Hearted Glasgow (32 J 3) Knapman
Whigmaleeries (32 R 3) Derek Ivory
Mrs Milne of Kineff (32 S 4 sq) L 32
The Clansman (32 R 2) 32/8
Pibroch Reel (32 R 3) Bob Gregg
Wind on Loch Fyne (32 S 3 tri) Roy Goldring
MacPherson's Jig (32 J 3 tri) Roger Bestwick

2 August 2011 - Brian Haeckler
Larkin's Song (32 J 3) Jo Hamilton
Peat Fire Flame (40 R 3) John Drewry
Craven Strathspey (32 S 3) Derek haynes
Abbotswell Jig (32 J 3) I. Cowrie (Peterhead Q.)
Broadway (32 S 3 set) Chris Ronald
Airie Bennan (32 J 5) Hugh Foss
  St Columba's Strathspey (32 S 5 set) Sproule & Gillan

26 July 2011 - Brian Haeckler
Domino Five (32 R 5some) Derek Haynes
Untitled Jig (32 J 3 set) B. Haeckler
The Gardener's Fantasia (32 S 3 set) 46/2
Figure it Out  (32 R 3 set) R. Goldring
Bauldy Bain's Fiddle (32 R 3) JB Dickson
Uncle Bill's Jig (32 J 2) Roy Goldring
Sauchie Haugh (32 S 2) Leaflets 12
Flight of the Falcon (32 J 3) B. Priddey

19 July 2011 - Brian Haeckler
Gloria's Wee Jig (32 J 2) B. McMurtry/Devil's Quandary
Grimaldi 700 (88 R 4) Roy Goldring
The Pleasure is Mine (32 S 2) Roy Goldring
The Pipe Opener (32 J 5) Roy Goldring
Lass of Richmond Hill (32 R 3) Fiona Turnbull
The Missing Turn (32 R 3) 46/5
Barbara's Strathspey (32 S 3) 46/4

12 July 2011
Leslie Kearney - no report

5 July 2011
Leslie Kearny - no report

Dancing on the Heights - 11July 2011

2011-08-11T11:07:00.001-04:00

Another class with very small numbers:
I like all Terry Glasspool's foursomes. His "Four Paws" is a bit of a challenge with half reel of four meeting half variant Schiehallion Reel. All the other dances are straight forward and all of them fun.

The dances were:
This One's Four Isobel (32 S 4 dancers) T. Glasspool
Four of Diamonds (32 J 4 dancers) T. Glasspool
Four Paws (32 S 4 dancers) T. Glasspool
Dust Devils (32 J 4 dancers) J. Lataille

New Haven Summer Social - 28 June 2011

2011-06-29T08:38:00.000-04:00

An enjoyable evening was had by all and what a wonderful all it was. We had a 7 couples last night and I finally got to reintroduce Mary S. Brandon's Double Sixsome to the New Haven dancers. I last danced it sometime around 1979-1980 and I don't think it has been danced/taught in New Haven at anytime since then and that highlights the issue of numbers. 3 couples/4 couples make for nice easy teaching but 7 couples/8 couples makes for greater energy and oh the possibilities that now present themselves!

Bob Gregg retaught his dance, Ken McFarland's Reel, originally a reel, as a jig and that made all the difference. That slight difference in tempo meant there was more time for the dancers to 'get' there. By the second time through the dance came together and not only looked like a dance but the dancers were finally comfortable with what Bob was asking them to do. At the end there was a very positive response from the floor.

Last night's dances were:
The Elusive Muse - (32 J 3 set) - Tim Wilson
Double Sixsome - (64 R 6) - Mary Shoolbraid Brandon
Echoes of Strathglass - ( 32 S 3 set) - Malcolm Brown
Well Met in Paris - (32 H 3) - Terry Glasspool
Ken McFarland's Reel - (32 J 4) - Bob Gregg
The Docent's Tour - (32 S 3) - Tim Wilson
The Vale of Atholl - (32 J 3) - Evelyn Murray

**********

The Elusive Muse or Easily Led:- I first taught this two weeks ago and it just gets better. Oh it is by no means Tim's best, but it is still a very pleasant and social dance. It is good enough that I am considering it for the opening slot on next years Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance. And yes, Virginia, I know it has 4 whole bars of pas de basque, a no-no for opening, so called warm up, dances, but they, the pdbs, are part of the last figure and I am not going to be looking at dancer's foot work in that particular situation.

Is it my imagination or is Set&Link for 3 becoming a popular figure? A personal favourite and, from the outside looking in, it is a visually stunning formation.

Double Sixsome:- I began dancing in 1976 and I remember dancing this soon thereafter. At the time it was a new dance, only 5 years old, and something of a rave dance at the time. That quickly passed because I don't believe it has been done in New Haven since. Last night may have been the second showing.

By current standards it is feels dated. It doesn't have the flow that we expect from a Drewry or Goldring dance, and there are interruptions as couples stand while others dance. I am not sure that 'dated' is really the right word to use. In traditional style is probably the more accurate description.

The response from the floor was better than luke warm but not excessively positive. I figure it should remain in the repertoire but not weekly or even monthly, perhaps once a season when the numbers allow, just for fun and as a break from the usual diet.

Echoes of Strathglass:- I give this one a Teacher's Choice award. I don't know that anyone else likes it as much as I do, but then, that's why I give out separate awards, one is mine and the other the dancer's.

It has showed up twice now as a nice, pleasant solid dance that uses a lovely figure devised by Terry Glasspool. My humble opinion - it is worth doing and it has a place in the repertoire along with all the standard RSCDS strathspeys.

Well Met in Paris:- Oh my! thank you Leslie Kearney for having the courage to teach this gem of a dance. I know that I held back because it read as difficult. You, however, saw that the reward was greater than the pain. So it went on the 2008 Kilts and Ghillies Ball, and is once again on the shortlist.

The swapover (dolphin) reels are fun and the entry into reels of 3 for 2nd C is just plain neat. Keeper.

Ken McFarland's Reel:- a nice piece of choreography. Still under construction but we worked out some issues - better as a jig than as a reel was the big one. Coming Real Soon Now.

The Docent's Tour:- Last night it received a Dancer's Choice Award, with applause. From the San Francisco Branch's publication Measures of Pleasure, which came to my attention by way of Leslie Kearney. She may have found the book first, but I found the dance!

The book is full of good dances, not just one or two - so, a Teacher's Choice Award for Measure's of Pleasure.

The Vale of Atholl:- Consensus from the floor, not a great dance but the music is. The music is by Mara Shea and Dave Wiesler on their CD Heather Hills. And the music is why I taught the dance which is not going on the short list.

New Haven Summer Social - 21 June 2011

2011-06-28T13:22:00.000-04:00

I seem to be a little behind. We dance tonight and I am just posting last weeks dances.

The evenings dances were:
MacFarlane's Geese (32 R 4) Jean Attwood
Carlaverock Castle (32 R 3) Peter Price (that's me!)
The Docent's Tour (32 S 3) Tim Wilson (Measures of Pleasure)
Dancin' Witches (32 J 3) Edwin Werner (Dragonflies)
Glen Nevis (32 S 4) Diane L. Dow (Pinewoods Coll)
Romance of the Waimarie (40 J 4) Bevin Shaw - Oaks in Autumn

**********

MacFarlane's Geese:- A nice retake on Wild Geese with a delightful last eight bars - I just love a stealth progression! But the dance just didn't have the spark that would have made it memorable. Please note, I did NOT say I would't teach the dance again, 'cause I will, but with different music. I used The Danelaw band set of 4x32 Reels based on Caddam Wood. The virtual dancers in my head loved the combination but the dancers on the floor may not have.

Romance of the Waimarie:- The best I can say is "Eh". I love Bevin's dance Those Russians - this one, compared to that one is a bust. Nice concept with the fwd and reverse paddle wheel and i liked the corners moving up with 1C into 3 hands across, but the 8 bar setting figure was a big why? The overall, and unanimous response was "Don't bother?"

Carlaverock Castle:- It is a good thing to do, to sit on a dance for a couple of years, not teaching it, and then to revisit it. I know what I wanted when I wrote the dance, but sometimes I lose sight of it, and when I return to it I fall in love with it all over again, only this time it isn't as personal and there is a fuller appreciation of what I achieved in the dance.

Please - use Muriel Johnstone's recording of Lady Dumfries if you possibly can.

The Docent's Tour:- Oh my, this one has it, that ineffable something that puts this dance on my Top 50 list and on my short short list of dances for the 2012 Kilts & Ghillies Tea Dance - and it is so simple that surely someone else has written this dance before, haven't they? I am very glad that it was Tim Wilson though because I like almost everything of his that I have seen. This teacher's Choice Award.

Dancin' Witches:- Just another dance until you experience the transition between the reels of 3 across into the reel of 4 on the diagonal. That is a nice moment and makes this one a keeper. From the Bob McMurtry publication Dragonflies.

Glen Nevis:- I had hopes that this would be a keeper - it probably isn't. The figure that I call a Grand Figure Eight might work with quite a bit more work but, frankly, it just isn't enough reward for the effort required. And I feel like a traitor because I know and like Diane Dow - she used to dance in New Haven and was a favourite of mine. I wish her well where ever she may now be.

New Haven Summer Social - 14 June 2011

2011-06-15T11:43:00.002-04:00

Windsor held it's end of season party last night, and several of our regulars must have gone because we barely scrapped together a 3 couple set and there I was scrambling yet again. I couldn't do any of the 4C dances I had planned, got to try one of Monday's dances with different music and we all had a wonderful time and managed to work through 8 dances, some not so easy.

Tuesday's dances were:

The Four Winds (32 R 4-some) T. Glasspool

Gifts (32 S 3 set) I. van Maarseveen

Crossing the Brook (32 R 3 set) R. Goldring

The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh (32 S 3) 23/4

The Elusive Muse (32 J 3 set) Tim Wilson

Age of Aquarius (32 S 3) Tim Wilson

The Captain (32 R 3) R. King

The Flourish (32 S 3) Tim Wilson

**********

The Four Winds:- From the pen of Terry Glasspool and thank goodness. All these new dances for groups with small numbers are a god send. And Terry's are among the most elegant and witty of the lot. This one is spare and simple but the 'side' dancer's need to change directions adds just enough spice that no one's going to sleepwalk through the dance .

Gifts:- By Irene van Maarseveen, published in Pretoria Branch's book Many Happy Hours, I taught it on Monday to one set of tunes that worked but didn't really fit the dance. Last night I taught to a different set of tunes (for the dance Forget Me Knot) and it was just plain better. I still want a 3x through recording of the hymn which would be 'the bomb' (as I have heard tell). But as a good second choice Forget Me Knot works well. And I still like this simple dance - it is most definitely on the short short list for next year's ball.

Crossing the Brook:- by Goldring from his Social Dances 2002, we had to modify it slightly to make it work for a 3C set. Good dance, but I am not willing to put it on my Top 50 list. It just doesn't have that little something that puts a dance over the top and makes it special. That could be my fault as I didn't choose the music wisely, and Muriel's recording for the dance might have been what was missing.

The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh- From the pen of Alec Hay and I like it even though I am not sure what to make of the last eight bars. There is a curious disconnect between the dancers during the advance and retires and I am not sure how or even if I should get them to make eye contact. But NO HANDS! Handing in the last formation would make the dance very unpleasant.

The Elusive Muse:- one of Tim Wilson's contributions to the San Francisco publication Measures of Pleasure. And what a delightful contribution it is too. Once I finally figured out my note card was missing a bit of vital information - namely that the dance was for a 3C set - I finally picked some good music: Muriel Johnstone's set for Heid of the Bay from the Port-no-quay Collection. Another short listed dance working it's way up the list.

Age of Aquarius:- Another Tim Wilson dance (is there a theme developing here I hear you ask, ah...yep).

I like what I am seeing from this guy. A bit more difficult than most of his other dances this one is going to take a few coaching sessions to get just right. But I like what Tim is doing with Terry Glasspool's box setting. Pure genius to invent the figure, genius too to see other possibilities, in this case to see you could rotate the figure to the corners.

The Captain:- From San Francisco Branch's Solstice Party Book. Simple choreography, certainly not very original, but with the right jaunty maybe even pushy reel it garnered a Dancer's Choice Award. I used Dave Wiesler and Mara Shea's recording for Sleepwalking off their CD "Heather Hills". Recording: highly recommended. The book of dances: ditto.

The Flourish:- As the last dance of the evening I was really pushing the envelope with this dance. A lovely dance with lots of opportunities to embroider, but too much too late in the evening. I would dearly love to see this done at a party with kilts and gowns swirling.

Dancing on the Heights - 14 June 2011

2011-06-14T12:55:00.000-04:00

The usual suspects were there which left us one person shy of a full set. I am accumulating a substantial back log of four couple dances that need trials. The classes in New Haven are the only ones that continue through the summer and the sad fact is very few dancers from other classes choose to join us.

I have received another shipment from TACBooks: Measures of Pleasure (San Francisco); Many Happy Hours (Pretoria); Just Desserts (SW Washington/Vancouver); Oaks in Autumn (Bevin Shaw-NZ); Dunedin Dances Book 4 (which Dunedin I don't know); and, I am taking a long overdue look at the Pinewoods collections where I am finding some sleepers.

I bought Many Happy Hours because the related thread on Strathspey had so many positive reviews. Oaks in Autumn I bought because it includes Those Russians which I taught to the Loch Leven Dancers (Naomi Lasher's NY performance troupe, which they raved over) and I want to see whether or not he is a one dance wonder. I am willing to give any Tim Wilson dance a try - that's why Measures of Pleasure and Just Desserts.

The hard part is that many of the interesting dances I am finding require 4 couples and the classes over the summer are not likely to draw those numbers consistently leading to that aforementioned backlog.

Anyway back to dancing,

Last night's dances were:
The Elusive Muse (32 J 3 set) Tim Wilson
Greyfriar's Bobby (32 S 3 set) B. Priddey
New Biggin (48 J 3) Leaflet 33/1
Gifts (32 S 3 set) Maarseveen
Carlaverock Castle (32 R 3) P. Price
Maurice (32 S 2) G. Thomas

**********
The Elusive Muse, or Easily Led:- By Tim Wilson from Measures of Pleasures. It is a sweet little dance! It landed on my short list for the next Kilts and Ghilllies's Ball the moment I danced it. Easy but interesting and nothing weird about it.

Greyfriars Bobby:- Another wonderful dance by Barry Priddey. It requires constant attention. You can't relax your guard, especially not during the last figure where the dynamic changes each round depending on who is leads the chases. It also has a very interesting transition from reel of three on sides into Allemande. But ever so sweet a dance. I have been using the Dave Wiesler-Mara Shea recording of strathspeys for the dance Forget Me Knot. (Wow! and yet again wow!).

I have taught this dance 3 times now and the response is unfailingly positive and it has received a Dancer's Choice Award. Obviously I have short listed it for the K&G 2012 Ball.

New Biggin:- While I was a regular at Pinewoods dance camp, there was on open glade among the pines where a dance pavilion once stood - Named for an Englich Country Dance (one guess -...) - that's right New Biggin - it stands again having finally been rebuild a few year ago.

I haven't checked the ECD sources to compare interpretations but this is an old dance with slightly crank choreography. i.e. it doesn't have the smooth flow that we now expect in a dance. So some liked it and some didn't. A matter of taste.

I have never liked the "usual" method of transitioning from a circle of three with couple x to a circle of three with couple y - in most cases the 'flip' has never felt right to me and I have seen few dancers handle it gracefully. So I tried something different last night - The prior LH turn lent itself to starting the first (LH) circle with 1st C (lady up, man down) in the center, back to back with partner. But I had the dancers end that circle in place on the side lines and start their RH circle (with the other couple) from the sides and that worked well. Especially for those in the class with 'new' knees.

It is a long dance, 1C centric in that 2nd and 3rd couples don't have a lot to do. For some boring, for others a relief, especially if the dance is programmed later in a program. Time to rest and socialize.

Gifts:- From Many Happy Hours. This is a quiet gem! Since I know of, and certainly don't have, a SCD recording of the hymn simple Gifts I had to use a generic, sweet, 3 times through strathspey. Good, but not sufficient. The consensus is that the dance needs its proper tune, and would approach the sublime. I agree. This dance needs Simple Gifts, played three times as tune + variation(s). I wasn't expecting much having only read the dance but boy am I glad to be wrong. This dance is a gift. A keeper.

Carlaverock Castle:- 2006, while listening to cd music became inspired by the laid back nature of Muriel Johnstone's recording of Lady Dumfries. This dance (one of my better efforts) is the result. I will get it up on 8x32 Real Soon Now.

New Haven Summer Social - 7 June 2011

2011-06-08T01:00:00.000-04:00

What can I say? Four dancers showed tonight, all men. Which left me with very little choice in what I taught, Terry Glasspool, more Terry Glasspool, and yet more Terry Glasspool.

Tonights Dances were: -
Four of Diamonds (32 J 4-some) T. Glasspool
This One's Four Isobel (32 S 4-some) T. Glasspool
The Four Winds (32 R 4-some) T. Glasspool
The Four Poster (32 S 4-some) T. Glasspool
Maurice (32 S 2) G. Thomas

**********

I have taught all of these dances before, I have commented on all of these dances before. There really isn't any need for me to say more except that tonight I had the easiest time ever teaching Maurice which was a very pleasant surprise. Kudos to Bob Gregg, Marque, George and Harold.

Dancing on the Heights - 9 May 2011

2011-05-10T14:07:00.003-04:00

Well the Kilts and Ghillies ball prep season is done and I can finally get back to trying out new and infrequently done dances in preparation of next years Kilts and Ghilllies Tea Dance. Summer seems to be the only time I get for this but summer always seems to go by too fast for what I want to try. During the dance season the cries for ball prep seem to get louder and louder as dancers get older and their memory falters. Oh well, it is what it is.

Last night's dances were:

The Haggis Tree (32 S 2) Drewry
The Silver Nutmeg (40 J 3) Price
Solway Reel (48 R 4) Carlisle & Border
The Dance Wizard (32 R 4) W. Joubert - Many Happy Hours (Pretoria)
Echoes of Strathglass (32 S 3 set) M. Brown - Many Happy Hours
The Captain (32 R 3) R. King - Solstice Party (San Francisco)
A Winter's Walk (32 J 3) P. Stephans - Between the Rivers

**********

The Haggis Tree - On the 2009 Kilts and Ghillies' Ball it is time to consider repeating it. It is on my "Top 50" list and every time I dance it I remember why - it is a beautiful dance to a beautiful Scott Skinner air (Herr Horloff's Farewell). When the NY Times reviews a restaurant the ratings run from "Do Not Miss" to "Worth It" to, well, skip-able. On that scale this dance is a Do-Not-Miss (in my ever so humble opinion of course).
But I know I am a little on the strange side because I like formations like La Baratte and Tournee. When they are right they are so right.

The Silver Nutmeg - One of my dance compositions. I find it worthwhile to revisit a dance after a couple of years of "sitting on it" as the Quakers would say. Time gives you a new perspective, a lessening of personal attachment and a clear, less partisan, eye. An OK dance with some nice elements but not worth a slot on a ball program. I wrote the dance to honor the 25th anniversary of the New Haven Branch, but inspiration came a little late and I missed the deadline by a month or so.

The Solway Reel - One of my favourite dances. When I ran across the dance I had no recording so I used Jimmy Blair's version of Lady Sophia Anne of Bute. I still prefer that set to any other I have heard. Colin Dewar's set is a disappointment.

The dancers liked it but there wasn't the enthusiasm that would warrant putting it on a ball program. Struck from the short list.

The Dance Wizard - Oh my. We have a winner! Thank you Wouter Joubert: this is a great dance. Don't Miss It! Definitely on the short list for next year's ball. Receives both a Teacher's choice and a Dancer's Choice Award. Can be found in the Pretoria Branch's publication Many Happy Hours.
See also Iain Boyd's dance The Red Baron from Katherine's Book where I found the "dogfight" figure eight.

Echoes of Strathglass - The key is when supporting couples step up and down. When synced with 1C the effects are striking and were mentioned by the dancers; note: I did not emphasize that aspect when I taught the dance, they found it out for themselves. It was also nice to see one of Terry Glasspool's figures being picked up and used by another dance devisor.

I don't have a recording of Wouter's music so I was forced to punt yet again. Luckily there is a wonderful 3x32 set by Dave Wiesler and Mara Shea on their CD Heather Hill. Another Don't Miss It. Several dancers made the point that the dance and that music worked well together.

