14 August 2018_New Haven

Another K&G road test/summer social juggling act.

Dances taught:

The Shetland Shepherdess  (32 J 3)  Wallace: Graded 3
Ysobel Stewart of Fish Hoek  (32 S 3)  Short: Bk 52
Under A Shady Tree  (32 R 3)  O'Conner
Farewell to Balfour Road  (32 J 5)  Bk 52
Ruby Wilkinson's Farewell to Cranshaws  (32 S 3)  Bk 52
Love in the Marais  (32 R 3)  Paris Book
Kamo Karousel  (32 J 3)  Eddy West

  @*@ ––  @*@  ––  @ * @ * @  ––  @*@  ––  @*@

Ysobel Stewart of Fish Hoek:- A nice solid dance. It is not, in my opinion, a great dance but it is one that I will keep coming back to. To my mind the heart of the dance is about sequential visitation rights.

Under a Shady Tree:- The first time I danced this, never having taught it before, not knowing what to expect, my partner and I lit up! The possibilities for eye contact, for keeping in touch while dancing asymmetric paths made for a sublime experience. I would give it three thumbs up. No one else seems willing to give it the time of day. Now, maybe it as Deborah says, that the first few times the dancers are focused on gross geography and only later will the subtle byplay come to the fore. I hope so because this one is in my category of specials and I actually find it painful to see all the opportunities past by.

Farewell to Balfour Road:- Another successful experiment. We confirmed that this is a fun one worth two thumbs up! On the shortest of short lists for K&G.

Love in the Marais:- Learned it at Pinewoods. Antoine Rousseau put this, and two other dances from the Paris Book, on his evening program. Good fun. And, I like gypsy turns. Thumbs up.

Kamo Karousel:- 👍👍 What? another one? Indeed. Doesn't read like it, but it danced that much better. A definite choice for an ender, either the first half or as a last dance on the program. Pick good rabble rousing music and it flies! And since the K*G's next band leader will be visiting from New Zealand… Ya, you betcha.

Ruby Wilkinson's Farewell to Cranshaws:- Oh yes! Funky not so Scot-ish music but great fun. And the  reels - YES. The diagonal reels of four (a la Girardet House) of the middle couples intersecting with reels of four across the dance of the end couples.

Truth: The only way these reels work is if you actually phrase the reels *correctly*. I refuse to reread the manual on this subject. The wording is mushy. The dancing that I see in too many performances is that too.

Not so rhetorical question - Why is it that when dancing a half reel of four the "half way" is nailed  by both the middle dancers and the end dancers? But, when dancing a full reel of four the end dancers find a different half way point? One that is in fact nowhere even close?

I suggest that looking at reels of four from the perspective of a Grand Chain might be helpful - they both have six changes in 8 bars of music or, for a half figure, 3 changes in four bars. The timing for  these formations is *identical*. If you are starting at the end of the reel the timing should be exactly the same as a half chain – first change by the RH on [1}, second change by the Left on [2] the third change by the right on [3 and 4].

The critical question in a reel of four is:  How Far Out is Halfway?

I submit: It is NOT around and past the end and starting back in! Just out TO the far end - to exactly where you would finish if this were a half reel and *not one millimeter further*.

If the timing is not accurate the reels in this dance will not mesh, things will not look right to the dancers, it will show on their faces and be evident in the set.

(Some times I wish all the dancers were wearing electric shock collars… or even better that I could give them a jolt in the pleasure center of their brain when they get it right. Clicker training???)