8 August 2013 - Tenafly, NJ

I am currently sitting in the Honda dealership waiting for the car. Honda has a WiFi network for their customers so I am, in this regard, rather happy as I update my neglected blog.

There are issues. The main one - I no longer have a steady class to teach. No steady class - no steady stream of updates. The classes that I do teach have mostly been for beginners and therefore I can only do one or two dances a week and rather tedious ones at that.

Well I finally caught a break. I am teaching the New Haven Branch class all of August. Hooray! and other good words because I finally have news and updates!

6 August - New Haven

Small class - just 9 dancers.

We warmed up with Alice’s Request, 32 J 2, Roy Goldring 2nd Graded & Social Dances. I requested that it be walked, rather I told them to walk it and it seems, much to my surprise, that some people just can’t. If the music plays they have to dance. 

We covered 8 other dances in the 2 hours

   Shining Lights  (32 S 3) B. McOwen

   Wicked Willy  (32 R 4) H. Ways

   Union Jig  (32 J 3)  E. Brunken

   Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir  (32 S 3) Dunsmuir Dances

   Cruit Mo Chridh  (32 R 3)  JBD - Montreal Moments

   The Dancer's Circle  (32 J 3)  

   City of Belfast  (32 S 3 set)

   Welcome to Pawling  (32 R 4) JBD- leaflet

***********

Shining Lights –-  written by Barbara McOwen of Boston and included
                       with her CD of the same name. This dance I like, in spite of myself. The 2-hand turns halfway to change sides, then again to change places on the sides is a nice figure and it takes some work to make them look good. Similarly the change of pace from the 2-bar half turns to a 2-bar full turn takes work if it isn't to come as a surprise.

   The set to corner and gypsy partner, first seen in John Drewry's dance The Peat Fire Flame and next seen (at least by me) in a Roy Goldring strathspey was getting a bit long in the tooth (in my humble opinion at least) but works here partly because of the set up and partly because of the following reel with its ending. Add in the good music and we have a keeper.

Wicked Willy - This dance has only one major figure, and yet, for all
                    its simplicity, it is a perennial favorite and with good reason: It is both accessible and fun.

Union Jig - A dance newly published by Elaine Brunken and inscribed
               to Jim  Stevenson-Mathews and Gaitly Stevenson-Matthews in honor of their union. When marriage became legal in Connecticut they took the ferry across Long Island Sound and were legally married. I was there and that probably prejudices me - I like the dance. I like the care needed in the first 8 bars: RH Across once round! LH Across 2 bars only! the 2 men turn half round, the women the same. End 1C 2C in original places on opposite sides. Dancers need to be aware and be consistent in their dancing. 

Miss Jane Muirhead of Dunsmuir - I bought the book. I looked over
                                           the dances. This one got an "eh". Then I danced it. The "eh" became "sweet" and it has been in my top 10 ever since. Simple with a gem tucked inside. Recommended!

Cruit Mo Chridh - By John Bowie Dickson of Pinewoods Reel fame.
                        Worth it. Dancers finished with smiles and applause. There is a CD to go with the book. (Les Jouers de Bon Accord). Not traditional but fun. Recommended -– as is Yet Another Birthday by Holly Boyd which is also in the book.

The Dancer's Circle - This one did not end with smiles and applause.
                           The consensus was: too many pieces. I, unfortunately wasn't in it so there will have to be a retake. Maybe on August 20th. Probably with different music if I can remember then what I used this time.

City of Belfast - We have a problem Houston. I like both the dances
                      that use this music. This is the proper dance for this music and it is nice. And I like set to 1st corners, set to 2nd corners (not often done) and the espagnole progression…... especially when they are nicely danced and this group does dance well. I would willingly do this dance again and shortlist it for a ball program. Recommended.

This music was also chosen to accompany the dance Broadway, composed by Chris Ronald and published in his 2010 book The Big Apple Collection, all dances with a New York City connection. The music is good and it fits the dance which is a wonderful one. This dance is on the shortlist for the 2014 Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance (March 29 - note well - a month earlier than usual. Plan Ahead!)

Welcome to Pawling __- another John Bowie Dickson dance, another winner. Not easy.
                           The last figure is different! The transition into it is tricky (fourth couple: WAKE UP) and needs careful teaching but the effort put in is well rewarded. Gets smiles from the dancers every time. Recommended.

2 November 2012 - Old Tappan Library

2 November 2012 - Old Tappan Library

Well. This update has been an even longer time coming than I thought it would be ... and I am a pessimist. “SuperStorm” Sandy has been gone a good week and a half and I am still without power at home and that means still without internet -the first of the local libraries just got back limited power and internet today.

25 September 2012 - New Haven party for the departure of Marque Lethestrom for Quito, Ecuador.

The dances taught were:

Spanish Sunrise    32 R 3 - John Drewry 2003

Sugar Candie        32 S 3 - Bk26

Culbin Sands         32 J 3 - Barry Priddey/Silver Rose Book [taught by me]

Trip to Paradise     32 S 3 - Ron Wallace/From the Redwood Forest

1 October 2012 – Scotia (NY)

The first hour - with a concern for beginners.

