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
***********
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.
Showing posts with label Mary S. Brandon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary S. Brandon. Show all posts
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Kilts and Ghillies Class - 17 November 2009
A full set present tonight - Hoo Rah!
We danced:
Joie de Vivre (32 J 3C - adapted for 3C set) Bk 39/2
Dance No.39 (32 S 3 set) Bk 46 project
John of Bon Accord (32 R 3) Bk 33/5
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) Bk37/7
Joie de Vivre: Adapting Joie de Vivre for a 3C set is an interesting proposition. With couples in the order 3,1,2 you need to end 2, 3, 1. The easiest solution is to "fix" the Allemande thus: 3C dances up and out to the right as 1C dances up and to the left. 1C has now cut in front of 3C and the Allemande completes normally. (Thank you, Mary Shoolbraid Brandon! She wrote this "fix" into her dance The Double Sixsome - which is where I first saw it).
Dance No. 39: Very frustrating. I have taught it twice now and both times it was like going to the dentist. I could not believe that I had to teach a group of experienced dancers (most with over 20 years dancing experience) how to set to corners. Not Hello-Goodbye setting but set to 1st corner, set to 2nd corner - from scratch no less. A comment though brought me to earth.
How often does that figure actually appear? Answer: Not often. My guess is that a dance with that figure might get done once every 10-12 years. And my struggle is to remember that I am not normal. I don't forget these things - Once learned - learned. Other dancers need repetition to retain familiarity and they haven't had that. My frustration - My bad.
John of Bon Accord: For some reason this dance continues to fly under my radar. I have taught the dance in 1992, twice in 1994, once in 2003 and tonight. It is a far better dance than that record would indicate.
What is needed are good crisp, properly timed reels. 1C needs to keep the first 3 half reels HALF reels and not overshoot their marks. Every four bars those marks are: for 1L the center line of the set; for 1M one or the other of the sidelines. The subtlety here is where IL, in the transitional moments between the half reels, positions herself along the center line– for it is her relationship to her partner that create the axis of each new half reel. The four reels are on the diagonal (1M to 2L), straight across the set in 2nd place, on the diagonal (2M to 3L), and across the set in 3rd place.
The Nurseryman: One of my favourite dances. What I find special is not the Inverting Double Triangles but rather the transition from the Left Hands Across on the sides into lines of 3 across the set. The secret is to dance the Left Hands Across about half round, release hands and expand it into a sort of chase. Then when everyone links hands at the same moment what appeared to be circular magically transforms into a line and it just shines! That, IMHO, is the moment that defines the dance. And tonight someone else actually 'got' it!
We danced:
Joie de Vivre (32 J 3C - adapted for 3C set) Bk 39/2
Dance No.39 (32 S 3 set) Bk 46 project
John of Bon Accord (32 R 3) Bk 33/5
The Nurseryman (32 J 3) Bk37/7
Joie de Vivre: Adapting Joie de Vivre for a 3C set is an interesting proposition. With couples in the order 3,1,2 you need to end 2, 3, 1. The easiest solution is to "fix" the Allemande thus: 3C dances up and out to the right as 1C dances up and to the left. 1C has now cut in front of 3C and the Allemande completes normally. (Thank you, Mary Shoolbraid Brandon! She wrote this "fix" into her dance The Double Sixsome - which is where I first saw it).
Dance No. 39: Very frustrating. I have taught it twice now and both times it was like going to the dentist. I could not believe that I had to teach a group of experienced dancers (most with over 20 years dancing experience) how to set to corners. Not Hello-Goodbye setting but set to 1st corner, set to 2nd corner - from scratch no less. A comment though brought me to earth.
How often does that figure actually appear? Answer: Not often. My guess is that a dance with that figure might get done once every 10-12 years. And my struggle is to remember that I am not normal. I don't forget these things - Once learned - learned. Other dancers need repetition to retain familiarity and they haven't had that. My frustration - My bad.
John of Bon Accord: For some reason this dance continues to fly under my radar. I have taught the dance in 1992, twice in 1994, once in 2003 and tonight. It is a far better dance than that record would indicate.
What is needed are good crisp, properly timed reels. 1C needs to keep the first 3 half reels HALF reels and not overshoot their marks. Every four bars those marks are: for 1L the center line of the set; for 1M one or the other of the sidelines. The subtlety here is where IL, in the transitional moments between the half reels, positions herself along the center line– for it is her relationship to her partner that create the axis of each new half reel. The four reels are on the diagonal (1M to 2L), straight across the set in 2nd place, on the diagonal (2M to 3L), and across the set in 3rd place.
The Nurseryman: One of my favourite dances. What I find special is not the Inverting Double Triangles but rather the transition from the Left Hands Across on the sides into lines of 3 across the set. The secret is to dance the Left Hands Across about half round, release hands and expand it into a sort of chase. Then when everyone links hands at the same moment what appeared to be circular magically transforms into a line and it just shines! That, IMHO, is the moment that defines the dance. And tonight someone else actually 'got' it!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)