The Captain - Granted that there are many similarities between this dance and Mrs Stewart's Jig. It works and is original enough to stand on it's own. But choose your music carefully. R. King calls for "any good reel" but not any reel will do. It needs a really good tune. I chose Mara Shea's and Dave Wiesler's set for "Sleepwalking" off their CD Heather Hills and got lucky. Oh my! That pairing earned the dance a Dancer's Choice Award, from two different classes, and definitely puts the dance on the short list for next year's tea dance.

A Winter's Walk - Another of my personal favourites, this one from "Between the Rivers" I have not yet found that special set of tunes that brings it alive and puts it over the top. Yet it is still a good dance, liked by most of the dancers and that is going to be enough to keep it on the short list. Mind you it has been on the short list for the last four years and has not yet made it onto the final program. Maybe this year?

Wilton Class - 3 May 2011

2011-05-04T14:59:00.002-04:00

Well, the ball is done and that means it is time to start developing a short list for next year's Tea Dance.
And that means new dances, experiments and not a few crash and burns, and I had one tonight.

The evening's dances were:
A City in Bloom (32 J 3 set) Irene van Maarseveen (Many Happy Hours)
Phyllis' Fancy (32 S 2) Barry Priddey (Sutton Coldfield Book)
Farquharson Fifty (32 J 3 set) Irene van Maarseveen
The Captain (32 R 3) R. King (SF - Solstice Party Book)
The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2) Barry Priddey (Silver Rose book)

***********

A City in Bloom:- A disappointment with this class. We couldn't see our way around a awkward moment and make it feel right. I am definately going to do this again using different music as that might have been the real problem.

Phyllis' Fancy:- Received a DCA a few months back but still it doesn't stir my soul. I originally thought it would make a decent ball dance, it is simple enough, dancers like it, but it just doesn't lift me. Maybe a few more trials will make a difference in my outlook.

Farquharson Fifty:- It appears to be a pattern for teaching Promenade and not really a dance at all.

The Captain:- The third time the charm? I have taught this only twice before, in October of 2001 and November 2010. No strong response on any one's part until tonight when it caught fire. Music called for was 'any good reel" so I used Dave Wiesler & Mara Shea's recording of "Sleepwalking" off their CD "Heather Hills" which definately qualifies.

Class voted it a Dancers Choice Award on the basis of it's simple, but lovely, flow.

The Burn of Sorrow:- This one caused me problems. I don't deal well with simple dances that don't get danced well. Maybe it was mental burn out being the last dance of the evening after all. I still get thrown for a loop when experienced dancers can not handle Right Hands Across followed by loops, then LHA followed by subtly different loops. And after all the dances that I have taught that have the toubillon in them, for the dancers to have not clue one is mildly disturbing and raised my blood pressure. I did not do well. Sorry guys.
But it is a nice pleasant, mostly simple dance that enough dancers liked that they voted it a DCA and I will dance this again in a heartbeat.

Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance - 30 April 2011

2011-05-04T12:29:00.000-04:00

A hit, a palpable hit.

Thank you to all who helped make it happen. And thank you to all who came and had a good time.

We had a really good band (Thistle Hill - Jim Stevenson-Mathews, Rebecca McCallum and Lisa Gutkin) playing superb music; we had a good program; and I think I can say we all had a really good time. We fluctuated between three and four sets on the floor for the entire afternoon and for the last dance there were still three sets on the floor, one of them with five couples. YES!

Personally I think the first half was the best first half I have ever experienced. I had a huge grin on for most of the ball. When I didn't it was because I was briefing, didn't have a partner, and wasn't dancing.

Hooper's Jig turned out to be a better opener than I expected. Burn of Sorrow went onto my "Top 50 Strathspeys" list and Jim Stevenson-Mathews used Calum's Road, one of my favourite tunes, as the name tune. What a delightful surprise that was!

Auchindrain was also a delight. After hearing the midi file on Nigel Gatherer's web site I was so taken with the tune I just had to write a dance for it. The band really liked the tune too, but commented it was a very difficult tune to play. They certainly practiced it a lot I must say.

Mrs Stewart's Jig, Da Rain Dancin', and Monymusk are all good, solid, pleasant dances that have earned a spot in the standard repertoire and on my "Top 50" lists. The Cashmere Shawl is on my 'top' list but deserves wider acceptance - My humble opinion is that it belongs in the standard repertoire. It is certainly good enough, it is also easy enough, and it is just different enough to be crisply refreshing.

The Fireside Reel, with that music (Peat Fire Flame), is a winner and that 'knockout' moment for 1st and 2nd ladies is a magic moment when it works. And did I mention the music?

The second half didn't fly quite as high. It had too many esoteric dances grouped together. Don't get me wrong - esoteric isn't bad. The dances are all wonderful dances, some are my very favourites in fact. But they needed leavening, and having Quarrie's Jig and The Piper and the Penguin at the front end and Scottish Reform and Mairi's Wedding at the back end wasn't effective leavening. One or more of them should have been spread among the core of the half. And that is why the first half was the better one.

Gypsy Dreams is simply one of the most beautiful dances I have ever seen or danced. The box setting is a superb innovation and the flow of the dance approaches the sublime. It is so good that I have moved beyond mere toleration into admiration and actual liking of the Tournee.

Knights' Heys is a unanimous Dancers Choice selection. It was heartily cheered and then encored. After Linnea's Strathspey most of us were wearing broad smiles. Gordon of Straloch succeeded nicely. It fit it's music and the music was so beautiful it nearly brought the hall to silence.

The highlight of the Ball though, for me, were the youngsters. Paul and Clarissa McRanor brought several youngsters and both Katie and Margaret (11 and 9 respectively) from my class came. Margaret came up to me after with a huge grin on her face and proudly announced she had done four dances. It was the grin that said it all. It was all the grins from all the youngsters that I will treasure.

For me though the Tea Dance was only a qualified success because the one thing we didn't have was a full house. Financially we were slightly in the red. I don't have the numbers yet (so no exactitudes) but I believe we had a loss but that the loss was under $200.

So what went wrong, why so few dancers wanting to come and share our ball?

Actually I don't think anything went wrong. Oh there were a lot of people with conflicts. Too many events happen in April. Easter (usually), The Rerr Terr ball in NJ, NEFFA festival in Mass., weddings, you name it.

All contributed to a drop in numbers as does the aging of our dance population with its issues of memory loss, dementia and declining physical abilities.

All the above are contributing factors, but the major reason is, I think, philosophical. We can break the population into three groups: those who look at a program to see how many they know and those who look to see how many they don't know. Too many unknown dances and the former won't go. Too many known dances and the latter won't go.

I belong in the latter group. I like new dances. Rather I like finding new beautiful dances with beautiful music and I like sharing them and a ball is a wonderful way to do that. The difficulty, I think, is when new for new's sake begins to drive the teachers. Which isn't quite what I want to say -- I love looking for new dances that are joys to dance. These dances should get exposure and a chance to become part of the repertoire. Finding new dances and simply moving on to other new dances serves no purpose. Finding new dances that are worth doing again, many times, and then doing them again, many times, does serve a purpose. It allows the dance to evolve, to stay fresh. And then we can go back to the 'standards', and they too are fresh, all over again.

Waterbury Class - 15 April 2011

2011-04-18T15:23:00.000-04:00

The Waterbury Class is a joy. We had 6 couples tonight and that makes the teaching and dynamics easier and pleasanter.

Tonight's dances were, again, all from the upcoming Tea Dance program and were:
Quarrie's Jig  (32 J 3) 36/3
Gypsy Dreams  (32 S 2) T. Glasspool
The Piper and the Penguin  (88 R 4 square) R. Goldring
Da Rain Dancin'  (32 R 3) R. Wallace

**********

Quarrie's Jig:- Another modern dance from the Society that is just delightful and, deservidly, becoming part of the standard repertoire.

Gypsy Dreams:- One of the most beautiful dances I have ever seen. And worth learning the tournee for. And if you can make the tournee beautiful the dance tips over into the sublime.

The Piper and the Penguin:- Another 88 bar reel from Roy Goldring. He has several of these and overall deserves being Canonized. Why ? Because it means I never ever again have to put The Round Reel of Eight on another program.

And then there is this - the dance and it's music are fun!

Da Rain Dancin':- Good music, good dance, good time! I learned this dance from Ron Wallace one summer at Pinewoods (dance camp in Plymouth, Mass.). One point that he made then is not explicitly made in the written directions.
In the set to corner, turn partner figure: the first pas de basque is in place to 1st corner, the second pas de basque is a move to the left, turning slightly, not to face partner, but to have right shoulders facing partner ready for the right hand turn to face second corners.
  Again, when setting to second corners, the 'goodbye' portion is a small move that leaves the dancers with shoulders pointing toward one another and setting up the RH turn.

It changes the character of the dance.

Waterbury Class - 8 April 2011

2011-04-18T14:50:00.001-04:00

Another installation in the continuing saga of ball prep.
Tonight it is Waterbury and the dances were:

Mrs Stewart's Jig  (32 J 3) 35/1
Knights' Heys (32 H 3) T. Glasspool
Gordon of Straloch  (32 S 3) Peter Price
Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig  (32 J 3) Dale Birdsall

**********

Mrs Stewart's Jig:- One of your everyday good enough jigs that a foundation stone of the dance.

Knights' Heys:- One of my favourite dances, recipient of a "Dancer's Choice Award" and every time I teach it I get positive responses from many of the dancers. Certainly deserving of a place on anyone's Top 50 list, and, in my humble opinion, deserving to be recognized more widely and incorporated into the standard repertoire.

Gordon of Straloch:- Yes I did write this dance. And the more I teach it the higher it rises in my estimation. I give most of the credit to Liz Donaldson for her arrangement that I could not resist and was so inspired by.

Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig:- Oh my oh my. this one is far more confusing than I anticipated. The second teaching didn't go much better than the first. Ralph Page, the late celebrated caller of New England contra Dancers, had a category of dances that he called "little stinkers" because they played with experienced dancer's minds. This dance deserves the same sobriquet.

Waterbury Class - 1 April 2011

2011-04-14T00:51:00.001-04:00

Thank you Barbara Austen for teaching these many weeks and taking care of the class when I could not.

Class relocated from Woodbridge and now getting enough dancers on a regular basis. Hooray!

I tried a new teaching method tonight and several dancers responded well to it. The method is a bit slower than is my wont, but I can bear that if I don't have to keep making teaching points and if they actually need less walking through.

I walked the first 8 bars - had 1C walk and then dance it - and to the bottom.
Second couple then danced the first 8 bars, I then taught them the 2nd 8 bars and had them dance that and to the bottom. Third couple then dances the first 16 bars, gets taught the 3rd figure and dance it - and to the bottom. Then fourth couple dances the first 24 bars, gets taught the last figure, dances it.
Next couple (original 1st usually) now gets the whole dance, and if it goes well I let the music run 8x through.

It worked well enough that I'm going to refine it and use it but maybe not ALL the time.

Tonight's dances were:
Bonny Blue Bride (32 J 3) Tod McCall - Wee Hoose on the Prairie
Linnea's Strathspey (32 S 3) Tim Wilson -Dunsmuir
Fireside Reel (32 R 3) 18C
Hooper's Jig (32 J 3) Misc 2

**********

Bonny Blue Bride:- A nice simple baby jig that I pulled out of my wee card file 'cause I wasn't prepared and it looked easy enough and busy enough to make for a good warm up dance. I was right. And I was surprised that the dance wasn't a throw away either. It is just different enough to be worth keeping available. But no nominations for a Dancer's Choice Award.

Linnea's Strathspey:- Dancer's (and Teacher's) Choice Awards for this one! Keeper and then some. As far as I am concerned this one is and always shall be part of my standard repertoire.

My one wish is that there was a recording for this dance.

Fireside Reel:- Love the dance and hate the huffing and puffing when I'm done. I love an old vinyl recording but I can't adjust the tempo and it is a wee bit on the fast side but boy is the pianist (Jim Nicholson) having a whole lot of fun.

Hooper's Jig:- this was a 'let's have fun' last dance of the evening. Had some breakdowns here. Timing, it is all about timing, especially this dance. And remembering left from right. And using all the music you're given...

Wilton Class - 29 March 2011

2011-04-14T00:22:00.001-04:00

It was a one set night, the young girls were not present and I got to work on three of the dance on the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance program.

I was surprised by how slow the learning, and it wasn't as if they had never seen them before... so I just went and checked and the only dance they had seen before was Gordon of Straloch. So I shouldn't be surprised. the two new dances are mind benders and take some work.

The three dances were:-
Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig  (32 J 3) G. Dale Birdsall
Lang May Your Lum Reek  (32 J 2) Barry Priddey
Gordon of Straloch  (32 S 3) Peter Price

**********

Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig:- I read it, liked it, thought it would be a decent, middle of the road dance and not difficult. Boy was I wrong. Well it really isn't difficult, just very disorienting at the start of the second half reels of three. Nobody (except first couple) knows which way to face to start the reels. Because nobody (except the first couple) is where they expect so it is new position and new direction. I think I smoke checked most of the brains in the room.

Lang May Your Lum Reek:- I really like this dance but the setting figure (hello-goodbye - but never to partner and always with corner) needs to be dead on and dancers must MOVE and with control.
I fell in love with the progression because it is what I call a 'stealth' progression. When your done you wonder how you got there. Simply and elegantly. This one is a keeper if you get the third figure.

Gordon of Straloch:- I don't usually toot my own horn but the more I teach this dance the better I like it. And I wrote it. But I don't think the dance itself is superb but the music IS (arranged by Liz Donaldson and recorded by her band Waverley Station on their CD First Stop (set of strathspey airs 8x32)). The music, especially the third and fourth tunes ( rorate coeli and I long for they virginitie), is magnificent. So much so that every time I have taught this dance the room goes quiet, very quiet, and the dancers seem to lose themselves in the music as I do.

That Cd is a must buy! And the dance fits it and is worth downloading.

Wilton Class - 22 March 2011

2011-03-28T17:53:00.000-04:00

The girls were not present so the opportunity was there to get a start on the dances on the Tea Dance. It was an interesting evening because I was teaching dances that we had done before and the class was having a difficult time with them.
.

The evenings dances were:-
Admiral Beaufort (32 J 3) set mixer
Auchindrain (32 R 3) web leaflet
The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2) B. Priddey
Gypsy Dreams (32 S 2) T. Glasspool

**********

Admiral Beaufort:- The first 24 bars are borrowed from Iain Boyd's dance The Calm before the Storm. The last eight bars are a variant of the set and link used by Jane Lataille in her dance Dragonflies.

Auchindrain:- A straight forward dance with nothing, absolutely nothing tricky about it.

The Burn of Sorrow:- when I drew my 'pilling' and wrote the crib I had an oops. I misread the directions. What I read was 1C dance a 2 bar RH turn once round and a two bar loop around partner - what Barry wrote was a Rh turn going on for 1 step and then a three bar loop around partner. The crib will be corrected Real Soon Now.

What I don't get, however, is how hard everyone seems to find the Tourbillon. It is not rocket science.
Both couples turn with two hands in two bars. First man turns three quarters ending in second woman's place while first woman turns once round and finishes back in her own place. This means they can not hold hands for the whole of the two bars. If first coupledrop appropriate hands (man's left/woman's right) you can 'unwind the turn to end in correct places. Second couple similarly - second woman turns three quarters, second man once round ending second woman in first man's place after dropping the appropriate hands.

I have had this rant before and it is getting old. But the figure is very pretty and I find it very enjoyable and more than worth the effort.

Gypsy Dreams:- 24 bars of pure delight leading into 8 bars of absolute terror - the dread Tournee.
What a bunch of horse pucky. the Tournee has one moment where you need to think, or not if you have really learned it. And it too is a beautiful figure but it does take a lot of work to perfect. Unfortunately too many dancers don't care to perfect. Sigh.

Wilton Class - 15 March 2011

2011-03-19T14:27:00.000-04:00

Katie and Margaret (the girls) were back but with the Tea Dance coming soon I no longer have the luxury of dumbing down the evening program. I taught only two dances. They were:-

Hooper's Jig (32 J 3) MMM 2

Reekie Linn (32 J 2) J. Attwood

**********

Hooper's Jig - A quintessential "timing" dance and that throws just about everyone off their center.

The hardest thing:- getting hands across and not hands in a clump.

The 2nd hardest:- getting first and third couples to dance continuously during the diagonal crossing (loops!)

The 3rd hardest:- bars 23-24 - getting 3C to step up and first lady to cross LEFT hand into 2nd lady's place.

The 4th hardest:- getting 1st man to end the RH Across all the way round into 2nd place ladies' side.

It is a relatively simple dance and that is why any sloppy dancing stands out.

I really like this dance but I rarely teach it or dance it because it is so universally appallingly danced. Tonight I actually saw progress in almost all phases of the dance. Thanks be to God.

14 March 2011 - Dancing on the Heights

2011-03-19T14:06:00.000-04:00

A lovely evening with a full set of dancers I taught a few new dances and a few that are on the Kilts and Ghillies April 30th Tea Dance.

The evenings dances were:
Reekie Linn  (32 J 2) Jean Attwood
The Missing Turn  (32 R 3) C. Williams - Bk 46/5
Barbara's Strathspey  (32 S 3) McKinnell - Bk 46/4
Lang May Your Lum Reek  (32 J 2) B. Priddey
Deborah Hope Leary  (32 S 2) P. Price
Knights' Heys (32 H 3) T. Glasspool
The Cashmere Shawl  (32 S 3) I. Boyd

**********

Reekie Linn - A lovely flow in fractions! Oh yum! My favourite!

Standard beginning followed by a standard reel of three. Then it gets interesting, especially the last figure which is three quarters of a double figure eight (in six bars) and set. I personally don't see the problem but just about every round of the dance someone got bitten.

The Missing Turn - A nice enough dance that is worth doing again but not good enough for a DCA.

Barbara's Strathspey - Super dance that gets a Teachers Choice Award! The double Birl, and the dance itself, are simply beautiful and a little bit of effort brings huge rewards. Every time I have danced or watched I have ended with a smile on my face. Gold Star!

Lang May your Lum Reek - On the upcoming Tea Dance program. I have talked about it before (see those earlier posts). In the third figure (which bears a resemblance to Hello-Goodbye Setting), the line of four rotates and the dancers who are setting to one another also rotate around each other. The difficulty is keeping the shape, and Deborah's reminder (that dancers coming into the center should make eye contact) made a real difference. Thank you Deb. And that is a nice segue into...

Deborah Hope Leary - I wrote this last month and inscribed it to Deb in honor of our first year anniversary.
Pretty good dance, the last half worked out well but I'd have like a better first sixteen bars. I will get it up on Eight by Thirty-two Real Soon Now.

Knights' Heys - The first few times I taught this dance the response was definitely underwhelming. Even after I put it on the K&G ball the response was tepid. The next year it was on the New Haven Highland Ball and now it is a recipient of a Dancers Choice Award. ???

The first time I saw it I knew this was a super dance and it immediately went on my top 50 list.

The Cashmere Shawl - Lovely dance and just different enough to make you think.

Wilton class - 8 March 2011

2011-03-09T14:44:00.001-05:00

A good night... and these days anytime we have a full set is a good night - even when I have to step in and fill out the set.

The New Haven Highland Ball is done - videos are showing up on YouTube and I had a wonderful time.
Next up - the Rerr Terr in NJ (1st weekend in April) and then our own Kilts and Ghillies Tea dance on the last weekend in April.

Last nights dances were:

Sage and Salsa ((16S+16R) M 3) Jane Lataillle
Hooper's Jig (32 J 3) Misc 2
Gypsy Dreams (32 S 2) T. Glasspool

Auchindrain (32 R 3) Peter Price
The Cashmere Shawl (32 S 3) I. Boyd

**********

Sage and Salsa - a good warm up. discussed in earlier posts. Recipient of a Dancer's Choice Award.

Hooper's Jig - I have always liked this dance but almost never teach it, or dance it, as it is so often so poorly danced that I just can't stand it.

First peeve - the hands across - I hate those 'clumps' of hands. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm being rather negative. Let me say that in a more positive why. I positively hate those 'clumps' of hands.. They are ugly and they ignore the essential nature of the formation:- Hands Across consists of two four bar turns: 1M and 2L dance a four bar turn. At the same time 1L and 2M are dancing a four bar turn. As a general, repeat general, rule 1M takes hands with 2L underneath the hands of 1L and 2M so 1M can use his thumb to locate and lock together the 'hub' of the wheel.

