Summer Dance in the City, and I have two mutually exclusive agendas.
First: this is a social evening. Second: I have to find dances that deserve to be considered for the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance. And the only true test is when the leather meets the dance floor.
This evening's dances:
Bottoms Up (32 J 3/3L) Rhodes:Snowdon 3 Bk 49/2
The Dancing Bees (32 R 3) Goldring
The Clarsach (32 S 3/3L) Ryer
Farewell to Balfour Road (32 J 5) Bk 52/7
The Flower Lady (32 S 3/3L) Avril Quarrie
Orpington Caledonians (32 R 3) Bk 49/2
The Shetland Shepherdess (32 J 3) Graded Bk 3
The Lea Rig (32 S 2) Bk 21/5
Toast to the Mousies (32 R 3) Gratiot - leaflet
The Aviator (32 J 3) Bk 52/9
Bedrule (32 S 3) Bk 33/7
Trip to Timber Ridge (32 R 3) Bk 52/12
) - ( – ) - ( – ) - ( – ) - ( – – ) - ( – ) - ( – ) - ( – ) - (
Bottoms Up:- A nice little jig, an easy peasy thing. Ehhh NOT.
Simple, yes, but it is so easy that it is easy to miss the count and that it is mildly upsetting. Not that it really matters, but yet… A K&G test dance proposed by Sandra my program co-deviser. Stays on the short list.
The Dancing Bees:- This is a known quantity and a nice wee social dance.
The Clarsach:- On the evening program by request. The dance was on the 2018 Kilt and Ghillies program, and liked well enough that David (of the beaming smile) called and requested it. How could I not.
The dance has a nice little move: all 3 couples set advancing, the 1C petronella while the corners retire. As a corner (and the teacher) I like to set while retiring. The instructions do not specify - they just say retire.
Farewell to Balfour Road:- Not a boat anchor! The first time this was taught I stood there in the set saying (to myself) "this has to be the single most tedious dance I have ever come across!". Then the teacher added the twist - it is a canon with a new couple starting every 16 bars! Out of the dust bin and onto a pedestal - well not quite that but certainly into the back pocket as a standard 5C set go-to. The response has been two thumbs up - with a big grin from just about everyone.
The Flower Lady:- Unpublished as far as I can tell. I learned it at Pinewoods from Linda Henderson. (You need a good teacher ? - Hire her! She is clear, precise, concise, has high standards and expectations and, above all, she is gentle. Highly recommended (You couldn't tell I like her so I had to say it, right?)
Back to the dance - It is a Nice one! Well actually a very nice one. Nothing over the top, it has a track figure with a slightly tangy twist. Thumbs up.
Orpington Caledonians:- It been out a couple or three years now and still fun. Still a thumbs up.
The Shetland Shepherdess:- A Ron Wallace production. Which means, sight unseen, I am going to like it. I first met it at the New Haven Highland Ball this past spring and have been using ever since.
A good program opener, good anytime really. How many thumbs? Well certainly one big one, maybe two. Worth the look.
The Lea Rig:- It has been years since I last danced or taught this. I think maybe we over did it and ended up with a case of indigestion. The music, song style strathspey, is lovely, the dance can become tedious. But I woke up to the fact that many of our current dancers have never seen it. Oops.
Toast to the Mousies:-Another David request. It too was on last year's K&G Tea Dance. The dance is good. The music is magnificent - tune by Keith Smith. It lifts you out of your chair and draws you onto the floor. The tune (listening style) is found on the CD Highland Shortbread by Keith and Muriel. A dancing version is found on Spark o' Water - CD by Keith and Muriel - as the lead tune for the dance Norma's Garden.
The Aviator:- 👍 👍- This one is special. It is about flying in tandem and then peeling off to circle in parallel. Timing/phrasing of the tandem half-whole reel of three (with lead change) is critical.
I find that the normal - learned - muscle memory phrasing of the reel works not so well. But cutting the reel by dancing STRAIGHT across or STRAIGHT up and down the center axis of the set makes for better phrasing/synchrony with partner - and you do have to work at it! But oh the joy when you get it right.
Bedrule:- We only have one - no snacking on crackers. :-)) Good basic strathspey. Lots of fun to watch. Written because even though we carefully teach dancers to 'flow' between Right Hands Across
below into Left Hands Across above, invariably 1W transitions with a flip. So the devisor wrote that flip into this dance - and now I watch 1W flow beautifully between the two wheels, without the written in flip! Go figure.
Trip to Timber Ridge:- A Linda Henderson production highlighting the Saltire (twice). IMHO we now have another good/great program ender. (My was I getting tired of Reel of the 51st/Royal Scots/etc. etc.). Two thumbs up!
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