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!
Showing posts with label jane Lataille. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jane Lataille. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Kilts and Ghillies Class - 2 February 2010
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
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
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Woodbridge, Friday the 13th
It has been a very difficult week. For the third time I have had, as Jane Lataille so aptly put it, a class of very small numbers. Last night it was three (3). So Tony Kalbfus gets the 'Hero of the Night" award since he drove up from New York to attend and if he hadn't there would not have been a class.
So once again it was threesomes and foursomes, with one exception, until we dropped.
Eigg, Muck and Rum - 32 R 3some - Jane Lataille
The Gay Goshawk - 32 J 2 - Barry Priddey
This One's Four Isobel - 32 S 4some - Terry Glasspool
Four Paws - 32 S 4some - Terry Glasspool
The Four Winds - 32 R 4some - Terry Glasspool
Eigg, Muck and Rum: from Always Enough to Dance. A nice little dance and a superb reinforcement to reels of three. I have the dancers line up in a row across the normal axis of a set with the end dancers facing up and the middle dancer facing down.
The opening fig. 8 foreshadows the upcoming Reel of 3, both are in 6 bars, both are identical tracks, and the final 2-bar crossings (1 bar each) really force correct timing of the reel.
The Gay Goshawk: From The Sutton Coldfield Book - a tight little dance requiring strict phrasing and a concentrated mind. It is worth a second trial with a proper set. A 2-couple dance in a 2-couple set is a bit much.
This One's Four Isobel - a favourite of mine. Of all the foursomes I have done this one comes closest to having a story line (though it may simply be familiarity on my part) and is so pretty that one day, real soon now, it will show up on a ball or party program.
Four Paws - This one is a bear to teach. We danced the first two rounds but on the third round the reels fell apart. There is a moment there that boggles my mind. I normally have a very strong sense of pattern and in that transitional moment I want to go the wrong way every time.
The heart of the dance is the reel - two dancers have a normal(?) half reel of four, the other two dancers have half Schiehallion-like reels, and then you switch! And it is at that moment that I have been going the wrong way, giving right shoulder to the wrong person. The key people are the ones who are starting the Schiehallion-half reels. They go to the person on their right to pass right shoulders. If you are that other person you have to start to your LEFT to pass that opening right shoulder and it doesn't feel right. I may have it sorted out now. One can only hope.
So once again it was threesomes and foursomes, with one exception, until we dropped.
Eigg, Muck and Rum - 32 R 3some - Jane Lataille
The Gay Goshawk - 32 J 2 - Barry Priddey
This One's Four Isobel - 32 S 4some - Terry Glasspool
Four Paws - 32 S 4some - Terry Glasspool
The Four Winds - 32 R 4some - Terry Glasspool
Eigg, Muck and Rum: from Always Enough to Dance. A nice little dance and a superb reinforcement to reels of three. I have the dancers line up in a row across the normal axis of a set with the end dancers facing up and the middle dancer facing down.
The opening fig. 8 foreshadows the upcoming Reel of 3, both are in 6 bars, both are identical tracks, and the final 2-bar crossings (1 bar each) really force correct timing of the reel.
The Gay Goshawk: From The Sutton Coldfield Book - a tight little dance requiring strict phrasing and a concentrated mind. It is worth a second trial with a proper set. A 2-couple dance in a 2-couple set is a bit much.
This One's Four Isobel - a favourite of mine. Of all the foursomes I have done this one comes closest to having a story line (though it may simply be familiarity on my part) and is so pretty that one day, real soon now, it will show up on a ball or party program.
Four Paws - This one is a bear to teach. We danced the first two rounds but on the third round the reels fell apart. There is a moment there that boggles my mind. I normally have a very strong sense of pattern and in that transitional moment I want to go the wrong way every time.
The heart of the dance is the reel - two dancers have a normal(?) half reel of four, the other two dancers have half Schiehallion-like reels, and then you switch! And it is at that moment that I have been going the wrong way, giving right shoulder to the wrong person. The key people are the ones who are starting the Schiehallion-half reels. They go to the person on their right to pass right shoulders. If you are that other person you have to start to your LEFT to pass that opening right shoulder and it doesn't feel right. I may have it sorted out now. One can only hope.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Dancing on the Heights - November 2009
We barely squeaked a class in tonight - just four (4) dancers showed. So, instead of getting a jump on the Book 46 project I had to pull out all the 3-some, 4-some and 5-some dances I had in my card file.
We danced:
Santa Fe Summer (32 J 4-some) - Jane Lataille
This One's Four Isobel - (32 S 4-some) - Terry Glasspool
The Four Winds - (32 R 4-some) - Terry Glasspool
The Four Poster - (32 S 4-some) - Terry Glasspool
What I am finding is that 4-some dances such as these have little chance of developing a storyline. These dances are essentially figure/pattern sequences and the formations can be irregular so a very good short term memory is needed as the parts may be familiar but the patterns are going in unfamiliar directions. Muscle memory can lead you astray here.
This only the second time I have taught Santa Fe Summer and I haven't made up my mind yet.
This One's Four Isobel is absolutely positively one of my favorite dances. It is gorgeous, it is elegant and one day it will end up on a ball program.
The Four Wind is a good journeyman dance. It is fairly simple, fun but it won't win an Uncle Molly Award. The last dance to do that was Mole's Frolic which is the opening dance for this season's Kilts and Ghillies Ball -17 April 2010.
The last dance of the evening, The Four Poster is one another winner. In this one Terry plays games with that good old mundane, if not down right boring, figure: Back-to-Back. Here we have interlocking Back-to-Backs for 4 persons in line, then he gives us a "Back-to-Back Half Reel of Four". Without a doubt Terry has one of the most devilish minds I have had the pleasure of meeting.
We danced:
Santa Fe Summer (32 J 4-some) - Jane Lataille
This One's Four Isobel - (32 S 4-some) - Terry Glasspool
The Four Winds - (32 R 4-some) - Terry Glasspool
The Four Poster - (32 S 4-some) - Terry Glasspool
What I am finding is that 4-some dances such as these have little chance of developing a storyline. These dances are essentially figure/pattern sequences and the formations can be irregular so a very good short term memory is needed as the parts may be familiar but the patterns are going in unfamiliar directions. Muscle memory can lead you astray here.
This only the second time I have taught Santa Fe Summer and I haven't made up my mind yet.
This One's Four Isobel is absolutely positively one of my favorite dances. It is gorgeous, it is elegant and one day it will end up on a ball program.
The Four Wind is a good journeyman dance. It is fairly simple, fun but it won't win an Uncle Molly Award. The last dance to do that was Mole's Frolic which is the opening dance for this season's Kilts and Ghillies Ball -17 April 2010.
The last dance of the evening, The Four Poster is one another winner. In this one Terry plays games with that good old mundane, if not down right boring, figure: Back-to-Back. Here we have interlocking Back-to-Backs for 4 persons in line, then he gives us a "Back-to-Back Half Reel of Four". Without a doubt Terry has one of the most devilish minds I have had the pleasure of meeting.
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