Second peeve - The loops that are part of the diagonal crossings. Nobody seems to understand the concept of 'continuous'. I see many dancers crossing and stopping. They wait for 2 bars before crossing back when they should still be dancing - 1st and 3rd couples have 6 bars of continuous dancing - i.e. NO Stopping. When they aren't crossing they should still be dancing - looping around to face back ready to cross back. Unfortunately this doesn't happen very often.

Third peeve - 2nd couple stepping up on bars 23-24 (end of the crossing figure).This is the critical moment of the dance. Sorry, but it is! If 2L doesn't step up in time she leaves nowhere for 1st woman to go except the wrong place at which point the dance breaks down. This is usually not fatal... Thank God for small favours.

The good news - I saw major progress in Wilton, especially with the handing in Hands Across. Yaaaa!

Gypsy Dreams - Yumm! See my previous posts. One of my top 10.

Auchindrain - You can find the dance on the web site Eight by Thirty-two. You can find the tune on Nigel Gatherer's web site. I rather like this dance. I am also prejudiced - I 'wrote' it. I did not give it an Dancer's Choice Award though. That was given by the dancers in several of my classes.

The Cashmere Shawl - A sweet dance, laid back and easy going. Just beware - don't lulled asleep or you'll get bit by the last figure.

Wilton class - 1 March 2011

2011-03-02T14:28:00.000-05:00

It is nice to be back. I had to cancel last weeks class when my elderly mother went into the hospital with circulation problems in her left leg, which led to vascular surgery on Friday. While waiting I wrote 2 dances and last night I had a chance to dance the strathspey and tweak it into final shape.

It is also the last class before the New Haven Highland Ball and there were quiet screams of near panic from the class as they felt they were totally unprepared - which is partly true. Due to weather there were NO classes held in January and only three this month.

Tonight's dances were:-
Deborah Hope Leary (32 S 2) Peter Price
St Andrew's of Brampton (32 R 4)
Trip to Fanwood (32 J 3) C. Ronald
Dark Lochnagar (32 S 2) I. Boyd - SDA

**********

Deborah Hope Leary - I wrote a jig, was reviewing it when my computer started playing a strathspey and the jig began to morph. This is the result after real dancers got hold of it.

1-8 1C 2C set, adv for 1, retire for 1; dance RHAcross half round (face prtnr in the center), and, pulling right shoulders back, cast out to side lines.

9-16 2C 1C dance back to back with ptnr; RHAcross half round and cast from the center to places.

17-24 1C 2C set and cross link (end beside ptnr, 1C facing up 2C down); 2C 1C set and link to side lines (face clock wise)

25-28 2C 1C chase half round and end, center of the dance, in line, facing ptner (1M 1L 2M 2L)

29-30 1C 2C set to partner (strong left step to pass partner and ...

31-32 1C 2C dance RHAcross half round to progressed places.

St Andrew's of Brampton:- Very wordy directions, even wordier (14 lines) ball booklet crib and panic all around. Needlessly. The best crib I have seen for this dance is only 5 lines long for a 4 figure dance. And the only tricky part is the final turn out of the double wheel. For 1M and 4L it is RH, for 1L and 4M it is LH. Why? so 1C is in the middle facing up and 4C is in the middle facing down both couples having had easy entries in through the sidelines.

Trip to Fanwood:- A sweet little dance especially if you treat the from the half reel into the turns flexibly - take hands when convenient and turn far enough to reach proper positions.

Dark Lochnagar:- It's the music! The dance is along for the ride.

Loch Leven Dancers - 28 February 2011

2011-03-02T13:20:00.001-05:00

I had a guest stint on Sunday teaching Those Russians to the Loch Leven Dancers.

They watched the YouTube video of the Dunedin Summer School performance and were absolutely psyched. It is a real joy to have a group still willing to try something new and different.

I spent about a week working out the choreography from the video, and in the end I got it right: the dance ended when the music did, and the dancers were flying high, as was I.

Bottom line: a whole lotta fun - they are now looking for places/venues to perform the dance. And I am looking forward to teaching it again, and again, and ...

Wilton class - 8 February 2011

2011-02-09T12:14:00.002-05:00

What a winter it has been. Storms on Tuesdays one after another every week since Christmas. Finally, our first class of the New Year.

The girls were back (hooray!).

With just enough for a set, tonight's dances were:

Collie Law  (32 J 2) R. Goldring - 24 Graded & Social
Off to Speyside  (32 R 2) R. Goldring - 24 Graded & Social
Kendall's Hornpipe  (32 J 2) Gr. 22
The March Hare (32 R 3) I. Boyd - Happy to Meet
The Dunsmuir Strathspey  (32 S 3 set) J. Drewry

**********

Collie Law:- Good basic dance on many levels.

Off to Speyside:- Another good dance. I am finding that the single most important rule in teaching children is KEEP THEM MOVING. No long drawn out teaching of formations or footwork.

Kendall's Hornpipe:- Ladies Chain is not an easy figure. The ladies don't have a simple track, there is a lot of 'tweaking' needed. Basic figure, but not easy. Great music (I used the recording by The Music Makars). In my opinion the best I have heard.

The March Hare:- Again basic elements that let me keep them moving but also gives me the opportunity to incrementally improve their pas de basque - tonight I stressed the 3 beats and they did!

The Dunsmuir Strathspey:- I try to keep everyone on the floor, even the beginners and the girls, but tonight I wanted to up the ante for the experienced dancers which is why I programed this dance. Petronella in Tandem was not known by all so that is the teaching I needed to do. It also impressed the girls and that is not a bad thing. Keeps them thinking about where they can go.

**********

In other news:
I have a new favourite cd - Heather Hills by Dave Wiesler and Mara Shea. 4 Stars. The strathspey sets (Forget Me Knot, Simon Brodie and Invercauld's) are superb as is the set of jigs for The Vale of Atholl. All the other sets are solid. Highly recommended.

*
I am really impressed by Those Russians. I have taken the choreography from the video and written it up. I don't know when, or to whom I will teach the dance but I am ready!

The dance is not a social dance by any stretch of the imagination. 272 bars is a lot of dance so remembering parts and sequence may be the biggest issue with the dance. There are no outlandish elements here so that is not an issue. Overall the music has a strong beat (yay) and is not that easy to dance to (rats). There is no chord, but a 4 beat intro, and then there are a few 10 bar phrases (the choruses) that will throw some for a loop and send them on a side trip to Paris. The sung parts are easier to dance to than the musical interludes where the syncopation disguises the beat.

Overall I think this dance is a good performance vehicle and could make a great workshop dance where, at the end of the session the dancers can sigh in relief and know that they have faced and overcome a real challenge.

Here is the YouTube link to "Those Russians":-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLvCmEOA3-0

Dancing on the Heights - 10 January 2011

2011-02-09T10:59:00.001-05:00

First class of the New Year - and a good one 'cause a "Dancers Choice Award was given out.

The dances were:
The Haggis Tree (32 S 2) Drewry
Admiral Beaufort (32 J 3 set-mixer) Price/Boyd
The Dunsmuir Strathpey (32 S 3 set) Drewry
Lapton Reel (32 R 2) Priddey - SDA #69
The Quaker's Daughter (32 S 3 set) Goldring
Reekie Linn (32 J 2) Jean Attwood

**********

The Haggis Tree - This is, as I have said before, one gorgeous dance. What a shame so few people are willing to work on "La Baratte" because the payback, at least for this dancer and his favourite partner, is immeasurably greater than the effort. I call it a One for oner - every time I dance La Baratte I get paid back in full for the one time effort spent learning the formation. A past winner of a Dancer's Choice Award, this dance is on its way to becoming a regular on the KandG ball program - not every year but once every other or every third year and, yes, it really is that good, which makes me wonder why it has been missed by so many generations of teachers all around the world. Back to La Baratte?

Admiral Beaufort: - I don't know if I can truly claim authorship of this dance. I took Ian Boyd's dance The Calm Before the Storm, and dropped the last eight bars, not wanting to teach "set and rotate" to two new dancers their very first night,and replace it with simple turns or something equally silly. I later replaced that figure with a set and link for three dancers in line - that is, in a line of three the left hand dancer dances through the middle to the other end of the line, and the middle and right hand dancers individually cast one place. So if the starting order is 1C 2C 3C we get a new order of 2M 3M 1M and for the ladies 3L 1L 2L. Dance it again and the order becomes 3M 1M 2M / 2L 3L 1L. New Partners all around!

The Dunsmuir Strathspey:- A leaflet by John Drewry, it is another dance that, in my humble opinion, really should be more popular than it is. Granted, it isn't one of his latest and greatest works, but it is an approachable dance with a low learning threshold (petronella in tandem is it) and enjoyable enough to have earned it a DCA on its first 'trial' in August and again this month.

Personally I just love the double lead-through progression which I first saw it in JD's dance Seagreen. I found myself 1st man in third place wondering how I had gotten there and that was a treat to savour as I am not often surprised.

Lapton Reel:- What attracted me to this dance were the interactions. What I questioned was the stop and go nature of the dance. The dancers in Wilton had some trouble seeing the structure but the dancers On the Heights didn't and gave it a DCA on first time trial. It is not a fugue but it has that flavour. The dance is made up of simple, basic everyday elements that everybody should know but the execution is not easy.

The Quaker's Daughter:- No DCA for this one. It is a nice dance to do on occasion but not special enough to do regularly. Wilton liked the first 24 bars but thought the final circle was a mere tack on. I think the assessment would be 'pleasant'.

Reekie Linn:- I liked the dance enough to program it on the 2004 K&G Ball. However the consensus by the dancers is - No Award. I think the differance of opinion lies in the fact that I like fractional turns and figs of 8 and other people seem not to. Oh well!

Dancing on the Heights - 13 December 2010

2010-12-19T10:40:00.000-05:00

A very good night with several dances receiving "Dancer's Choice" Awards.

The evenings dances were:

Glasgow Highlanders (32 S 2)

Hunting the Pinecones (40 R 3) I. Boyd

The Flight of the Falcon (32 J 3) B. Priddey

The Kiltmaker (32 R 4)

Craig Mhor (32 S 2) J. Drewry

Gordon of Straloch (32 S 3) P. Price

**********

I began the evening with Glasgow Highlanders because Deb is the understudy for the Loch Leven Dancers' Mohunk House performance which includes a threesome highland dance highlighted by 2 strathspey and 2 quicktime setting steps and Deb hasn't had any highland training.

Hunting the Pinecones – Recipient of the evening's first Dancer's Choice Award, it is from Ian's book The World Around the Corner. This dance has been on my agenda for several years now and last night was the first time I was able to work it into the 'flow' as it were. And what a shame that is because the consensus is that it is worth doing again and on a fairly regular basis too.

The Flight of the Falcon – There was a rather lengthy thread on Strathspey list concerning 'dolphin' reels (if you want to know more look it up there) and I have been wanting to teach this one for a while too. Another Dancer's Choice Award recipient, I saw some creative possibilities for dancers in some of the transitions to make it dance even better.

The Kiltmaker – The dance was taught at the Pawling Weekend this past spring. I missed it but heard so much about it (thank you Deborah!) that it too has has been on, and is now off, my short list. Nice dance! From the response there is no question – this dance is a lot of fun, especially for 1^st man who gets all the chevron back-to-backs. The third Dancer's Choice Award recipient of the night.

Craig Mhor (pronounced 'vor') – I have mixed feeling about this dance. The response was not enthusiastic -- but here's the but you heard coming – the basic pattern cries out for a little embroidery and that would (might?) make all the difference. The basic pattern includes a half reel of four across the dance with the dancers starting 4 square on the side lines not in line of four. So, following a turn 3/4 and cast by 1^st diagonal dancers and a simultaneous cast and turn 3/4 by the 2^nd diagonal dancers, there is a half reel of four across the dance: 1M and 2L begin by passing left shoulders in the middle and, looking on from the sidelines, that opening pass seemed awkward to me. What I will try the next time round is having everyone dance the middle pass of the reel with setting steps – 1 step diagonally forward to the right to just pass, then diagonally forward to the left to reach the sidelines, then loop for 2 bars.

A similar issue arises in Robertson Rant when head couples dance a reel of four on the center line starting beside partners and the solution for the New Haven demo team was to set through the middle. Similar issue – similar solution?

We will see.

Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig – It is on 'OK' dance but I am not thrilled. I needed a nice simple jig for a ball program and this seemed to fit so I chose it and it is too late to have second thoughts. You see, I am something of a dance monster. I have never had a problem with reels – and here, the right shoulder half reel of three, 1C chase, left shoulder half reel of three, 1C chase seems to be throwing people off their centers. Well, it is on the K&G program and it is going to stay on the program. So deal with it.

Gordon of Straloch – commented on in earlier posts.

Long Last Update

2010-11-07T16:22:00.002-05:00

My apologies for the last couple of months – I had to prioritize and my mother's car accident took the prize. I updated all the “happening soon now” events yesterday. Today I begin my assault on the back- log of classes and other events.

Wilton Class – 12 October 2010

The young girls were present only for the first half. And it is clear that what will keep them coming back is my keeping them moving and not doing any obvious 'drills'. They are a joy to have in the class. The other (and older) beginner, Dante, survived the second half where I taught The Moray Rant by John Drewry. In one swell foop he learned reels of three, mirror reels of three, cross over mirror reels of three, and finally Inveran Reels. Wow!

The nights dances were:

The Forest Prince (32 J 2) I. Boyd

Kendall's Hornpipe (32 J 3) Gr. 22

On the Quarterdeck (32 H 2) Harbour City

Seann Truibhas Willichan (32 S 2) 27/9

The Moray Rant (48 S 3 set) Drewry

Wilton Class – 19 October 2010

The youngsters were missing this week, and several experienced dancers were there in their place, as it were.

The night's dances were:

Saw Ye My Wee Thing (32 J 2)

Albatrosses & Shearwaters (32 S 3 set)

Westminster Reel (32 R 2)

The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2)

Kendall's Hornpipe (32 J 2)

Seann Truibhas Willichan (32 S 2)

Nutmeg Workshop – 23 October 2010

Wonderful time! I really liked Rebecca Roman's approach to phrasing. She introduced the concept of “Green Light Specials” where, while driving, the idea is to approach a light just as it turns green, and to do this on a road with a series of timed lights. And the idea in dancing is to figure out where you don't have to stop between figures and to get into position at the end of a phrase just in time to start the next one.

The social dance in the evening was also great fun. But the interval, with raffle, was way too long, and we had time for only four dances in the second half, and should have ended with Pinewoods Reel and not with Wind that Shakes the Barley. Wind doesn't compare well when danced back to back with Pinewoods Reel. Live and learn.

Program was:

Berwick Johnny (32 J 3) Gr. 11

Silver Tassie (32 S 3) L30

Royal Deeside Railway (32 S 3) 40/9

The Isle (32 J 3) Gr. 15

Birks of Invermay (32 S 3) 16/2

Lady Susan Stewart's Reel (32 R 3) 5/9

Roaring Jelly (32 J 3) Glendarroch 6

The Gentleman (32 S 3) 35/6

Pinewoods Reel (32 R 3) Yankee Sampler

Jubilee Jig (32 J 3) L19

Miss Milligan's Strathspey (32 S 3) L19

Wind That Shakes the Barley (32 R 3) Duthie

Wilton Class – 26 October 2010

Very short on numbers, and very late getting started. A new dancer, who just started with the Waterbury (ex Woodbridge) class joined us, and I concentrated on her dancing. She handled it with aplomb.

Only did three dances – they were:

The Forest Prince (32 J 2) Boyd

Off to Speyside (32 R 2) Goldring

Cabbages and Kings (32 J 3) Boyd

Wilton Class – 2 November 2010

Another good evening with the girls present. Their parents, however have ruled that they have to leave at halftime. Sigh.

The night's dances were:

The Forest Prince (32 J 2) Katherine's Book

Courtship (32 R 4) C. Sigg

Crockett's Victory Garden (32 R 4) H. Ways

Flo'ers o' Fa'kirk (32 R 3) P. Price

The Chase (32 J 3) Nutmeg Collection

Langholm Fair (32 S 3 set) J. Attwood

The Wandering Drummer (32 R 3 set)

********

Courtship – Looks easy, it's not. The step up followed immediately by step down and that right into Back-to-back is not easy. It caught me by surprise. But as a challenge to beginners, requiring thinking, it is superb. I am seriously thinking about using this on unsuspecting experienced dancers.

Crockett's Victory Garden – Not worth doing if not for the wonder music from Bill Spence and Phennig's All Star Band. Good dance to teach handing and “weight” and turns 1-1/2 in 4 bars.

Flo'ers o' Fa'kirk – My rewrite of Flowers of Edinburgh so beginners aren't faced with poussette. Instead half R&L, turn RH to own sides. I kinda like it.

11 October 2010 - Dancing on the Heights

2010-10-12T16:52:00.001-04:00

Holidays play havoc with attendance. And I act as if that were something new (not). Once again I had just four dancers for the class and ended up teaching one 3 person dance and three 4-somes and one 3 couple set dance in which I danced with a ghost partner.

The dances taught were:
Eigg, Muck and Rum (32 R 3-some) J. Lataille
The Four Paws  (32 S 4-some) T. Glasspool
The Four Winds  (32 R 4-some) T. Glasspool
The Moray Rant  (32 S 3 set) J. Drewry
Four of Diamonds (32 J 4-some) T. Glasspool

**********
Eigg, Muck and Rum - A simple dance for three dancers in a straight line. But not so easy. A phrasing challenge with both a figure of eight and a reel of three in six bars. And if you are late finishing the reel there is no time for the progression. Oops. I like it.

The Four Paws - Oh my. There are two parts to this dance. The first half consisting of a 4 person back to back followed by what Terry calls "Diamond Reels". And the second half which is easy enough and simply sets up the next round of the dance.

The first figure (back to back for four) is actually the hardest. Most dancers are simply not very comfortable dancing backwards and don't have the same command of the angles as when dancing forward. But it is in this figure that the dance lives in my opinion. Ya gotta get this part right first of all.

The second figure consists of reels: head couples start with "Schehallion" like half reels (in only 4 bars) while side couples dance half reels of four across. It looks like reels of four only two of the dancers take off for Paris! And then it is the head couples dancing half a reel of four on the central axis and the side couples dancing the Schehallion-like half reels - and again two dancers take off for who knows where. And somehow it all works - but leaves my head spinning. And while this is the most difficult of all the figures it appears all chaos until it resolves (every four bars) into pattern.

The last two figures are progression and quite standard.

It was very nice having a good chunk of time in which to teach the dance. Every round needs to be walked and the keys are as follows:
Reels - heads face right and pass right with side dancers. After four bars heads start the next half reel dancing to the same side position and pass right shoulders with the new person there. The sides also face the same head position both times. When I realized this point the reels became much easier to teach and cue.

Dancers Award given with this caveat - not for the faint hearted and difficult orientation changes.

The Moray Rant - John played some games with phrasing. Things aren't quite square, just a little different from what you expect. Otherwise simple but long winded.

The Four of Diamonds - lovely little dance that goes along at a nice comfortable pace until the last four bars when Terry springs a bit of a surprise and sleeping dancers have to wake up and move!

Wilton Class - 21 September 2010

2010-09-22T01:14:00.000-04:00

Dancing resumed at long last. There have been some personnel changes. Angela is going to be dancing with us on an irregular basis but I am hoping that Sandra's son and daughter in-law and her two young sisters (14 and 10) will be coming regularly. Cynthia's grandaughter Hayley returned after a four year absence and she brought a friend - Dante.

I really worried about this class. I have never had young children as students. I way over prepared but once into it found an approach that seemed to work. I kept them moving as much as I could and had them either walking or skipping. No skip change and no setting and no strathspey. I wanted them to find the rhythm of the music and get comfortable moving to it which they began to do. I was also looking for phrasing and timing. I figure if they get the rhythm then footwork can be added in slowly.

Anyway, we were nine dancers for the evening, and the dances were:

Birkenside (adapted)  (32 S 2) R. Goldring
The Ferry Louper  (32 J 3) R. Goldring
Crom Allt  (32 R 3) R. Goldring
Off to Speyside  (32 J 2) R. Goldring
Kildrummy Castle  (64 R 4 sq) R. Goldring

All dances were from Roy Goldring's book: 24 Graded and Social Dances.

**********

Birkenside - Originally a strathspey for 2C, I taught it as a reel for 3 couples by changing the opening circle to 6 hands round and back, and the last figure to a chevron shaped push-pull poussette and a RH turn. I really could have done a lot better - a simple down the middle and up, or down the middle and up and cast would have been a much better choice. And my idea of introducing 'progression' in nice easy steps was the first casualty of the evening.

