1 April 2015 - Westchester - 4th Series Opener

Circle Mixer - (32 J n-circle) -
EH3 7AF - (32 J 3) - Bk 40/6
Cardross House - (32 S 3) - E. Brunken/Moments in Time
The Button Boy - (32 H 3) - Zobel/Allanton Coll.
Newburgh Jig - (32 J 3) - Bk 48/1
Castle Douglas - (32 S 3) - Goldring/12 More Social Dances
General Stuart's Reel - (32 R 3) - Bk 10/3

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EH3 7AF:- a basic dance, it flows. It is, considering how often it is done in this are, becoming
 tedious. It is now a "I'll dance it if I must" dance.

Cardross House:- The music is great! Jim Lindsay, Keith Smith and Muriel Johnstone combine to create some fab music on the CD to accompany Elaine Brunken's book Moments in Time. The four tunes in the set are: The Waulkin o' the Fauld (trad.), Smailholm Tower (MAJ). Roy's Wife of Aldivaloch (trad.) and Below The Aigas Dam (John Cunningham). I listened once and put the track on repeat. For a couple of hours!

The dance is no so bad either. It is on the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance coming up on the 11th. It has also been added to my Top 50 Strathspeys list.

The Button Boy:- A Bill Zobel dance it is one of Deborah's favourites. I don't think it is quite that groot but it is definitely worth doing more than once every year or two. There is a certain lack of good, enjoyable, "dance it because I like it" hornpipes in the repertoire. Can you come up with one other than The Sailor? Off the top of your head? All the ones I come up with are out Society.

Newburgh Jig:- Do I have to?  I put it on the K&G program unseen and undanced and what a mistake that was. This one is, in my opinion, pretty much a boat anchor. When I asked the class for their opinion I got one halfhearted raised hand - "it's simple and the flirt figure was kinda nice" and that was the only positive response I got. The flirt figure... there is a story here.

Chris and Sue Ronald wrote a lovely dance for a NY City dancer, Ann of Scotia. And it has 1C set to 1st corners and gypsy round each other to face 2nd corners. Set to 2nd corners and gypsy round each other to end in 2nd place on own sides. The figure is in the dance because Ann does like to flirt on the dance floor and the Ronalds brief that sequence as "set and flirt". So if there is a redeeming quality to The Newburgh Jig it is that figure.

The music didn't help. What happened? The tempo recorded on the Society CD is soooo verrrrry sloooow. I sped it up by some 8%. Most of the equipment (karaokes) we use have a max increase of 5%. I lucked out in the computer program I use (Amazing Slow Downer) which has about 100% increase available.

Bottom line - only if I must. Time to make a break for the loo.

Castle Douglas:- One of my all-time favourite strathspeys. The opportunities to catch eyes are many and magnificent! The one video on SCDDB is mediocre. Don't base your decision on viewing that one.

General Stuart's Reel:- There is a reason why it is one of the most popular dances in the world. This was a last moment pick to close the evening because we have a teacher candidate course running in the Greater NY metro area, and the opportunity to help one of the Unit 2 candidates was impossible to pass up. They have 12 dances they have to know. And by know the society means "be able to brief without notes and dance from any position. So I gave Charlotte the opportunity to brief the dance. She did a very good job.  Gold Star!