The Ferry Louper - Adapted in that I used reels and not the specified jigs. And because of the end effects I modified the track figure. The young ladies had no problem with it. I worried needlessly.

Crom Allt - This one too was adapted, but not intentionally. When I was making out the new cards for these dances I just happened to leave out 4 bars of this dance. So I improvised. Yuch. But I won't tell them if you don't.

Off to Speyside - This one needed no adapting. Straightforward throughout.

Kildrummy Castle - Nice little square dance. Best feature: simple.

Dancing on the Heights - 13 September 2010

2010-09-14T08:38:00.000-04:00

A light night - only four other dancers showed. So once again I delved into that category of dances that I call "n-somes". These are dances for three, four or five dancers (not couples) and they reside in my card file under their very own separator so when I need them I not only have them I can find them.

Last night's dances were:
Ducks in a Row (32 J 5 dancers) Martha Veranth
The Gay Goshawk (32 J 2) B. Priddey
Dragonflies  (32 S 5-some) J. Lataille
Cactus Flower  (32 J 5-some) J. Lataille
The Four Poster  (32 S 4-some) T. Glasspool
Four of Diamonds  (32 J 4-some) T. Glasspool
Gypsy Dreams  (32 S 2) T. Glasspool

**********

Ducks in a Row - The first time ever teaching this dance. I was not impressed. My fault I am sure. The music was not an inspired choice on my part. Better music might have made all the difference.

The last formation, which we ended up calling it 'single-triangles', was what caught everyones attention and was the highlight of the dance. Nice pattern. The dance needs redoing to better music.

The Gay Goshawk - This was the second time I have taught this dance and it will never earn a Dancer's Choice award I fear. Don't get me wrong, it is by Barry Priddey, and I like his dances. This is a solid and respectable dance but it is missing the "Oh Wow" factor that the really special dances have. The first time I taught it I used The Weaver and His Wife (Andrew Rankine). That tune fits the nature of the dance but the Jimmy Blair recording is just too fast and I am not able to slow it down because my software combination (Winamp + Pacemaker) is just too volatile. I used Anne Munro of Portree instead. It is a delightful, slower tempo jig that I often use when 'any good jig' is called for. It did not work well with this dance. Just gotta keep on lookin' I guess.

Dragonflies - Dancer's Choice award winner from Jane Lataille. I have now taught this dance 16 times over the last 5 years and I have always had a positive response from the dancers. I just checked my Top 50 list and this one is missing and I must rectify that omission.

Cactus Flower - Another good solid dance from Jane Lataille. But not an award winner. But don't let that stop you.

The Four Poster - Terry Glasspool. *Magnificent* Interlocking Back-to-Backs. Back-to-Back Half Reels of Four. Wow! He is the most innovative dance choreographer I have ever run across. And I found music that fits the dance: Pasadena Prom, by Muriel Johnstone & her Band from the CD "Dances with a Difference."

Four of Diamonds - Another Terry Glasspool dance. This one is another winner in MHO. Not as original as The Four Poster but still a fun one.

Gypsy Dreams - Dancer's Choice award winner a hundred times over. Simply one of the prettiest dances ever devised. And not just my opinion either. It is a gem and it belongs in the standard repertoire. Another Terry Glasspool creation!

New Haven Summer Social - 7 September 2010

2010-09-08T02:11:00.000-04:00

Four couples turned out. For the day after the long weekend I thought that was pretty good. The temperature was cool, the humidity was high, and two fans dealt with that.

Summer is over and when my class in Wilton resumes I will be teaching there on Tuesdays and only rarely making it to the New Haven class and only as a dancer, not as a teacher. My teaching in New Haven will once again be restricted to the Second Monday of the month class on the Heights.

Bad news - but not completely unexpected: Mary Kate Adami (nee Sampson), who has been quite sick for some time, has died. A memorial service was held this past weekend.

Tonight's dances were:

Knights' Heys (32 H 3) T. Glasspool

Gypsy Dreams (32 S 2) T. Glasspool

Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig (32 J 3) G. Dale Birdsall – A Cup of Kindness

Auchindrain (32 R 3) P. Price

Through A Glass Darkly (32 S 4) B. Skelton – Kiwi Book

Un-Named Dance (32 S 2) C. Anagnostakis

Lang May Your Lum Reek (32 J 2) B. Priddey

**********

Knights' Heys - Teacher's Check Mark award winner in 2003 and about to make its first encore appearance since that ball - and about time too.

Gypsy Dreams - What a delight! The Tournee is becoming a good looking formation. Finally. Due to sheer repetition. I hope the teachers in New Haven continue with this. Oh and by the way - reappearing on the 2011 K&G ball program for the first time since it premiered in '04.

Miss Muriel Johnstone's Jig - A fairly simple wee dance, heavily weighted toward first couple. Second and third couples are very much supporting couples in the dance - theirs is a choppy role with lots of stop and go four bar phrases. I would like to dance it some time and see for myself - but no Dancer's Check Mark Award for it tonight.

Through a Glass Darkly - No dancers award for this one either, but I would give it a Teacher's award. Why? To justify the amount of head banging I had to do to get a couple of very simple concept across. Set advancing men, that means moving forward on bar 1! Right? Got it? Not.

Un-Named dance by C. Anagnostakis - Sorry. You will just have to wait, but I think it will be worth it.

Lang May Your Lum Reek - I just love that stealth progression (bars 29-32). Worth all the angst and sturm und drang of the third figure. As for that - try practicing it with both hands joined and you may find the key to the whole dance. Note well: I am programming this one as the premier dance on the 2011 K&G ball program.

New Haven Summer Social - 31 August 2010

2010-09-01T16:00:00.002-04:00

Summer humidity returned with a vengeance. Three couples came to dance - how I love the true die hards!
Thank you Dick and Jane, Bob Cole (who drives down from Windsor), Ingrid, Paula and Deborah (who drives up from New Jersey).

The evening's dances were:
The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2) B. Priddey
Kendall's Hornpipe  (32 J 2) Gr. 22
The Dunsmuir Strathspey  (32 S 3 set) J. Drewry
The Westminster Reel (32 H 2) 45/1
Greyfriars Bobby  (32 S 3 set) B. Priddey
Turning Thirty  (32 J 2) C. Sigg
Lassie wi' the lint white locks  (32 S 2) B. Priddey

**********

The Burn of Sorrow - I have covered this dance before - post of 9 August '10.
What I said then still holds true, and dancers liked it this time too. A relatively simple dance that calls for some good technique, and when the tourbillon is danced properly it is a delight to watch.
One of Barry Priddey's simpler successes. Received a Dancer's Check Mark awared.

Kendall's Hornpipe - Believe it or not (and most people who know me would not) this is one of my most taught dances. I like it, and especially to the music recorded by The Music Makars. Theirs is the definitive recording in my humble opinion.

The Dunsmuir Strathspey - From John Drewry's first Bankhead Book, I have neither seen it nor danced it before but while I have read it over before I just never cottoned on to it, so this was a first timer for us all. And Jane Platt's response was "it deserves a star, not just a check."

It is in some sense a typical Drewry dance, it dances smoother than it teaches (certainly the first time - now that I know it I can improve my teaching). The dance is simple enough, he uses his "petronella in tandem" and varies the simple circle in a nice way yet again. But it is the opening and closing formations that make the dance.

The opening - lead down, half turn, cross up and cast up; is apparently simple but calls for some subtle touches to bring out the elegance hiding there. I like that kind of dancing. And the final formation, which I first saw in his dance Seagreen, is one of my favourite progressions. I call it a 'stealth' progression because the first time I danced it I found myself at the bottom of the set wondering how I had gotten there. This dance is going on my list of Top 50 Strathspeys.

It was written by John to honor the Dunsmuir Dancers, part of the San Francisco Branch, who recently (2007?) publish a book of dances that include many good ones, several great ones and not one turkey. I will buy a book of dances it there is one (1) dance in it that has become part of the standard repertoire and is being programmed on balls, too any book that has two or more really good dances in it. And here we have a gem, a book of dances with many (more than 7) good dances - Maurice, Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir, Linnea's Strathspey, Mole's Frolic, Sleeper's Awake and Sunday Afternoon Jig, to name a few off the top of my head. How does one say Very Highly Recommended strongly enough?

The Westminster Reel - devised by Jeremy Hill, published in Book 45. A hit, a palpable hit. The ending of the reel is a piece of genius and I the transition from Set and Rotate into R&L is sweet. A simple dance and on my list of Top 50 Reels.

Greyfriars Bobby - Another recipient of the Check Mark dancer's award. This one is a toughie, not that the choreography resembles spaghetti, but more in the subtleties of the transitions. From left hand turn to a left shoulder reel of three, from a reel where corners dance out to begin but need to dance an allemande next. And finally the last formation, of four 2 bar phases, of rounded chases into straight lines with no posts to align on. These eight bars are the meat of the dance and take the most work to become comfortable with.

Turning Thirty - This dance has intrigued me for years but I have only taught it twice now. It reorients your head. You dance most of the first 16 bars from the improper side, and continue to dance Espagnole from the improper side (yikes) and end with poussette. Definitely worth another trial or two but it did not receive a Check Mark dancer's award this night. Maybe later, maybe never. Oh well.

Lassie wi' the lint white locks - Second trial, second Check Mark award. Hmmm. Non standard opening with men dancing fig. 8 round ladies, followed by top dancers (not partners) dancing fig. 8 round dancers below. Then a form of Back-to-Back that I haven't seen in Scottish before, only in English country dance from Fried de Metz Herman, Chevrons! And they are absolutely lovely in strathspey time especially when covered with the dancers casting. Dance ends with 'The Dreaded Tournee'. Which, by they way, is looking better and better. And teaching it as 'upper' dancers turn with 'upper hands' and 'bottom' dancers turn with 'bottom hands' seems to be working better than anything else I have tried.

What is worth noting is that over the last month or so I have taught a fair number of Barry Priddey's dances and most of them received of "Check Mark" awards from the dancer's on the floor. I mean, I actually put the check mark on the card, but only if the sense of the floor is that the dance is not only worth doing, but worth doing again, and again...

And what is also worth noting is that before I started teaching Barry Priddey's dances I can only remember two (2) instances of another teacher doing the same. One many many years ago in New Haven, it was Bob Frew, I believe, and Mel Briscoe at a workshop before one of the New Haven Highland Balls.

The List:
Lassie wi' the lint white locks (32 J 2)
The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2)
Greyfriars Bobby (32 S 3 set)
Lang May Your Lum Reek (32 J 2)
Twelvesome Reel (32 R 6)
Phyllis' Fancy (32 S 2)
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2)
Heather Ale (32 S 3 set)

New York City Summer Dance - 26 August 2010

2010-08-28T14:27:00.001-04:00

Finally! An almost cool night for dancing and gender equality on the floor and five couples.

The night's dances were:
The Glowerin' Coo (32 J 3) J. Drewry – leaflet

Glasgow Country Dance (32 M 3) 23/6 (Bob Campbell)

The Pillar Dance (40 J 4 sq) C. Ronald – The Big Apple

Broadway (32 S 3 set) C. Ronald – The Big Apple

Five Penny Ness (32 J 5) J. Attwood - leaflet

Spiffen (32 J 5 sq) Quarries et al

Fisherman's Reel (32 R 5 sq) Petyt & Gamon

Miss Johnstone of Ardrossan (32 R 5) R. Goldring – 14 Social 2000

**********

The Glowerin' Coo - Taught by James Ferguson, I found it a nice pleasant wee dance. It is one of John's earlier choreographies (c.1988).

Glasgow Country Dance - This dance used to be one the dances on Full Certificate teacher's exam. It is a little stinker that is the exception that proves the rule that women always have the difficult parts - the men have it easy. Not here. To dance this one neatly the man has to be darn near perfect.

The Pillar Dance - The Catholic school where the NY Branch dances has a very strange gym. On (in?) the basketball court there are six cast iron pillars supporting the floor above and around which the dancers have to fit their sets. so Chris Ronald wrote a dance with a pillar in the center of the set. Rather site specific, a bit on the simple side, but boy do you have to move - that pillar adds more distance than I anticipated. And its a mixer. Don't get to see many of those in SC dancing.

Broadway - I regret to say I did not dance this one, I was searching for music for Five Penny Ness, the dance which I was going to teach. My impression is that the Broadway is both straight forward and deceptive. What I like most though is the fact that Chris is always having fun with his dancing.

Five Penny Ness - So answer me this. Why is it that when we find a great dance from a choreographer we stop looking? Jean Attwood wrote The Falls of Rogie, a favourite dance in the tri-state area, but no one ever seems to program any of her other dances.

Spiffin' - I consider this one to be a little stinker. Not that there is anything inherently difficult about it but, for some reason, most people in my set, and most of us were teachers too, found it difficult to transition from the opening birl into the left (I repeat - left) shoulder parallel reels of three.

The Fisherman's Reel - I can only remember dancing this once before (courtesy of Brian Haeckler in New Haven). Much smoother this time around.

Miss Johnstone of Ardrossan - A very nice dance from Roy Goldring. He has brought two innovations to Scottish dancing that I approve of. He wrote several 88 bar reels for square sets - which means I never have to do the Round Reel of Eight ever again. Thank you Roy, thank you! And he has popularized 5C dances that are 1C start, not 1s and 3s, and are danced once and to the bottom.

New Haven Summer Social - 24 August 2010

2010-08-25T15:47:00.001-04:00

The evening's dances were:

Greyfriars Bobby (32 S 3 set) B. Priddey
Hooper's Jig  (32 J 3) Miscellany 2
Five Penny Ness  (32 J 5) J. Attwood
Castle Douglas  (32 S 3) R. Goldring
Miss Norah Kindness (32 R 3) D. Birdsall
Gypsy Dreams  (32 S 2) T. Glasspool

**********

Greyfriars Bobby - As I taught this dance for the first time a sense of deja vue crept over me. I now remember being taught this dance in the late 1970's or early 80s by Bob Frew, one of the founding fathers of Scottish dancing in New Haven. Or at least I think I remember this.

The dancer's gave this one an up tick at the end saying it was well worth doing again and worth adding to the local repertoire. It has the potential to being very beautiful, but it is a demanding dance. Not physically but it definitely needs precise phrasing and proper timing throughout as well as control of steps, stretching and retarding as necessary.

Hooper's Jig - A standard that I don't teach often enough. I finally figured out that the dance is not about the Ones, but rather ALL about the 2nd couple - they step up, step down and step up again - forget - and the dance will crash and burn. Second couple make or break the dance.

Five Penny Ness - Another first time dance and it was a very good thing that I had the original direction in my bag as I really screwed up reading my note card. This one also received a dancers "gotta do it again" award. Personally I found it more interesting then most of Roy Goldring's 5C, once-and-to-the-bottom, dances. I don't think it is much harder either. The opening promenade reels take some effort to do well but the rest of the dance is really neat and sweet. My third thumbs up for the evening.

Castle Douglas - I have finally found dance-able music for this one. Muriel Johnstone finally included the tune (Mr and Mrs Little of Castle Douglas) in the set for another strathspey and that set works just fine here.

The dance is asymmetrical, similar movements happen at different places in the music, and I find that part of it's charm. It is also one of the most intensely social dances I have done. (I am tempted to say intensely intimate dances). It is not such a great dance for the 2s and the 3s who merely support but it is just fabulous for the 1s. A thorough gem it belongs in the world standard repertoire.

Miss Norah Kindness - Bob Gregg taught this one. And this one too received applause at the end.
Written (or as Hugh Foss said "choreographed") by Dale Birdsall there is a faint whiff of technique about it.
The charm of it all are the mirror reels of three across followed by reels of three on the sides. There was one part that was not clear - after the second reel first couple passes each other into right hand casts to own sides - I seem to recall Bob saying pass by left shoulders and I found myself passing partner by right shoulders.

Gypsy Dreams - As always it is the unspeakable, bloody tournee. And the rest of the dance is so pretty several dancers called for it to be done on another ball, in fact to be programed on the Kilts and Ghillies Ball on a regular basis. I am willing, but there are so many pretty dances that need to be done...

New Haven Summer Social - 17 August 2010

2010-08-18T08:17:00.000-04:00

Brian Haeckler teaching.

It is late summer and numbers are dwindling for the final days of relative freedom are upon us. We eked out a full set last night, and were down to six by the second half.

Last night's dances were:

Hazelbank  (32 J 3) John Drewry
Celebration Strathspey  (32 S 3) Bk 43
Broadford Bay  (32 R 3) Skye Collection/L 32
Corian Strathspey  (32 S 3set) Bk 43
Collie Law (32 J 2) R. Goldring

**********

Hazelbank - The short form: Good dance. It has an Espagnole which, for all the fancy name and fol-de-rol, is truly a very simple and, in my humble opinion, lovely and under rated formation of progression. (Only not as a first dance please). I used to have a mind like a steel trap, but with graying hair comes greater confusion. Sigh. One has to wonder why this dance is so infrequently done, 'cause I would have heard of it if it was popular. (Brian, I would definitely short list it for ball program.)

Celebration Strathspey - Yawn. Solid dance but "yawn". Perhaps with live music?

Broadford Bay - Not easy. Young, or well warmed but not tired legs a necessity, as is a working brain. I think the difficulty level is actually a positive, not a negative, as you need at least one interesting dinkum thinkum of a dance on a ball program. So is it a ball dance? I say yes.

Corian Strathspey - From the pen of the late Maurice Whitby (in whose honor Gary Thomas wrote the 32 S 2 dance Maurice). The first time I taught this dance the reception was at best luke warm - as it was last night. What was notable during the repeat we did, to the "encore" music (of Ian MacPhail), was that not only did our dancing improve so did our perception of the dance. For this dance the 'right' music is of critical importance.

New Haven Summer Social - 10 August 2010

2010-08-11T11:07:00.001-04:00

Brian Haeckler Teaching.

I learned a lesson tonight, well, sort of. I already knew it, I just haven't had much chance to practice it.

To Whit: Teachers need to get out and experience other teachers - for a couple of reasons. Their methods for one, and their choice of dances for the other.

For example: Leslie Kearney has introduced me to some of what are now my favourite dances. Terry Glasspool's Back to Back for one. I read it and dismissed it. Too hard I said. And so wrong I say now. What a great dance it is, and so too John Drewry's Sarona and Beauty of the North. Also gifts from Leslie.

Brian has a different take from Leslie, or me. And thank goodness. He brought several dances tonight that I have looked at and passed on that I will have to reconsider.

And this brings up a point that I have tried to make to the other teachers in the New Haven Branch - I want your input on this Blog. Really! We all have different points of view and like different dances - and that is good. And we can all learn from one another and expand our horizons - but we need to be talking to one another. And that is where this blog can contribute by being the medium.

On a personal level - I want to know what dances Joyce is choosing for her group in Mystic, and Ken for his class in Middletown. And what are they dancing in Windsor. But I don't know because no one is saying. And I especially want to know WHY you like the dances you pick - I may not agree with what you say but that doesn't mean it is invalid - just that it is personal opinion. And I can assure you that what I have to say is only opinion. I can and do learn from you all. So please, become contributors.

Tonight's dances were:
A Capital Jig (32 J 3) 9/2009
The Beeswing (32 R 3) New Haven 12
Lettie G. Howard  (32 S 2) M. Levy
Betty Burke  (32 J 3) M. Levy
The Compliment  (32 S 2) R. Goldring
Colwyn's Ruby Reel (32 R 3) Rhodes
Once I Loved a Maiden Fair (32 S 2) New Haven 12

**********

A Capital Jig - I must say I did not find it to be special. Good solid dance, but just not special. Most likely because I made a bad choice of music. Possibly because the dance was just not a suitable opening jig.

The Beeswing - Yikes! Fair dinkum thinkum dance from Marty Briggs. Forces you to fight muscle memory and 'standard' thinking. I got well and truly bit a couple of times. Nice dance but it really needs the right music. I wish I had a recording of that hornpipe. The first of the 'hmmm - better than I remember" dances in the evening.

Lettie G. Howard - by the late Milton Levy (of NYC). In honor of a restored fishing schooner that sails out of South Street Seaport. If it helps - Milton Levy also wrote Gang the Same Gate which introduced Set-and-Link-for-Three to the Scottish dance community. A nice dance and worth doing again. Won't make my top Ten list but maybe my Top 50 strathspey list. It certainly deserves to get a few more trials. And the second of the 'Hmmm' dances.

Betty Burke - Another Milton Levy dance. A good solid A dance - there is some sweet choreography here. The sequence - half reel, right hand turn, half reel is sweet. The first half reel starts with the corners dancing in, the last half reel starts with the corners dancing out, and the right hand turn is a brilliant way to transition the corners from the one to the other. The challenge for the corners is to change their pacing and temper their dancing during the right hand turn and allow the first couple to get around them and into place for that second half reel. I have liked this dance for some time but never gotten a positive response and so haven't taught it often.

Again, I found the dance to be better than "OK", but needing a superior jig to make it 'sing'. And I have not loaded Bill Hendrie's recordings onto my new computer. I will get to that Tin Woodman CD Real Soon Now.

Colwyn's Ruby Reel - "yawn". Oh well. Remember - personal opinion here. don't take for the 'truth' - dance it and decide for yourself. And I would love to know Brian's reaction - he picked it and does he feel that it worked as well as he thought it would?

Once I Loved a Maiden Fair - this is the gem of the night. It too is from Marty Briggs. I was on the publication committee that put the book together and I don't remember the dance being THAT pretty. But looking at it again, for the first time in over 20 years - Oh My! This is a nice dance with original choreography and a lovely entry into the Tournee. (Sorry 'bout that - it does have a Tournee - live with it and do it anyway). I certainly have my opinions, but when I hear someone watching a dance gasp and start to pay close attention I must be wrong and need to reconsider my prejudice. So three thank-yous are in order. One to Brian for going back into the archives and teaching the dance, one to Deborah for seeing what I missed and bringing it to my attention and one to Marty Briggs for her unique eye for choreography.

Dancing on the Heights - 9 August 2010

2010-08-10T03:03:00.001-04:00

The weather turned hot and muggy again and only four dancers showed up. That gave me the space to do some individual coaching. And, Hooray for me,  I had prepared a number of 2C dances so I wasn't scrambling for material.

One dance was completely new, one was a favourite from the Kilts and Ghillies Ball circa 2005 and the other two were recent finds of mine that have been given the top accolade of applause from the floor. Mind you there are two possible reasons for applause - either the dancers really liked the dance or they are really happy it is done and over with.

And regarding that favourite dance, Terry Glasspool's Gypsy Dreams - before tonight I have taught it only once in the last five years, and that was in April of this year. And it bothers me that when we find real gems, and Gypsy Dreams is definitely a gem, we don't make sure, by repetition, that the dance becomes part of our repertoire. And I know how difficult the initial teaching was, and tonight I was astonished at how inherently easy the dance really is. So why?

Susan Leff offered a solution - build up a repertoire of dances linked to the Kilts and Ghillies ball. This is what the Brooklyn, NY class does with their Drewry Night. They program the neat but difficult dances every other year or so. Worth considering.

Tonight's dances were:
Cubbie Roo (32 J 2) J. Attwood
The Burn of Sorrow  (32 S 2) B. Priddey
Lang May Your Lum Reek  (32 J 2) B. Priddey
Gypsy Dreams  (32 S 2) T. Glasspool
Elixabeth Adair (32 J 2) Hugh Foss

**********

Cubbie Roo - Jean Attwood. Worth a second take, mainly because I think different music would be a huge improvement. It was the first dance of the evening and that was probably a mistake. The dance requires mental clarity and precision. With neither minds nor legs warm precision was out of the question. A relentless dance, a proper set would have been a great relief.

The Burn of Sorrow - Dancers like this one (two trials and two positive responses). Me too. What I like is the contrast between the strong turn and loop that follows the initial right hands across and the much slower no turn and loop (in four) out of the left hands across. Too, I simply adore the tourbillon progression and was tickled pink when one of the dancers wanted to work on the timing. It is so lovely when done right.

The key to the tourbillon, IMHO, is the timing of the handing. The turn with partner is only a half turn - that puts 1M into position to dance down the Ladies' side into 2L's position and by dropping his left (partner's right) hand after just one step he gets to 'draw' her back to her place, where they then set on the sides with near hands joined. They turn again, again only half way, and that puts 1L in position to dance across to 2M's place. By dropping her left hand (partner's right) after just one step she gets to 'draw' 1M back to 2L's place. And here is the but - But the only way they can be in 2nd place on the sides across from one another is if they drop both hands. And here is the big but - BUT don't drop them at the same time! She should drop her left hand first and a moment later, after setting up the illusion of the draw, she should drop her right hand and dance across the set as 1M dances back into 2L's place. Couples now cross to own sides.

Another consideration - the nature of the figure is inherently curvy. From lines to turns (think 2 person circles) to lines and set. From lines to turns (again think circles) to the side lines and cross. Think covering too.

I am SO tempted to put this on the K&G ball.

Lang May Your Lum Reek - We have another Winnah! With sixteen bars of lullaby to get you to lower your guard, and then... Wham! Eight bars of Rotating Ptolemaic Epicyclic Hello Goodbye setting no less. ( no lie - that is the name we came up with tonight - and not me, it was Bob Cole!) And the progression is one the simplest and most satisfying I have ever danced.

And, gulp, I did succumb to temptation and I have put it on the K&G program for April.

Gypsy Dreams - So beautiful! I have no other words. You have to dance this one at least once in your life. And once you have, once won't be enough. This is my #1 strathspey despite of the tournee.

Susan, you are absolutely right. So I promise, I will teach and program Gypsy Dreams more often.

New Haven Summer Social - 3 August 2010

2010-08-04T00:56:00.002-04:00

Another warm muggy night. A front moved through early this afternoon and I just plain wilted. I showed up for dancing because I am the only one with key and code and, minor point, I was teaching tonight.
What was really nice was having 14 dancers. I can't remember the last time such a crew showed up.
The downside of the evening was the weather and the fact that no one, my self included, brought their A brains to the game.

Brian Haeckler will be teaching the next two Tuesdays.

Tonight's dances were:
The Gates of India (32 J 4) Jean Attwood
Twelvesome Reel (32 R 6) B. Priddey
Glayva (32 J 2) John Drewry
The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2) B. Priddey
Bratach Bhana (32 R 3) J. Drewry
A Warm Winter's Evening (32 S 4) S. Rusche

**********

The Gates of India - From the lady who brought us The Falls of Rogie a dance for a folly. Standing on a Scottish hillside is, I am told, a replica of an Indian city gate build to provide employment during the great depression.

I honestly don't know what to say about this one. Though a bit more of a challenge than I figured, the dancers did appear to be enjoying themselves and no one was holding their nose. I am definitely going to teach this one again and will try to be in the set dancing it when I do.

Twelvesome Reel - the second go-round for this dance and not nearly as successful as the first, and most of the dancers were there the first time. Oh well. I'll give it another shot another time. (I still think it is a neat dance).

Glayva - I taught it out of Pilling and boy did I screw it up. Lovely dance when properly taught. 'Nough said.

The Burn of Sorrow - This one got a healthy round of applause! Simple, slightly asymmetrical and very interesting variations in light and shadow (control of step length). And I thought it was going to be a throwaway. Despicable me. (Wrong again - and glad to be). Another winner from Barry Priddey - checked and highlighted.

Bratach Bhana - Again. Why? Because it has been a very long time since it has been done on a regular basis and it is too good a dance to led fall into disuse. An early Drewry the only negative about the dance is the piece count. So many 2 and 4 bar chunks to remember. Oh well - deal with it - it's good for you.

I hate Microsoft software. I have the Andrew Rankine version on the computer. iTunes (for PC) can find and play it but Microsoft's Windows Media Player can not find it so I can't play it. And I have to use WMP because I need to adjust the speed of playback, and iTunes doesn't do that! Drat and Darn and other bad words. So I am stuck using the Colin Dewar Trio's version of Bratach Bhana and, pardon my french here, his version stinks out the house. The band is so bad (MHO) I almost didn't load it onto my computer. It has to be my only choice before I will play him.

A Warm Winter's Evening - By an old friend who used to dance in New Haven (while attending grad school). He wrote the dance while in Atlanta at Emory.

A simple strathspey that demands careful phrasing and covering. A simple challenger.

New Haven Summer Social - 27 July 2010

2010-07-28T08:41:00.003-04:00

As is almost always the case, especially after having six couples for the last two weeks, when I plan six-couple dances, and I prepared three of them, I only get five and a half couples. One more person, please, just one more...

Tonight's dances were:

Hana Strathspey (32 S 3) Alex Gray
The Sea Caves  (32 R 5) Green - Southern Stars
The Glenora Ferry  (40 J 3) Terry Glasspool
Ythanside (32 S 3) John Drewry
A Winter's Walk (32 J 3) Pam Stephens
The Black Craig of Dee (32 R 3) Hugh Foss

**********

Hana Strathspey - I have the Tokyo 25th Anniversary CD with the music for this dance and the dance directions are in the liner notes. The music doesn't do it for me (what ever 'it' is), but the dancers liked it. The dance itself is a very basic dance - not a bad thing because there are basic dances and then there are boring basic dances which, according to the mob, this one isn't.

The dance is by Alex Grey, present chairman of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, who taught it at the New York Branch's Pawling Weekend this past May. It introduces his figure "The Helix" which is sweet.
I give it a 72 - but I am a tough grader.

The Sea Caves - By Jeff Green, whom I have never heard of before, but I hope to hear more of him in the future, 'cause this is a fun dance. It is from his Southern Stars Book.

What I find neat is the rather different progression - in a 5C set the usual is: 1s and 3s start together and after one round of the dance 1C is in 3rd place and 3C is at the bottom. So, starting at the top, each couple dances twice-and-to-the-bottom, just like all the 8x32 3C dances we have been doing since our first day of dancing.

Here 1C dance it once and end at the bottom while 3C end in top place and repeats from there. Different.
And for the active dancers in the reel of four - 8 bars is just enough time to dance half way round the set and I do mean just.

If I don't sound enthusiastic enough it is because I have been up since 5:30 this AM and I don't do mornings well at all. The dance made it onto my A list. OK?

The Glenora Ferry - by Terry Glasspool - by TERRY GLASSPOOL - ANOTHER good Terry Glasspool dance. Have you got it yet? Do I need to say more? Great dance. The circulating Allemande, where 1C (in 2nd place) start out and up while 2C 3C start out and down, is a thing of beauty.

Ythanside - a pastorale - another dance of surpassing beauty. Kudos to Leslie Kearney for introducing me to this dance. I had read it over but not recognized it for what it is. The high point is the last figure (circles) and the key to the circles is the last 4 bars of the previous figure:

Lines of 3 set a second time, then while 1C cast to own sides the 2 corner men, and the 2 corner ladies, turn BH half round in 2 bars. SLOWLY! and merge smoothly into the circles of three on the sides, then the circles of three must begin to speed up and merge into the circle of 6 which needs to keep accelerating to get everyone far enough round to make to own sides. Sweet! The previous 20 bars of dance is just a set-up for these last 12 bars.

Not only is it on my A list, it is in fact on my Top 50 Strathspey list, and is actually one of my top 10 strathspeys of all time. (And the music makes the dance so do use the right music).

A Winter's Walk - by Pam Stephens from Between the Rivers.  I like what Pam is doing. This is a fun dance and definitely on my A list of Top 50 Jigs. And Between the Rivers is one of my two favourite dance books - the other being Dunsmuir Dances from the Dunsmuir class in the San Francisco area. These books have more winners than any other 5 books of dances I have seen.

The Black Craig of Dee - One of my favourites. Love that music. Like the dance.

Dance by Hugh Foss, music by Peter White. One of the top items on my "in-my-lifetime" wish list: that the Peter White/Hugh Foss albums be remastered and issued on CD.

The Foss dances are good, if not great, and certainly of historical importance, while the music Peter White wrote/arranged and plays approaches the sublime because theirs was a collaboration and the fit of music and dance is near perfect.

New Haven Summer Social - 20 July 2010

2010-07-21T08:32:00.000-04:00

Another warm muggy night, but not nearly the oven that the last couple of weeks were. Thank you lord.
Once again 12 dancers were present and, once again, thank you lord, 'cause that meant I could teach a 12-some reel by Barry Priddey that I have wanted to do for some time now - since the day the book arrived in the mail.

Thank you Susan and Ed for the lovely drippy watermelon, thank you Deborah for the veggie chips and thank you Bill and Alice for the seltzer.

Tonights dances were:
The Solway Reel (48 R 4) Carlisle & Border Anniversary Bk.
Monadh Leath (32 S 3) John Drewry
Twelvesome Reel (32 R 6 square) Barry Priddey
Unnamed Dance (32 R 3) Bob Gregg
Bratach Bhana (32 R 3) John Drewry

**********

The Solway Reel - One of my favourite dances. And, contrary to the commonly held myth, some of the dances I like really are simple. I have found only one recording for this dance and it isn't very good so I continue to use Jimmy Blair's recording of Lady Sophia Anne of Bute. Good upbeat march tunes and the dancers respond to them.

It is interesting to note the difference that 9 years makes. (I last taught this in May 2001 and I know that it has been taught at least once by another New Haven teacher). Tonight dancers were on time - and what a difference that makes!

Monadh Leath - figure of note: balance in lines of 4 with Highland Schottische setting, dancers facing in alternate directions, into half reels of four. Lovely. The hardest part of the dance: getting the dancers to take hands and remake that line of four whenever possible, especially just before the entry into the half reels.

Twelvesome Reel - Oh my. I had NO idea. I have been trying to diagram (pilling style) this dance since the book arrived. Usually, translating a dance's written directions into diagram form teaches me the dance - I get to see it as a whole pattern. Not this time. So I finally just taught it from the book which I hate to do. And it was a delight to do. The last 8 bars are the only difficult part because the progression happens so quickly.

Formation - 4 couples in a square with 2 couples in the center ( #5 facing up to #1 and #6 facing down to #3) all proper (men on left, ladies on the right).

Heart of the Dance - parallel reels of four with head couples then with side couples. What makes the dance special is this - couples 5 & 6 do NOT pass left shoulder on bar 8 but cut the reels a little short, and the men get to do a twirl and really flip their kilts (ladies - enjoy the view!).

What follows is unique in my experience - there are four "teapots" - Right Hands Across for 3 dancers at each of the four corners of the set flowing into 1/4 chase while #s 5 & 6 dance half LHA into: heads & centers change places with half RHA.

Bottom Line: Do it. Dancers were struggling but almost all of them had smiles on their faces even though it never quite came together for the full six rounds. Now #52 on my Top 50 Reels list.

Bratach Bhana - coming up soon - on Brooklyn's Drewry Night program. Great music if I can get my iTunes files read by Windows Media Player. The best version I have is by Andrew Rankine but it is way fast. I could slow it down with Windows Media Player if only Windows Media Player could find it. I really hate the Microsoft Windows world.

I like the dance as it is being done, but I like it better the way John originally wrote it. After the diagonal promenade to change the corners he had 1C and corners turn into place, as couples, with pas de basque! I love it that way. The current style, to open out with skip change of step, is easier but has no soul, no panache. John must have taken a whole lot of grief because he almost never knuckles under to outside pressure.

New Haven Summer Social - 13 July 2010

2010-07-14T08:03:00.000-04:00

Last night was very warm and very sticky and still 12 dancers showed up. All but one regulars of the New Haven or Woodbridge classes and no one, regretfully, from another CT class. That other was from New Jersey.

Tonight's dances were:

Reekie Linn (32 J 2) Jean Attwood leaflet

Rose and Woodbine (32 S 3) SF 2

Mill of Fortune (32 J 4) Jean Attwood leaflet

Gordon of Straloch (32 S 3) Peter Price

It is Time (32 S 3 set) Wouter Joubert

The Cashmere Shawl (32 S 3) Iain Boyd

**********

Reekie Linn - I like the dance. I am not sure that anyone else did but that could be because I used it as a warmup and no one had a functioning brain at that point.

Rose and Woodbine (aka Asilomar Romantic) - Still one of my favourite dances. Definitely on my top 50 and maybe even on my top 10 list.

Mill of Fortune - This one was my toughie of the night. The conceit of the dance is four sequential and simultaneous half reels of four and right hand turns. It is also a timing dance - all the dancers need to be spot on for it to work and I may have over reached considering the weather and the melting brains. We managed a few clear rounds but I didn't see it coming together and called it quits. That's when I found out that they all liked the dance. So maybe it is a winter dance and not a dog-day-of-summer dance. This one is definitely worth the work.

Ke Nako (It is Time) - A brand new dance from Wouter Joubert of South Africa to celebrate the FIFA World Cup.

I really liked the opening 8 bars into the Hello-G'bye setting. I didn't hear a whole lot of talk after but at least one other person liked it a lot.

The Cashmere Shawl - This one just made it onto my Top 50 Strathspey list. It doesn't read as such but it certainly dances that way. Recommended! I used the Hanneke Cassel and Dave Wiesler recording of Irongray. I sped it up a bit and it worked very nicely.

New Haven Summer Social - 29 June 2010

2010-06-30T09:19:00.000-04:00

Leslie Kearney taught.

The evening's dances were:
Robert's Reel (32 S 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Hanna's Pride (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances
The Fiddlehead (32 S 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Fair Ronny's Reel (32 R 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Outside the Box (32 S 3) Between the Rivers
The Stella Strathspey (32 S 3 set) Bob Gregg - leaflet
Margot's Love (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances

**********

All the dances but one were from Dunsmuir Dances and Between the Rivers. And what incredible books they are. I don't think there is a boat anchor dance in either book. To put it another way - I am willing to spend money on a dance book if there are 2 good dances in it. In these books MOST of the dances are good, if not great. Mind you I wouldn't do all of them on a regular basis but many of them - oh yes.

From the Dunsmuir book: Maurice is perhaps my favorite strathspey of all time. Other favorites of mine are: Linnea's Strathspey, Miss Jane Muirhead, Mole's Frolic, and The Fiddlehead. I have enjoyed dancing these others too: Crowecombe and Stogumber, Fair Ronny's Reel, Hanna's Pride, Margot's Love, Robert's Reel, The Seamstress, Sleeper's Awake and Sunday Afternoon Jig.

I cannot think of another book that has such a high proportion of good dances in it - other than Between the Rivers. That book has 17 dances and I have danced and enjoyed the following: A Winter's Walk, Holden My Own, On Hudson Creek, Foggy River Reel, Gypsy Weaver, Outside the Box and The Silver Thistle Ball.

I can't speak of most of the other dances because I haven't danced them. The only one I haven't liked is A Wee Nothin' - not because it is a bad dance, it isn't - but it is so basic that it is no challenge at all - and I need to be challenged in some manner to find a dance interesting. (Note: this is a great dance for beginners or for a warm up early in a dance program).

To put all this in perspective: either Leslie or I have programed the following dances on the Kilts and Ghillies Ball:

Maurice, Linnea's Strathspey, On Hudson Creek, Gypsy Weaver, The Silver Thistle Ball, Holden My Own, and Mole's Frolic.

Too both Crowcombe and Stogumber and Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir have appeared on recent New Haven Highland Ball programs.

So kudos to Leslie for finding these books and being willing to work through them.

**********

The Stella Strathspey is a work in progress by Bob Gregg who taught it. The talk through had me squirming but once the dance got under way I found myself enjoying it. There are real possibilities here. Nice job!

The Fiddlehead - This is one where embroidery makes the dance - and I saw many missed opportunities. The secret to this dance is to turn the long way into place when ever possible- and there are many possibles.

The one place I disagree with Leslie's interpretation is on bars 7-8.

The directions read:

... while 1st and 2nd women turn with left hands to

face partners in a diagonal line between 1st man's

and 2nd woman's places.

Note: 1M ends these bars in 2L's place and 2M in top man's place while 1L starts in partner's place and 2L in home place.

Leslie had the ladies turning more than once round in 2 steps which I found busy. If I were to embroider the moment my preference would be to have them turn only half round (1 step) and pivot in place (1 step Lsh back) to face partner. This would be more in keeping with the curly theme of the fiddlehead (IMHO). The simplest interpretation however would be to have the ladies turn halfway in 2 bars and flow directly into the reel of four that follows. A Keep It Simple movement.

New Haven Summer Social - 22 June 2010

2010-06-24T13:14:00.009-04:00

Teachers were: Peter Price (just the warm up) and Leslie Kearney.

The Dances were:
Kendall's Hornpipe  (32 J 2) Graded Book #22
Three Quarters = Seventyfive Sense  (32 S 3 set) Between the Rivers (Barnes)
The Bonny Heather (32 S 2) Between the Rivers (Ways)
Corrievrechan  (32 R 3) Barry Priddey
A Trip to Lorient  (32 S 4) RSCDS Leaflet 2008
Silver Thistle Ball  (32 S 3 set) Between the Rivers
Sueno's Stone  (32 R 3) RSCDS Leaflet 2008

New Haven Summer Social - 15 June 2010

2010-06-24T09:56:00.001-04:00

Summer Social Dancing in New Haven has begun!
Tonight's Teacher was Leslie Kearney and tonight's dances were (in no particular order):

The Seamstress (40 S 3 set) Claudette Sigg
Toad of Toad Hall (32 R 3) Tom Winter
The Stolen Kiss (32 S 3) Claudette Sigg
Sleepers Awake (32 R 3) Tom Winter
Sunday Afternoon Jig (32 J 3) Shari Salis
New Dance by Bob Gregg

Dancing on the Heights - 14 June 2010

2010-06-15T07:02:00.003-04:00

Summer is here which means heat and humidity and no AC at the Friends. Deal with it. It is far better than having AC and cold muscle injuries. Too, it means I have fewer opportunities to teach and this blog gets a little slow.

We had 5 couples for the first part of the night. It was wonderful! Gold star to the Goldbergs who drove up from Brooklyn just for this class. And another gold star for Deb Leary for the honey-gingerale recipe that is sooo good.

Tonight's dances were:
The Wee Cooper of Fife (40 J 2) Hugh Foss
Gordon of Straloch (32 S 3) Peter Price
The Land of Oz (32 R 3) John Drewry
Lang May Your Lum Reek (32 J 2) Barry Priddey
Bill Clement, MBE (32 J 3) John Wilkinson
Castle Douglas (32 S 3) Roy Goldring

**********

The Wee Cooper of Fife - I remember this dance with great fondness but have been mildly dissapointed both times I have taught it recently. Personally, the 10 bar phrases are no longer the marvelous oddity that used to be so much fun. And I find the dance to be what I call a "huffin' puffer" - a 2C dance with no let up or resting places build in. Not a problem when I was 30 and in good shape. An issue when 58 and dealing with creaky legs.

Gordon of Straloch - The music makes the dance. The band is Waverley Station led by Liz Donaldson; the CD is First Stop; the two tunes are "Rorate coeli" and "I long for thy virginitie". The latter from the Straloch Lute Book of 1627 from whence the name of the dance comes. The music is sublime. The dance is pretty and is published on the Eight by Thirty Two web site (here).

The Land of Oz - from Drewry's Australian Book. Another Huffin' Puffer! But boy do I like the transition from chase and cross into circle! But I am now thinking perhaps not for a ball program that already includes The Wee Cooper of Fife - too many Huffin' Puffers is not a good thing.

Lang May Your Lum Reek - I have thaught this before and commented on it before. The third 8 bars relies on good, strong, accurate pas de basque steps. In other words you gotta move!

Bill Clement, MBE - Eh. It's OK. But it will never make my top 50 list.

Castle Douglas - I have been teaching this dance since 1995, and it continues to be one of my favourites. Take a special partner for this one.

11 May 2010 - Dancing on the Heights

2010-05-11T00:26:00.003-04:00

A wonderful night! I had a full set, I had some music on the new computer and taught dances that I had music for but hadn't prepared. And it went really well.

Tonight's dances were:
Coming Through the Rye (40 J 3) San Francisco 2
Knights' Heys (32 H 3) T. Glasspool
Glencoe (32 S 4) B. Priddey - Tam O'Shanter Book
The Pride of the Murray (32 H 3) I. Boyd - World Around the Corner
Gypsy Weaver (32 S 3) Between the Rivers (A. Peet)

**********

Coming Through the Rye - The first 24 bars are pure dead brilliant. The sequential parallel reels are stunning. The asymmetry gives it spice and when covered it is simply mahvelous. Peanut gallery piped up and declared it a ball dance. Who am I to argue with them? It is now on the short list.

Knights' Heys - Wow! I put this on the 2003 K&G Ball and haven't taught it since. My bad because it is a wonderful, joyous dance and how quickly we forget. It is one of Terry's best dances and he has many very good ones.

Glencoe - Mixed reviews on this one. Positive feedback from several and negative feed back from several. My personal feelings are equally mixed. I will put it this way: not up to the standards of Rakes of Auld Reekie or Maurice, but few dances are. This one is a good solid middle ground strathspey that is a little bit different.

The Pride of the Murray - I liked it in 2006 when I put it on that year's K&G Ball. I still like it and tonight's dancers all liked it. The moving turns and the social warmth of the "invitation" to 3M and 3L to join the turns and form teapots make the dance memorable.

Gypsy Weaver - Oh My Goodness Gracious. What beautiful music and what a beautiful dance. Top 10 contender! It is right up there with Maurice and Rakes of Auld Reekie.

5 May 2010 - Wilton Class

2010-05-05T00:30:00.004-04:00

Another late start and small class. It was also very warm and I was very distracted. My Mac crashed, I lost all my music and the Apple stores don't work on "antiques". I am now the owner of a PC and feeling like I stepped back into the stone age. All very depressing. Which affected the class negatively - and before you ask, no I was not able to leave it at the door.

I had to bring cds - and that is just about as bad as having to use tapes (remember those?).

Tonight's dances were:
The Burn of Sorrow (32 S 2) B. Priddey
Wedding in St. Monans (32 J 3) Mary S. Brandon
The Pride of the Murray (32 H 3) Iain Boyd
Bill Clement, MBE (32 J 3) John Wilkinson

**********

The Burn of Sorrow: Nothing special. I may need to find better music (when I have the new pc up and running and the basic library of SCD music is installed).

Wedding in St. Monans - Needs a four couple set for proper test. Three couples means too much fudging with the progression.

The Pride of the Murray - I like this dance! So did tonight's crew. And so they should, they liked it enough that I put it on the 2006 K&G Ball for them.

Bill Clement, MBE - Again I wish I had the right music, because the music I picked it proved to be nothing special.

Wilton Class – 27 April 2010

2010-04-29T08:49:00.006-04:00

There was a very full moon that night - I was already distracted and no body else brought their brains. Hard work all around. The evening was also a guinea pig session: I had several dances I wanted to look at in regards to programing them on the next K&G Ball. I need to do these testings because my eye often leads me astray - I think most dances are easy and most people think I am abnormal and need a reality check.

The night's dances (there were only three):
The Wee Cooper of Fife (40 J 2) H. Foss - Song Tunes
Linnea's Strathspey (32 S 3) Dunsmuir Dances a
The 51st Travelers (32 J 3) 44/9 (S. Turton)

**********

The Wee Cooper of Fife – 4 figures of 10 bars each - I love this dance and I am, in fact, so prejudiced that I am having trouble assessing accurately how it will work on a ball program, and yes Virginia, I am already working on the 2011 K&G Ball program. But I love the music for this dance, I really like the dance itself, I think it is total fun. Apparently not everyone agrees with me.

Linnea's Strathspey – Another dance I really like. Last 'taught' 26 April 2008 when it was on the K&G Ball. The dance hangs on the turning couple in the middle of the Half Chain Progression. For some reason the concept of a 4 bar turn going once and a half round was beyond some of the dancers, and getting that concept across was certainly beyond me. Yeuuch.

The 51st Travelers – Ralph Page, an old time contra caller from New Hampshire, had a category of dances that he called "little stinkers" - and this is one. There is no wiggle room, no chance of recovery if the dancers bobble and there is a lot here that can be bobbled. Not a dance for a ball and here I was thinking it was - until I saw it danced by real people and not the shadow dancers in my head. A dance for young legs.

Re: Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance 2010

2010-04-23T16:01:00.003-04:00

I also want to lend my thanks to a most successful K&G Ball ( or should I say Tea Dance this past weekend?) I don`t know if it was the musicians, the dance program, the hour of the day, or the dancers themselves but the sum total far exceeded its individual parts in terms of pure joy. I`ve been to many, many Balls over the years but there was just that extra something, whatever it was, that, IMHO, will keep this among the best I`ve attended. Thank you, Peter, and to all who were part and parcel of this wonderful dance, God bless you all!
Jeff Rossman

Wilton Class - 20 April 2010

2010-04-21T01:12:00.010-04:00

Usually the first class after a ball is going to be on the small side, and tonight was no exception. I am not sure I was all there either as I am definitely suffering from post ball depression. After exhilarating highs come the Death Valley lows.

Tonight there were only four dances:
The March Hare (32 R 3) I. Boyd
Gypsy Dreams (32 S 2) T. Glasspool
St. Patrick’s Day (24 J 2) Herbold & Price
Phyllis’ Fancy (32 S 2) B. Priddey

**********
The March Hare – This was in my section of warm up dances and that was a mistake. No way no how should this be a warm up dance. Not a bad dance actually, kind of a bunny hop thing. Kind of fluffy.

Gypsy Dreams – Another home run from Terry Glasspool. The first three figures of the dance are inspired, one might say pure dead brilliant. There is a but though. The dance has one minor flaw - the Tournée. However, of all the dances that have the Tournée, this dance comes closest to making it palatable.

I taught this dance to this group in 2005, and tournée was a problem for them then and it was still a problem now. But definite progress was made tonight. I took a slightly different tack. Usually the figure is described as 1 bar to come in, 2 bars of rotation, and then, on bar 4, you turn your partner with one hand or the other to put you in position for the barn door turns that follow.

What I see is: 1 bar in, 2 bars to rotate and 5 bars of barn door turns. And that means that at the end of bar 3 couples need to be facing correctly and there is no time to ponder the situation.
The upper couple turns with upper hands/lower couple turns with lower hands - that began to get through and seems to have made a difference with at least 2 dancers, both of whom have severe right/left challenges.

But the teaching/learning process is so ugly. The figure is completely devoid of helpful clues. It is rote memorization and repetition. And when done right it is a pretty thing. But is it worth the effort?

St. Patrick's Day – Not the RSCDS version which is an abortion and not worth the effort. Instead the version that Bruce Herbold and I came up with.

Society says: Right Hands Across half round in four bars. Then poussette back to place in four bars. That is - out and turn, move and turn, into the middle and fall back. Oh, and one more thing, make it look elegant …Righhht!

I say: Right Hands Across half way in the [otherwise] standard two bars, then you have six bars to poussette - out on 3, turn on 4, move on 5, turn on 6, into the middle on 7, fall back to place on 8.

The rest of the dance is Bruce's: Down the middle for 4, change places with partner with a California Twirl (woman under joined hands, man across below ptnr), and lead up to 2nd place.
Dance RHA with 2C, 1C turn RH x 1_1/2 to own sides.

Phyllis' Fancy – From the pen of Barry Priddey but not one of his greatest. It is a 'safe' dance: no risk so only slight reward. I'd put it on a program when a mental breather is needed.

Kilts and Ghillies Ball - 17 April 2010

2010-04-18T09:08:00.007-04:00

To the Organizers: How could I? Mea culpa.
There is a reason why I don't like to be and should not be an MC - I can't remember diddly when I am in 'briefing' mode.

Richard and Donna Ives - you who did most of the organizing: for all that you did that we know about and especially for all that you did that we don't know about. Thank you.

Molly and David Keller - kudos and thanks to you too. Mollie once again did the registrar thing, and did it superbly; and David created the booklets.

Leslie Kearney - who created the flier and briefed the first half. Belatedly - thank you. Especially for Maurice which was a sheer delight and break down free.

To the anonymous not so few - who opened, and set up, and cleaned up, and broke down, and baked and cooked and fed us delicious goodies: Thank you too.

To all of you who I failed to name you have my sincere apologies and my equally sincere thanks.

The Band: Rebecca McCallum (fiddle) and Jim Stevenson-Mathews (piano)! One person commented that there was more music from this duo than from last year's trio. And good music is 80% of the battle - in other words: so so music will sink a very good program but good music will more than carry a so so program. And when you have both good music and a good program…

The Program - very well received indeed. We started with 48 dancers and at the end of the evening not only had very few people left early, very few people were sitting out. Most people were up for most of the dances. I counted 40 dancers on the floor for Reel of the 51st.

The new 3-7 pm "tea" dance format was a success - so the same again next year. One suggestion made was to reinstate the meal, but to eat after the dance. I like it! Thank you Susan Leff!

So, as constituted, this year was a success.

What worked:
1) The new 'Tea Dance" format
2) The band
3) The program (I will have a challenge maintaining this standard).
4) No anthems (entirely subjective)

Changes I would like to see:
1) catered meal after
2) one additional band member for a fuller sound- a second fiddler?
3) 8 or more additional dancers

The dances were:
Mole’s Frolic (32 J 3) Dunsmuir (Tom Winter)
Anna Holden’s Strathspey (32 S 2) 42/2
The White Cockade (32 R 3) 5/11

Holden My Own (32 J 3) Between the Rivers (P. Stephens)
Sage and Salsa (32 M 3 set) J. Lataille - Still Enough to Dance
Montgomeries’ Rant (32 R 3) 10/1

The Nurseryman (32 J 3) 37/7
Maurice† (32 S 2) Dunsmuir (Gary Thomas)
Blooms of Bon Accord (32 R 4) Drewry - Deeside 2

Break

Glen Falloch (32 J 3) Jean Attwood - Alexander 2
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole Bk
On Hudson Creek (32 H 3) Between the Rivers (J. Sawin et al)

Back to Back (32 J 3) T. Glasspool - Itch to Dance
The Dundee Whaler (32 S 4) R.Clowes - Ormskirk
The Westminster Reel (32 R 2) 45/1

Major Ian Stewart (32 J 3) 35/4
The Duchess Tree (32 S 3) Drewry - Brodie Book
Reel of the 51st Division (32 R 4/5C set) 13/10

**********
Mole’s Frolic – Close, but still not the perfect opening dance. It is just a wee bit too energetic for a warm up dance in MHO. I will keep looking for that perfect blend of mental and physical stimulation. I see no sense in having the first dance, or any dance for that matter, a 'throwaway' which Mole's Frolic isn't.

Anna Holden’s Strathspey – This one worked out better than I thought it would. I was getting a bit tired of it.

The White Cockade – Simple but still fun, and the music is classic.

Holden My Own – just different enough to make a simple dance fresh and enjoyable.

Sage and Salsa – Yumm!

Montgomeries’ Rant – There is a reason why this is a standard repertoire dance - it is a classic.

The Nurseryman – I missed this one: I had an offer I couldn't refuse so I was sitting it out.

Maurice – It was beautiful and over all too soon. Teaching it is a real chore, seeing the pattern is also a chore, but when it all comes together - Oh my!

Blooms of Bon Accord – I am going to commit heresy - I like the dance, I don't like the tune. I am so used to the McBain's Band recording of Angus MacLeod (which is the music we used in dem) that I am spoiled.

Break

Glen Falloch – I saw some sets struggling with this one but most dancers ended up smiling. I think this dance is on par with her other dance The Falls of Rogie.

Rakes of Auld Reekie – I asked the band to play the music strong and bold. They did. And the experience was extraordinary. Right up there with Maurice on the "Top Ten Strathspeys" list that I keep and I will remember it as one of the top ten dance experiences of my life. Thank you set!

On Hudson Creek – Another dance with potential for break downs that never happened. And I just love the flow from the reels into the turns. The key is not to take the instructions too seriously but allow the flow to happen naturally and turn far enough to face your next corner.

Back to Back – Thank you Leslie Kearney for introducing us to this dance in 2007. Another fun often dance that deserves more dance time then it gets.

The Dundee Whaler – Truth be told not a dance I care for. But it was late in the program and I needed a dance of little mental effort. It filled the bill. No one asked for a repeat and I didn't expect that anyone would.

The Westminster Reel – A nice wee dance, not hard, but needing a bit of concentration.

Major Ian Stewart – On the program because everyone should know it (and everyone did). Also on the program because I like Hello-G'bye setting (but my legs were toast and I sat it out).
But I liked what I saw which was every one having fun.

The Duchess Tree – At one time this was a favourite of mine. It has slipped off of my "Top Ten Strathspeys" list. The slow tunes, while very pretty just can't compare with hot bold strathspeys.

Reel of the 51st Division – We danced this as a 4C dance in 5C sets - and I will never, ever again, want to dance it as published in Book 13. This one was just about perfect. More time to rest the weary legs, more time to chat with partner and others without danger of missing a beat. Better flow and timing in the first figure.

**********
For those who attended the potluck after and enjoyed my soup–

Pumpkin and Black Bean Soup
Recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
Show: 30 Minute Meals
Episode: 30-Minute Veggie Feast

2 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cups canned or packaged vegetable stock
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
2 cans (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (found often on the baking aisle)
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 palm full
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/2 palm full
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, eyeball it in the palm of your hand
Coarse salt
20 blades fresh chives, chopped or snipped, for garnish

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add oil. When oil is hot, add onion. Saute onions 5 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and pumpkin puree. Stir to combine ingredients and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low and stir in cream, curry, cumin, cayenne and salt, to taste. Simmer 5 minutes, adjust seasonings and serve garnished with chopped chives.

Woodbridge Class - 16 April 2010

2010-04-16T23:27:00.006-04:00

A small class tonight but what was new and different was the air of calm - nobody running in circles screaming and shouting in the midst of a full blown panic attack over tomorrow's ball. How nice!

Tonight's dances were:
The Westminster Reel (32 R 2) 45/1
The Duchess Tree (32 S 3) Drewry - Brodie Book
Holden My Own (32 J 3) Between the Rivers (P. Stephens)
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole Book

**********

I have nothing more to say about these dances or the other dances on tomorrows ball except for The Duchess Tree, well not really about TDT.

The Duchess Tree – Second Figure: All set, circle to the left for 2 steps, men turn woman on their right hand once round and all circle left for 2 more steps. In order for the dancers to make it all the way round and onto the sidelines the 2H turns need to move/progress 1 or so places around the circle. And John very carefully included specific instructions to do so and, as far as I know, THIS IS THE ONLY DANCE WHERE THIS IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN! But I see it happen all too often - as in every time I teach a dance that has a circle with turns in the middle of said circle. It boggles the mind - where do they come up with this stuff and all together, all at the same time without any planning?

Good night and joy be with you.

Wilton Class - 12 April 2010

2010-04-14T00:31:00.002-04:00

Four couples, a good thing. And several dancers had breakthrough moments. They 'got' the pattern of both Maurice and Rakes of Auld Reekie. And that made my day, even if I did run out of energy and call it quits a bit early.

Tonight's dances were:
The Westminster Reel (32 R 2) 45/1
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (G. Thomas)
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) 37/7
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole Book

Dancing on the Heights - 12 April 2010

2010-04-13T00:17:00.003-04:00

Small class, and a rough night for me. The last two weeks have been too much too much. I am rusty and finding it difficult to concentrate and my opinions are so coloured that they are not to be trusted.

Tonight's dances were:
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (G. Thomas)
The Westminster Reel (32 R 2) 45/1
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole Book
The Giants of Foudland (48 R 3 tri) The Aurora Book (A. Smith)
Lassie wi’ the lint white locks (32 S 2) B. Priddey - SDA #115

**********

Maurice and Rakes of Auld Reekie – I have taught these dances some 14 or 15 times in the last year, I should be jaded and tired of them - I am not. What is running through my brain is this: why have I been the first to find and teach these? These dances are just too good, too beautiful, too rewarding to be forgotten.

Lassie wi' the lint white locks – Barry Priddey calls them "progressive back to backs", I prefer "chevron back to backs" after Fried Herman who uses them extensively in her English Country Dance compositions. I have no idea what the social value of this dance is. I will have to teach it a few more times and actually get into it myself before I dare venture an opinion. But I believe it's worth taking a look at this dance.

Wilton Class - 30 March 2010

2010-03-31T11:12:00.002-04:00

10 dancers tonight, such luxury. But some of them have been away for a while and have had no exposure to the dances on this year's Kilts and Ghillies Ball - so once again…

Tonight's dances were:
Holden My Own (32 J 3) Between the Rivers
Dundee Whaler (32 S 4) Roy Clowes - Ormskirk
Blooms of Bon Accord (32 R 4) J. Drewry - Deeside
Sage and Salsa (32 M 3 set) J. Lataille - Still Enough to Dance
Back to Back (32 J 3) T. Glasspool
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances

**********

Back to Back – The Push-Me-Pull-You Reels! Pure Dead Brilliant! But be open to the other dancers; dance with your head up and eyes wide open, and not so focused on your part that you become a victim of tunnel vision.

27 March 2010 - K&G Ball Workshop at NHFM

2010-03-27T23:44:00.004-04:00

Fourteen dancers convened for the first ever K&G Ball workshop.

The dances taught were:
Mole’s Frolic (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances (T. Winter)
Anna Holden’s Strathspey (32 S 2) 42/2 (Drewry)
On Hudson Creek (32 H 3) Between the Rivers
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (G. Thomas)
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) 37/7
The White Cockade (32 R 3) 5/11
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole Book
Reel of the 51st (32 R 4/5C set) 13/10

**********

To warm the minds as well as the bodies I used Mole's Frolic and The White Cockade.

Anna Holden's Strathspey – The key to the dance is the first figure. Get that and the dance is yours. Whether you dance it big or dance it with control doesn't really matter but above all dance the figure as one smooth move and keep it covered and on time.

On Hudson Creek – This dance is about being just in time and that grey area where reels of four and turns intersect. The report from the floor was "lovely dance" - and I concur. Another keeper.

The Nurseryman – I will let you in on a secret (if I have already done so in an earlier post it is worth repeating) the heart and soul of this dance is not the Inverting Double Triangles. Rather it is the transition from the LHs Across on the sides which should open up early into wide sweeping curves ending in lines of three across the dance that then surge into the advance and retire. For me THAT is the dance.

Rakes of Auld Reekie – I have said this before and I'm saying it again: Dance it boldly, dance it strongly and dance it crisply. Wimps need not apply. And God how I love that final figure!

Woodbridge Class - 26 March 2010

2010-03-27T00:39:00.003-04:00

Last week (19 March 2010) I had a family emergency and canceled class - they, wise people that they are, thought to call on a substitute and held class without me.

The Dances on the 19th were:
The Duchess Tree (32 S 3) J. Drewry
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (G. Thomas)
Back to Back (32 J 3) T. Glasspool
Montgomeries' Rant (32 R 3) 10/1

Tonight's dances were:
The March Hare (32 R 3) I. Boyd
Blooms of Bon Accord (32 R 4) J. Drewry
Anna Holden's Strathspey (32 S 2) 42/2
Glen Falloch (32 J 3) J. Attwood
Major Ian Stewart (32 J 3) 35/4
Dundee Whaler (32 S 4) R. Clowes

**********

The March Hare – The hardest part of the dance is the 3rd figure - 1C, back to back in the center, set twice to 1st corner, set twice to 2nd corner. And what is so difficult about that? Nothing. Which is why I have a flat forehead, I smack it every time dancers make the figure hard on themselves, which is all too often.

You can tell them, tell them again, tell them that you told them and they will still leave enough room between themselves and their partners that a Mack truck could drive between them. It is not rocket science, it is simple geometry. The closer to the center you can stand the shorter the distance you have to travel when you move to face your 2nd corner. The closer to your corner you are the longer the distance you have to travel. So why do so many of you make it hard for yourself? For sure I dunno, and I sure don't get it.

Blooms of Bon Accord – It has been several years since I taught this. And I love it. Especially to the "wrong" music. Cocker's Roses is a nice enough tune but the only version I have includes a bunch of very campy tunes. Some people like that, I don't. But I love the set of tunes for Angus MacLeod - which are 'Angus MacLeod' and 'Pulling Bracken'. It is the set of tunes we used when I danced on the dem team, and nothing since then has felt as 'right', not even the 'proper' sets.

Anna Holden's Strathspey – A dance for control freaks, especially the first 8 bars. If you don't have the control then you better dance it big and expand the set. One way or the other it is not easy to get the cross/cast into the barn door turns to fit together smoothly. But do it and you have the key to the dance.

Glen Falloch – You tell and they don't believe you - Yes Virginia, the interleaved Reel of 3 and R&L by the corners really will work. And to watch the expressions on the dancer's faces transform from serious doubt to mixed feelings to joy is priceless.

Dundee Whaler – A simple dance, but almost nobody knows what "petronella" is these days. "Set and petronella turn" it is all they know. A "petronella" is "petronella turn and then set", four times, back to original place. And it isn't like we're neglecting our teaching. It is just that there are so very few dances that have petronella in them and so very many Drewry dances, and others, with the other.

Westchester Class - 24 March 2010

2010-03-25T09:21:00.001-04:00

My series here in Westchester is ending and that means Party Time!

The dances were:
Machine without Horses (32 J 3) 12/12
Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir (32 S 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Auchindrain (32 R 3) P. Price - leaflet
Glen Feshie (32 S 3) Grampian Collection
Flowers of Edinburgh (32 R 3) 1/6
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey

Kendall's Hornpipe (32 J 2) Gr. 22
Monymusk (32 S 3) 11/2
Reel of the 51st (32 R 4/5C set) 13/10
Scottish Reform (32 J 2) 3/1

Two dances planned but not danced (bunch of party poopers! Where's the vim, the vigor? Where were the bitter enders last night?)
Gordon of Straloch (32 S 3)
Mairi's Wedding (40 R 3) Cosh

Today my time is short and I must run, so more later.

Wilton Class – 23 March 2010

2010-03-24T15:05:00.004-04:00

A very small class last night that started late and ended early.

The dances were:
The Red Baron (32 R 2) Iain Boyd-Katherine's Book
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (Gary Thomas)
Haste to the Wedding (32 J 2) 25/6
On the Quarterdeck (32 H 2) Harbour City
Anna Holden's Strathspey (32 S 2) 42/2 (John Drewry)

**********

Maurice – the transition from the half reel of four into the poussette right round has always been one of the more difficult elements of this dance, and they are getting it! its taken a while but it is happening. And they are beginning to smile!

Westchester Class - 17 March 2010

2010-03-18T01:55:00.003-04:00

The best laid plans o' mice and men…

My next to last session with Westchester for this year (sigh), my last chance for getting in any of my specials and what do I get? Two brand new dancers. And that trash cans much of what I had planned for the evening. But the early indication is they are likely to stick! Yes!

Tonight's dances were:
The Red Baron (32 R 2) I. Boyd - Katherine’s Book
Lang May Your Lum Reek (32 J 2) B. Priddey - SDA #72
Phyllis Dixon Ivory (32 S 3) M. Briscoe - leaflet
My Ain Hoose (32 J 2) H. Foss - Glendarroch #5
Glen Feshie (32 S 3) Grampian
Montgomeries’ Rant (32 R 3) 10/1

**********

The Red Baron – Always a fun dance, but with no set tune or recording I don't always pick the 'best' music. Tonight was one such night. I used The Reivers and I won't do that again. Not that the music was bad, it just didn't work with the dance. And I listened to it with that intent. So much for that.

Lang May Your Lum Reek – The Wednesday night special. Hard work but worth it I think. I mean, there was applause after it was all over so the dancers must have liked something. And the simplicity of the progression (bars 28-32) leaves me tickled pink with joy and, because I didn't think of it first, green with envy.

Phyllis Dixon Ivory – On the face of it an easy dance. The reality is bit different. There is some subtlety here and, my apologies to you all, I knew the beginners were coming up soon so I didn't take the time I knew was needed to get it across.

The dance was written in memory of Kim McGarrity, leader of the band Fiddlesticks and Ivory. I knew her from my SD trip to Hawaii. She is missed.

Wilton Class – 16 March 2010

2010-03-16T23:37:00.002-04:00

It was another small class tonight, we eked out 3 couples, and it almost didn't happen. Start time is advertised as 7:30pm and tonight's actual was 8:20 or so.

Tonight's dances:
Kendall’s Hornpipe (32 J 2) Gr. 22
Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir (32 S 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Montgomeries’ Rant (32 R 3) 10/1
Glen Feshie (32 S 3) Grampian
On Hudson Creek (32 H 3) Between the Rivers
Sage and Salsa (32 M 3 set) J. Lataille - Still Enough to Dance
Flowers of Edinburgh (32 R 3) 1/6

**********

Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir – The first time I saw the directions to this dance my response was "uninspired". A few weeks later I actually danced it and the note on my card was immediately crossed out and the new one reads "very sweet". The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Montgomeries’ Rant – There is a reason why this a perennial favourite. It has been way too long since I last taught it.

Glen Feshie – I programmed this dance on the 2004 Kilts and Ghilllies Ball and I just can't believe six years have passed and I have taught it only once in that time (until tonight).
The secret for this dance is choice of music - I have been using the Peter White arrangement for Kendoon Strathspey. It is fun, doesn't take itself too seriously and leaves everyone with a light smile on their face, and they notice that. And they like the fit.

On Hudson Creek – Another night, another success. So far all four class (New Haven, Westchester, Wilton, Woodbridge) have given it high marks. I kinda figured it would be a good one and finally got it to fit on a program. It has been on my shortlist since August 2007.

Woodbridge Class - 12 March 2010

2010-03-12T23:17:00.003-05:00

Tonight's dances were:
Holden My Own (32 J 3) Between the Rivers
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey
On Hudson Creek (32 H 3) Between the Rivers
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) 37/7
Sage and Salsa (32 M 3 set) J. Lataille - Still Enough to Dance

Not much to say tonight. The dancing went well, the class enjoyed the dances. There were smiles all around. Life is good.

Rakes of Auld Reekie – When I filled out a set on Wednesday a couple of points made themselves known. The nature of the dance calls out for strong dancing or, as I put it tonight, dancing "large": crisp, clean, strong steps; strong arms; and clean phrasing. There is nothing "small" about this dance. Don't be a namby-pamby, don't wimp-out in this dance. Dance bold! I did not pick the right music tonight. The Beauty of the North just doesn't have it,

On Hudson Creek – If you are a teacher please give this dance a try. I saw a number of wide-eyed looks during the dance, but not wide eyed in horror or fear - rather they were wide eyed in pleasant surprise. This dance brings smiles with it.

Westchester Class - 10 March 2010

2010-03-11T00:37:00.004-05:00

Tonight's dances:
The Mad Hatter (32 J 3) Iain Boyd – Happy to Meet
On Hudson Creek (32 H 3) Between the Rivers (J. Sawin et al)
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole Book
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (Gary Thomas)
Mole’s Frolic (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances (Tom Winter)
Gramachie (32 S 3) Misc 1

**********

On Hudson Creek – for this dance what do dancers need to know? Fractions! They need to know exactly what and how far a half reel of four goes, and they need to know how far a three-quarters turn goes. And do them in exactly 4 and 2 bars respectively (more or less). Heaven help they who, in the half reel, just HAVE to take hands before they complete their left shoulder pass. Quickly now! By how much does that change the turn?

Rakes of Auld Reekie – Oh me oh my, how I like this dance. Along with Maurice this one a "no doubt" top 10 winner. It does takes some work to put the pieces together especially the timing which is on the subtle side. I have been using a set of melodic, smooth strathspeys, but in filling out a set tonight I realized that the dance works better to strong traditional tunes. Dancers can't be genteel with this one. Strong steps, strong dancing make the dance. Good dancing rewarded.

Maurice – Following on the heels of RoAR this was a case of biting off more than I could chew. I ended up behind schedule and made the beginner class wait as we (finally) danced it through. But it was coming together. Once again, good dancing rewarded.

Gramachie – A solid, doable, reasonably pleasant dance done to solid performed reasonably pleasant music. Not exhilarating, but OK. Is this a case of damning through faint praise? Perhaps. I wouldn't want to do the dance on a regular basis, and I would certainly prefer better music. I chose it because I needed a dance for a mixed set (including true beginners) and it filled the bill.

On Hudson Creek, Maurice, Rakes of Auld Reekie and Mole's Frolic are all on the Kilts and Ghillies Ball (coming real soon now).

Wilton Class - 9 March 2010

2010-03-09T23:59:00.003-05:00

Tonight's dances:

Mole’s Frolic (32 J 3) Dunsmuir
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole
The White Cockade (32 R 3) 5/11
Sage and Salsa (32 M 3 set) J. Lataille - Still Enough to Dance
The Caithness Heart (32 R 2) J. Attwood - leaflet
Winter Wonder (32 R 3) J. Lataille - Fun for All Seasons
Anna Holden’s Strathspey (32 S 2) 42/2
The Cadger’s Roadie (32 J 2) M. Zadworny - Aye Afloat

**********

Mole's Frolic – I have now taught this dance 13 times since 6 February 2009 and it continues to thrill me.

Rakes of Auld Reekie – The dance was looking very good tonight. The timing of the reels is finally beginning to fall into place for the Wilton dancers. Interesting thing though - I do not have a recording of North Bridge of Edinburgh so I am using The Earl of Northampton on Boston's Celebrate 50 Years CD. And dancers get mesmerized and forget what they are supposed to be doing when. The ball happens in 5 weeks and, at this point in time, I can only hope that the name tune works half as well as The Earl does.

Sage and Salsa – Still fresh, still fun, still medium hot.

The Caithness Heart – A nice simple dance but just different enough to keep me interested and it is on my shortlist for the next ball, so a keeper and then some.

Winter Wonder – Read my earlier comments - a keeper and also on the shortlist for our 2011 ball.

Anna Holden's Strathspey – A nice dance but it doesn't hold up to repetitions over time. I am thankful that the band and I have agreed to 3 couple sets and only 6 times through. Rounds 7 & 8 would be well on the way to boring.

The Cadger's Roadie – Yuck, what a disaster. Not the dances fault, ours. We all ran out of gas, myself included. The best thing to do is forgive and forget and come back to it at a later date.

Westchester Class - 3 March 2010

2010-03-04T01:17:00.003-05:00

Tonight's Dances:
Cabbages and Kings (32 J 3) Harbour City
The Valentine (32 S 3) 5 Dances 2009
Reel of the 51st (32 R 4/5C set) 13/10
Auchendrain (32 R 3) Price - leaflet
Kendall’s Hornpipe (32 J 2) Gr. 22
The White Cockade (32 R 3) 5/11
Delvine Side (32 S 3) 2/9

**********

Cabbages and Kings – a nice simple introduction to corners. Needed as there was a brand spankin' new dancer in attendance tonight.

The Valentine – I stunk up the hall on this one. I remembered most of the major points but missed the one where couples turn half round, take hands in lines of three, and set. I forgot
the "and stay close to partner" piece. The dancers struggled - I wonder why? Some dancers found the handing in the final 8 bars a little fussy. Eh.
Bottom line: When competently taught this is a nice dance - especially with a significant partner and you're both in the mood for some fun. In moderation if you please.

Reel of the 51st – Experimental version for 4C.

I have wanted to try this for a while and for a number of reasons. Firstly because I have a recording from a Dundee band (Cavendish, was Tim Wright's) with most of the arrangements played 10 times through; and I have heard that 5C sets are the norm in Dundee; and I recall (misremember?) that the deviser of the dance was from Dundee. So adding 2 + 2 and getting 5, I'd bet that he intended the dance to be done in 5C sets, and that it was intended to be as a 4C dance, not a 3C dance as published in Book 13.

Too, I have always felt that bars 3-8 had a problem - a little too much music for the distance to be covered. So 1C has to hold back in order not to arrive early - and this does not fit the music! And it shows in the dancing! Poorly.

So tonight I had the opportunity to teach it as a 4C dance and we found that 1C has just enough time to cast behind 3 couples (2s, 3s and 4s) dance in below 4C and lead up to corners. No holding back, no disconnect with the music, better looking - just better.

So, on the basis of tonight's test I will go out on a limb and say that Reel of the 51st Division was originally written as a 4C dance to be done in a 5C set. And, God how I love this part, I get to decree it will be done that way at the Kilts and Ghilllies Spring Ball on 17 April 2010. (Right, I am done gloating now.)

Wilton Class – 2 March 2010

2010-03-02T23:59:00.004-05:00

We actually had a class tonight! The last three weeks in a row we had to cancel due to weather (twice) and illness. It is also the last class before the New Haven Highland Ball so the pressure was on for the two of us that are going and since I already know the dances the pressure is really on only one of us. Thank you all who quietly tolerated the accelerated run through of ball dances.

Tonight's dances were:
Holden My Own (32 J 3) Between the Rivers (P. Stephens)
My Friend Joe (32 S 3) 38/2 (Bob Campbell)
The Music Makars (32 R 3) 33/1 (R. Goldring)
She’s Ower Young to Marry Yet (32 S 3) 14/8
Quarries’ Jig (32 J 3) 36/3 (K. Smith)
The Quaich (32 S 3) Drewry - Rondel Book

**********

Holden My Own – A nice pleasant doable dance but on the Kilts & Ghillies, not the New Haven, Ball. A keeper for sure.

My Friend Joe – A Bob Campbell (of Bonny Stronshiray and Australian Ladies fame) dance. Pleasant and doable with a down side - lots of pieces and variations on standard formations. The challenge is get it all to fit together smoothly.

The Music Makars – I am glad I am not briefing this dance. Lovely dance but difficult to talk through coherently. Being able to *show* the pattern is sooo nice.

She's Ower Young to Marry Yet – In my opinion this is the sleeper of the year. As I have said before the heart of the dance is the two transitions from the circles into straight lines. And when they get it right the dance, which doesn't look like much on paper, starts to shine.

Quarries' Jig – Very little wiggle room if you err. A 'tight' little dance that rewards good crisp dancing.

The Quaich – The challenge in this dance is control of the set size. The 'petronella' figure must needs expand the length of the set to accommodate all 3 couples in line, then 1L and 3M have to be sure to unexpand the set. Then there is Rondel. It is not a difficult figure in concept so why oh why is it so difficult to actually execute properly?

Arches: by 2nd couple when dancing up and by the men when dancing across. This is not rocket science but it is the most egregious error I see and I see it all too often.

Timing: 3, 3, and 2. Again, not rocket science. But how often do you get it right? It is one step to change places (under the arch) one step to cross with partner changing sides, and finally one step to loop and meet neighbor on the sidelines (i.e. the two men meet as do the two women). And it is on the very start of bar 4 that you take hands and not a moment sooner! Repeat these 3 bars in new orientation. Final arch to progress on bars 7&8.

I want to scream when I see dancers stop after bar 2 and wait during bar 3 for the other dancer to complete their loop! And then there are the dancers who can't wait to take hands and so have their arches up and are halfway across the set by the end of bar 3. And then they wonder why the formation doesn't work!! Arrggh the frustration of it all.

Westchester Class - 24 February 2010

2010-02-25T00:47:00.002-05:00

Tonight's Dances:
Winter Wonder (32 R 3) J. Lataille - Fun for All Seasons
She's Ower Young to Marry Yet (32 S 3) 14/8
Glen Falloch (32 J 3) J. Attwood - Alexander 2
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) 37/7
The Dundee Whaler (32 S 4) R. Clowes - Ormskirk
The Belle of the Ball (32 R 3) I. Boyd - The South Gate

**********

Winter Wonder – What a sweet dance! Recommended.
She's Ower Young… – You gotta know how to take a circle to a line. Otherwise fugeddaboutit.
Glen Falloch – Yet another winner from Jean Attwood.
The Nurseryman – The magic is not in the Inverting DTs, it's in the transition out of the wheels into the lines.
The Dundee Whaler – The handing: so easy yet so difficult. Aii yiii yii.
The Belle of the Ball – A simple dance but you need to have your wits about you.

Westchester Class – 17 February 2010

2010-02-18T02:11:00.005-05:00

So nice to be back. Weather and illness have forced the cancellation of my last three classes.

Tonight's dances:
Joie de Vivre (32 J 3) 39/2
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir
The White Cockade (32 R 3) 5/11
The Hunting Horn (32 J 3) (beginner's dance from Susan Ferguson).
Collie Law (32 J 2) Goldring
Sage and Salsa (32 M 3 set) J. Lataille
Lady Dumfries (32 R 3) Misc. 1

**********

Maurice – Once again a positive response. On my "top ten best dances of all time" list and every time I see it danced I fall in love with it all over again. I promise we will do this again next week.

Lady Dumfries – My oops moment of the night. I got it wrong, just slightly, but wrong is still wrong.
I teach from Pilling style diagrams and my version of his system has evolved over time. This dance was diagrammed a long time ago and doesn't conform to current standards thus leading me into error. Correction due next week. Music- Muriel Johnstone's recording for the Miscellanies. One of the most laid back, lilting reel sets I have ever heard.

Dancing on the Heights (Friends Meeting House)

2010-02-09T11:36:00.012-05:00

A good evening was had by all. And the all was 5 couples!

Tonight's dances:
Winter Wonder (32 H 3) J. Lataille
The Bonny Heather (32 S 2) Between the Rivers (Harry Ways)
The Merry Ploughboy (32 R 3) B. Priddey - SDArchives #132
John of Bon Accord (32 R 3) 33/5 (R. Goldring)
She’s Ower young to Marry Yet (32 S 3) 14/8

**********
Winter Wonder - Discussed in an earlier post.

The Bonny Heather - doesn't float my boat, but the others liked it.

The Merry Ploughboy - Two big obstacles to overcome. First: finding the right music - laid back leisurely reels are an absolute necessity. I ended up using Muriel Johnstone's set for Lady Dumfries. Recommended. Second: dancers need to get over the weirdness of Half Lefts and Rights. One great suggestion from the floor - teach it and dance it as a strathspey first. Worked like a charm. Sense of the meeting - worth doing again.

Dance opens with 1C turning RH 1-1/4 round moving down to 2nd place. I have rarely seen moving turns look good - my contribution was to suggest dancing first 1/2 turn in place then 'cross' down and turn the final 1/4. The turns improved.

She's Ower Young to Marry Yet - Just two observations: The setting and circles need to look good as they are a central part of the dance. So using bars 7&8 to 'draw' the circles into lines - proper technique per the manual - makes a huge difference.
Too, getting the third figure to work smoothly requires some creative thinking. What I saw when the dancers met and started down on bar 17 it did not look good. My suggestion is for 1C to dance up and then in to meet on bar17, use bars 18-20 to dance down the middle to third place (do-able with a controled step), cross bar 21, and dance up the sides for bars 22-24. See manual for Promenade 3 Couples: there are principles in common.

Westchester Class - 3 February 2010

2010-02-04T00:21:00.003-05:00

Another good night in Westchester but the cries of "please teach ball dances" are beginning. Fie, I say unto you, fie.

Why? Because most of the New Haven Ball program is Society and straight forward. Not one crooked dance there. The only rare birds are: The Talcott Mountain Strathspey; The Glenalmond Gameskeeper; The Valentine; She's Ower young to Marry Yet; and The Bonny Heather.

The Glenalmond Gameskeeper has been on one of Westchester's own balls recently so that dance shouldn't be an issue, and She's Ower Young is early RSCDS (Bk 14) and should not be grounds for a Pepto-Bismol moment. The Valentine is new. It was published just this past year by RSCDS but newness is the only issue. That leaves The Talcott Mountain Strathspey and The Bonny Heather - both simple and both with just one unusual (not hard) move.

The following dances from the New Haven Ball and Brunch programs were taught tonight: Joie de Vivre, The Black Leather Jig, The River Cree and Over the Water to Charly. I will not be making a practice of this.

It is the Kilts and Ghillies Ball Program that has the more exotic(?) program. There are two (2) crooked dances: Maurice and Rakes of Auld Reekie. Maybe The Duchess Tree too, but only because it has not been done much these last few years; but not Back to Back which, though warped, is a repeat from the '07 ball as is Holden My Own. Glen Falloch is an unknown but it is not crooked. Rakes of Auld Reekie I taught last week and will again, and Maurice will be taught thoroughly over the next few weeks. Dinna frash yourselves.

Now, back to tonight's dances:
Joie de Vivre (32 J 3) 39/2
Rovin' Robin (32 R 2) SDA #4
Mrs Fitchet (32 S 2) H. Foss - Angus Fitchet Album
The Black Leather Jig (32 R 3) Delaware Valley Silver
Over the Water to Charly (32 J 3) 34/5
The River Cree (32 J 2) 8/5
Dance #39 (32 S 3 set) RSCDS pre-Bk 46

**********
Joie de Vivre - hardest thing about this dance is keeping all the pieces in order. It was tonight's warm up and the two beginners had little or no problem with it.

Rovin' Robin – I apologize for the music. I switched at the last moment much to my regret. The best music for this dance has a real happy go lucky feel. What I used slowly sank into seriousness. Even more fun when mishaps happen and you lose your partner.

Mrs Fitchet – A very simple little dance that is growing on me. But simple means you need to be impeccable or you miss the magic moments. (See my earlier posts of 11 and 12 January).

The Black Leather Jig – I am always amazed when I teach this dance - I expect trouble with the timing of the reels but 1C always seems to figure it out on the fly and I never have to intervene. And I just love the Set to Corner-Turn Partner variation on Hello-Goodbye setting - when it is done right.

Over the Water to Charly – I am becoming a convert to the Edinbugh rules for Set To and Turn Corners. Sorry Headquarters. But with all the aging bodies the quality and energy of the pas de basque has diminished to such an extent that skip change for the two hand turn is making a whole lot of sense. And dancers who can pas de basque correctly, in rhythm, giving proper weight, are rare now; and too corners who dance in to meet the 1s and help them into position.

But I also know this: There is nothing better in this world than a pas de basque turn with a partner of equal ability: when you are both completely in sync the step becomes effortless and you fly. And when you both know how to create a turn… Love Potion No. 9, move over, I don't need you any more.

The absolute essential = a proper 3 beat pas de basque. If you don't have this - you got nothin'. The magic will not happen. And I cannot tell you how much fun you are missing. There just aren't words enough. You will understand when, if, you experience it.

I bear some responsibility for this state of affairs - I haven't been teaching this to dancers. And I have lots of reasons why. Bottom line though - it is part of my job and I haven't. And the world is a less joyous place.

The River Cree – A simple, mindless jig. Just one thing of which you must beware - Advance and Retire is skip change ALL the way - yes Virginia, backwards too! So… what is it you're doing?

Dance No. 39 – Book 46 test dance. And I thank you for your tolerance Westchester. I really messed up with that there Espagnole, I shouldn't have done it in the social half. But still and all a nice dance and a keeper in my opinion.

Kilts and Ghillies Class - 2 February 2010

2010-02-03T00:53:00.003-05:00

Interesting night – and I think it best that I leave it at that.

Tonight's dances:
Winter Wonder (32 R 3) J. Lataille - Fun for All Seasons
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (G. Thomas)
Homeward Bound (32 R 3) I. Boyd - TWATC
Mrs Stewart's Jig (32 J 3) 35/1
The Talcott Mountain Str. (32 S 3) Nutmeg Coll.
Catch the Wind (32 H 3) Island Bay

Westchester Class - 27 January 2010

2010-01-28T00:45:00.009-05:00

Hello Westchester, I'm back! And very happy to be back I yam I yam.

A different situation this year than last. Several dancers have graduated up from the training class but they clearly have a lot still to learn. I'm not sure they realize just how much more there is to learn so I am going to have to dial back my usual programming practices. I can't scare them out of their wits but I can't let the other dancers get lazy either, so… take a deep breath ladies, I am not going back to basics and you are going to be dropped into the deep end. Hang on to this thought - its OK to make mistakes and to ask questions; that is part of the learning process. Perfection is for tomorrow so I don't mind if you're not perfect today. Just keep smiling and have fun no matter what. It is supposed to be fun you know.

Westchester, starting an intermediate class sounds like a very good idea.

Tonight's dances were:
Moles Frolic (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances (T. Winter)
The Caithness Heart (32 R 2) J. Attwood - L2
Rakes of Auld Reekie (32 S 2) B. Priddey - Golden Oriole
My Ain Hoose (32 J 2) H. Foss - Glendarroch #5
Wedding in Saint Monans (32 J 3) Mary S. Brandon
Monymusk (32 S 3) 11/2

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Mole's Frolic – Simple, but not simple minded. One of the sweetest dances I have seen in a long time, and that's why it will open this year's Kilts and Ghillies Ball. Tom Winter is writing really good dances these days, and the Dunsmuir book is a tour de force - a superb collection of dances.

The Caithness Heart - a simple dance with a to-die-for reel of four. What a sweet entrance into the reel.

Rakes of Auld Reekie – Definitely not simple minded, or very simple. The two progressive promenade reels of three can be unsettling because they are not danced to the standard phrasing. You have to be comfortable 'bending' the timing and not everyone is. Without a clean end to the reels that final progression is nearly impossible. But when that last figure is nailed – oh the joy of it all! Another dance where the rewards for getting it right far out weigh the considerable effort needed to get there. Which is why it too will be done at this year's Kilts and Ghillies ball.

My Ain Hoose – A simple dance but wonderfully fulfilling when danced well. The reward comes when you and your partner find the perfect kinesthetic balance when transitioning into the half fig. eight from the turn. You know those moments, at least I hope you do, when everything is 'on', your balance, the weight being given by your partner, the change of direction is seamless, the dance effortless, and suddenly you are on a high; and when it is over all you can say is 'yes!'

An unfortunate fact of life - those moments happen most rarely in simple dances. Simple dances require the highest level of technique; slip up there and the energy slips away and with it the exhilaration.

Wedding in Saint Monans – A Mary Shoolbraid Brandon dance. Most dances have a moment or movement that makes or breaks the dance. In St. Monans that moment is the transition from the Cross Over (RH) into the Set (advancing). If you cross all the way to the sidelines and set cleanly moving forward - the energy builds. Get lazy and end the cross in the middle and set there - the dance fizzles. Mary Brandon rewards good, crisp, precise, technically correct dancing.

Monymusk – I wouldn't say I loathed this dance, that would be an exaggeration, but I certainly didn't like it; at least not until I experienced the dance to the right music. And that music was the house band for the Scottish Weekend at Buffalo Gap. Liz Donaldson, Marty Taylor, Ralph Gordon and the other usual suspects that included Steve Hickman, Earl Gaddis and Alasdair Fraser on fiddles. I was there, boy am I ever glad I was there that year. I have loved the dance ever since but it still requires exceptional music and, thank God, I have that. Blessed is the unknown person who taped the band. Blessed too is the person who sent me a copy of their copy. I bow to thee and to thee.

Kilts and Ghillies Class - 26 January 2010

2010-01-26T23:39:00.004-05:00

Another night with light attendance. I had 3 couples so, once again, mostly 2C and 3C set dances.

Tonight's dances:
Sage and Salsa (16S+16R) 3C set - Still Enough to Dance
It's Nae Bother (32 J 2) - 4th Carnforth Collection
The Spirit of the Dance (32 S 3) - Paterson, leaflet
The Red Baron (32 R 2) - Katherine's Book
Clydebank Strathspey (32 S 2) - Graded & Social Dances 2
Maurice (32 S 2) - Dunsmuir Dances

**********
Sage and Salsa – I like this dance! It is the first medley (other than 1314 and Schiehallion) that I have ever liked. Following the brief setting in Double Triangles formation, the petronella turn into the sidelines into cross and cast is what lifts this dance out of the morass of the mundane. Why? How? I don't know. Magic? Feels like it. Oh! Right! That dash of hot salsa. Jane Lataille, you deserve a gold medal for this one.

It's Nae Bother – by Derek Haynes. For beginners. In all other situations a throwaway.

The Spirit of the Dance – Another trial of the Tourbillon (the new way). Another success.

The Red Baron – Yes, I know, it's a children's dance - but I have always had a thing for Snoopy and his shot up doghouse (and the French bar maid). And for shadowing a partner.

The Clydebank Strathspey – A pleasant but unexceptional 2C strathspey from Roy Goldring.

Maurice – by Gary Thomas, published in the Dunsmuir collection, is one of the most beautiful dances I have ever seen and there is more than enough redeeming social value to payback all the effort needed to learn and perfect it. I just wish I had a better handle on how to teach it.

Bars 17-24 is a meanwhile figure and tonight I realized I have been making it harder than it really is. I deconstructed it too far, broke it down into too many details and confused my dancers.

Bars 17-20
1M 2L dance a diagonal back to back- meanwhile 1L 2M circulate clockwise around outside to end facing partner ready for a diagonal half reel of four.

There are wonderful opportunities for interacting with partner during that 4 bar phase and I was stressing those relationships, the covering and the eye contact, at the expense of the pattern. No wonder I was getting raggedy-andy dancing. My bad.

I am also struggling with the very odd transition from that reel into the poussette right round. I have not yet found a good way of teaching it. What I have been doing has been barely adequate and I do not want to be reduced to "we will keep practicing it until you get it right."

Sandra Bethray made the comment tonight that the dancers who seem to have trouble were those with a weak sense of space and position. After contemplating the situation I must say she is dead on right and that may be the key I've been missing.

New Haven Highland Ball - New Haven Workshop

2010-01-24T21:59:00.008-05:00

Done. A success for the books.

Dances covered in this workshop:

Collichur (32 J 3) 30/1
The Talcott Mountain Strathspey (32 S 3) Nutmeg Collection
The Black Leather Jig (32 R 3) Delaware Valley Silver
The Spirit of the Dance (32 S 3) Irene Paterson - leaflet
John of Bon Accord (32 R 3) 33/5
The Valentine (32 S 3) 5 Dances 2009

**********

Collichur – Nothing tricky about this dance - but it is a nice easy warm-up to get blood flowing to both brain and muscles. The rest of the afternoon went smoothly so it must have been the right thing to do.

The Talcott Mountain Strathspey – This one isn't exactly tricky, what it has is a high piece count. By that I mean there are a lot of instructions for each 8 bar phrase. Lots of words for the teacher to say and dancers to process. And that is what makes it a "difficult" dance. It is not the same kind of difficult as a piece of spaghetti choreography, but still difficult.

The Black Leather Jig – What needed teaching here is the variant Set to Corner-Partner. I learned this figure from Ron Wallace when he introduced his new dance Da Rain Dancin' to us at Pinewoods a looong time ago now. He stressed, strongly, that on bars 2 and 6 dancers do NOT move all the way onto the side lines, but just far enough to have right shoulders pointing toward each other. Then the giving of right hands is a simple matter and that 'makes' the turns which 'make' the dance (IMHO). Pretty figure, too.

The Spirit of the Dance – Two reasons to teach this one - the 12 bar 3 couple Rights and Lefts (because it isn't common) and the Tourbillon (because I constantly see it butchered). Hmmm, my language might be a bit strong here. Let me rephrase that.

I found another 'take' on the figure that I thought might land and stick. It did. It really did. Kudos to Irene Patterson (who wrote the dance) for coming up with a wonderful description of the Tourbillon. What she said was:

1-2 1st and 2nd couples turn with two hands, 1M and 2L change places.
3-4 retaining hands on the side, both couples set.
5-6 1st and 2nd couples turn with both hands, 1L and 2M change places.
7-8 both couples cross over giving right hands, 1st couple stay facing out.

The difference in the dancing was remarkable. Never before have I seen so many dancers in so many sets dancing the Tourbillon with such ease, grace, lack of angst or drama. Ahhhh. If only I'd had her directions 10 years ago. Sigh.

John of Bon Accord – I finally got to see if my vision of the last figure really works - I mean with dancers who don't see me on a weekly basis and are not used to my peculiar ways of looking at things. Well the truth is in the dancing and, when done my way, the turns worked. And that is the bottom line. Four sets and ALL looking good, everyone one the sides lines in time to set. Excuse me but… YES!! OK, I'm done gloating now.

(John of Bon Accord was covered in detail in two earlier posts. I see no need to bore everyone to tears again.)

The Valentine – Why? Because the dance is new, the central 'gypsy' figure is unusual enough to warrant coverage, and the misprint in the original publication needed to be corrected. (Correction made in Scottish Country Dancer No. 9, October 2009, page 6). My conclusion (based on today's test): The dance is uncomplicated, pretty and a keeper.

Book 46 Workshop

2010-01-16T19:39:00.009-05:00

To all who showed up and danced their hearts out: Thank You, a thousand times Thank You.
To the New Haven Friends for their generosity in opening their Meeting House for us - a thousand times Thank You as well.

We were given nine dances to test. There was a nice mix; some were simple, some were sweet, and some were monsters and one was worthy of the title "Massacre on Elm Street".

First Category: Strathspey (four dances).

Taking last place in the category was Dance No.64 - Watching it danced I thought it deserved better. The swapover half reel into 1L leaving and going her own way for 4 bars was a lovely move. One person commented negatively on how asymmetric the dance was; not always a problem in my opinion.

First Runner-Up was Dance No. 78- a medley, 64S+64R square set, it both looked and danced better than it read or walked. One comment was that the sequence was more interesting in quick time.

Taking "First" in the category but not Best of Show, winning my heart and status as my favorite dance of the day, was Dance No. 39. It is simple, it is sweet, it is not a world changer but it is a keeper.

In the Jig category (2 dances):

First runner up was Dance No. 65. Nice concept but the Half Rondel was just not enough to overcome the yawn factor.

So, even though we never quite got the dance to work (we were on a tight schedule and there just wasn't enough time to work out all the kinks) the winner of the Jig category, and taking home a check of $0.00, was Dance No.83 with an Espagnole and promenade half reels of three on the sides.

With three entries the final category - Reels:

Winner of the "Monster of the Day" award was Dance No 49, the one we ended up calling "Massacre on Elm Street." An 80 bar reel square set, it had, by far, the most interesting and original choreography of the day. The dance is ALL about the transitions, the sheer number and variety of them being its downfall. Additionally, given the time constraints, the Schiehallion Reels and the double wide wheels needed far more practice than we could give them. In the end it came down to this - there simply wasn't enough social value in the dance to adequately reward the effort expended in perfecting it. A shame, because it clearly came from a crooked mind (and I love minds like that).

And now the moment we have all been waiting for: winner of its category and Grand Champion of Batch No.5 - Dance No. 95! Short form (in 3 words or less) – the most fun!

The Dances:
No. 25 – 32 S 4
No. 39 – 32 S 3 set
No. 49 – 40 R 3
No. 64 – 32 S 3
No. 65 – 32 J 3
No. 71 – 80 R 4 square set
No. 78 – (64S+64R) square set
No. 83 – 32 J 4 (3C 4C improper)
No. 95 – 40 R 4 (2C 4C improper)

Kilts and Ghillies Class - 12 January 2010

2010-01-12T23:57:00.008-05:00

A full set tonight - what a joy.

This week's dances:
The Back o' Bennachie (32 R 2) J. M. Duthie - 8 Dances
Ca' the Ewes tae the Knowes (32 S 2) 16/8
John of Bon Accord (32 R 3) 33/5 (Roy Goldring)
The Duchess Tree (32 S 3) John Drewry - Brodie Book
Glen Falloch (32 J 3) Jean Attwood - Alexander Dances 2
Mrs. Fitchet (32 S 2) Hugh Foss - Angus Fitchet Album

********
Ca' the Ewes tae the Knowes -
The second figure is the dance. The biggest disapointment is the music. The music chosen is a good traditional strathspey and it fits the dance well. I like the tune, truely. It is a good tune - but it just isn't the song tune. And that song is one of the most heart rendingly beautiful songs I have ever heard. And the Society chose not to use it. I don't get it.

John of Bon Accord -
A very good dance. But every time I teach it the instructions drive me to distraction. I want to say 'to drink', but I'm not much of a drinking man.

"Four progressive half-reels of three across the dance – danced as follows:"
The only clue as to how the reels actually work is buried deep in the text that 'follows'. Why do it that way? Why not say it the way it is and say it up front: four progressive diagonal half reels of three. 1M finishes each reel in 1L's, 2M's, 2L's, and 3M's positions respectively… and so on and so forth. No additional clarifications, amendments or dancing notes needed. Which is as it should be.

I object to the vagueness of the directons for the reels- but the directions for last figure are actually worse because it is the very specificity of the directions that are the issue.

The instructions for bars 25-32 read:

25-28 2nd, 1st and 3rd couples turn partners with right hands
three-quarters round to finish in a line up and down the
dance; facing partners and retaining right hands, all set.

29-32 2nd, 1st and 3rd couples turn partners with right hands
to finish on own sides and then, joining hands on the sides,
set to partners.

The troubling words being "facing partner" because that is exactly what you get. On bars 27-28 you have three couples squarely facing partner. The result: the first three-quarter turn looks pretty good, but the second three-quarter turn is just plain ugly, and I do mean ugly. When they face the dancers lose the shape of the turn and they then spend most of bars 29-30 trying, and usually failing, to regain it. That, in turn, makes them late onto the sidelines where they invariably fail to take hands and set all higgidly piggidly. UGLY!

What I now teach is this: dance the first three-quarter turn but turn your head to face your partner, not your body. This maintains the shape of the turn since you are still facing the correct direction. Now the second turn can be as good looking as the first, the dancers get to the sidelines in time to take hands neatly and the lines looks good. It's simple and it works.

Glen Falloch –
Yet another winner from Jean Attwood that deserves a place in the standard repetoire. Just keep the Rights and Lefts on the compact side.

The Duchess Tree –
An early Drewry dance and a classic.

Mrs. Fitchet –
Discussed at some length in the previous post ;-)
What became clear tonight is that sloppy dancing, for whatever reason, won't cut it in this dance. Correctly timing the fig. 8 is critical to the transition to the half diamond poussette. Miss the first and you will miss the second and you will miss the fun.