Ann Arbor      32 J 3 – Bob Gregg/The Reel MacGregor

Leap Year      24 J 2 – Graded Book 

           (I used reel music because the pas de basque)

It’s All Right    32 J 3 – Second Graded Book

4 October 2012 – NY Branch - 2nd hour

Margaret Parker’s Strathspey   32 S 3 - John Drewry

The Captain                              32 R 3 - Russ King/Solstice Party Book

Christine M. Phillips                 32 J 3 - Bk46

8 October 2012 – Scotia - First hour (with a concern for beginners).

Back to Basics 32 R 3 - Barry Skelton/Milestones

It Should Be Fun 32 J 4 - Roy Goldring/Graded&Social 3

The Forest Prince 32 J 2 - Iain Boyd/Katherine’s Book

11 October 2012 – NY Branch

In Traditional Mode 32 S 3 - Roy Goldring/Graded&Social 3

A Charm of Goldfinches 32 J 3 - Martha Veranth/Feathered Friends

Linnea’s Strathspey 32 S 3 - Tim Wilson/Dunsmuir Dances

15 October 2012 – Scotia - First hour (with a concern for beginners).

Scottish Reform 32 J 2

Scotia Nights

It’s All Right

17 October 2012 - received from Bob Houghton

The 2013 Rerr Terr Ball Program

St. Andrew’s Fair         32 J 3 - 5/1982

On the Quarterdeck 32 H 2 - Boyd/Harbour City

The Silver City         32 S 3 - Drewry/Silver City Book

Haste to the Wedding          32 J 2 - Bk 25/6

Miss Gibson’s Strathspey 32 S 3 - RSCDS Leaflet

The Dancing Man 32 R 3 - Goldring/10 Social Dances

Bonnie Stronshiray 32 S 3 - Campbell/Glasgow Assembly

Rest and Be Thankful         32 R 3 - McConachie/Grampian Coll.

Wild Geese        32 J 3 - Bk 24/3

Maxwell’s Rant        32 R 3 - Bk 18/10

Sauchie Haugh       32 S 2 - RSCDS Leaflet

Pelorus Jack        32 J 3 - Bk 41/1

Mrs MacLeod (Of Raasay) 32 R 3 - Bk 6/11

The Duchess Tree 32 S 3 - Drewry/Brodie Book

Old Nick’s Lumber Room 32 J 3 - Bk 26/6

Wind that Shakes the Barley 32 R 3 - Duthie/8 Scottish Country Dances

18 October 2012 – NY Branch

[Flowers of Edinburgh - 32 R 3]  taught by Chris Ronald

Links with St. Petersburgh 32 J 3 - Bk46

Delvine Side 32 S 3 - Bk2/9

Starlight 32 R 3 - Bk44/1

Deil Among the Tailors 32 R 3 - Bk14/7

22 October 2012 – NHFM  **

Dust Devils  32 J 4some - Jane Lataille

Eileen Watt’s Reel 32 R 3 set - Scottish Country Dancer #1

Eileen Watt’s Strathspey 32 S 3 set - Scottish Country Dancer #1

Memories 32 R 3 - Priscilla Burrage/Leaflet

Many Happy Returns 32 S 3 - Mel Briscoe/Slip Knot Collection

Rakes of Auld Reekie 32 S 2 - Barry Priddey/Scottish Dance Archives

24 October 2012 – NY Branch

[Bedrule  32 S 3 - Bk 33/7]  taught by C. Ronald

J.B. Milne 32 R 3 - H. Foss

Machine w/o Horses 32 J 3 - Bk 12/12

Eileen Watt’s Strathspey 32 S 3 set - Scottish Country Dancer #1

1 November 2012 – NY Branch

The Chequered Court 32 J 3 - Bk 43/3

Pasedena Prom 32 S 4 - M.S. Brandon/Dances with a Difference

Mrs Stewart’s Jig 32 J 3 - Bk 35/1

Catch the Wind 32 H 3 - Butterfield/Island Bay Collection

So... very little that is actually new.

The two dances from the first issue of the RSCDS magazine - Eileen Watt’s Reel and Eileen Watt’s Strathspey (both 32 bars long and for 3C sets) were given Dancer’s Choice Awards by my class in New Haven. They felt that EWReel is perhaps a little too complicated for a ball program but that EWStrathspey is a definite winner and should be on the next K&G ball program. 

What makes EW Reel just a bit too much for a ball, at least for now, is that the reel of four is actually for 6 dancers. The catch, and there is always a catch, is that the end dancers are in tandem and have lead changes and the middle dancers (who begin back to back) have a variant ending to the reel. And the teaching point to stress is not the tandem (end) pairs and their lead changes but the ending for the middle dancers. THAT is the critical part of the dance. 

They gave it a Dancer’s Choice Award on top of my Teacher’s Choice Award – so look it up!

Double winner and Worth it!

From Sept 25 - Culbin Sands (32J3) Barry Priddey - nice dance and worth revisiting.

Ron Wallace’s Trip to Paradise (32S3) has a really odd Targe that tends to throw dancers for a loop. they expect to meet somebody new in the new positions and it the same old corner they already danced with. And the questions begin and... well, the adjective ‘downhill’ comes to mind.

And it is an OK dance.

From 11 October:

In Traditional Mode (32S3) by Roy Goldring – the music, recorded by Jim Lindsay and Muriel Johnstone is just fabulous! A TEN. The dance is eh. And the music, which is so good, merely makes the dance tolerable rather than making it a joy to dance. Bummer.

The upside is that I can now use that set for all those dances calling for the lead tune “any good strathspey” because it is a really, really, good set.

A Charm of Goldfinches is a journeyman effort. I am not sure I would keep it on my shortlist for social programs, but as a teaching dance it has its good points. 

Linnea’s Strathspey is now, still, and as it always has been one of my favourites.

**********

It is now mid afternoon, and I am tired and unwashed. A friend who lives nearby the library just got power back, and that means HOT WATER!! and I am signing off and walking over for a shower.  

20 September 2012 - New to New York

Well, the only constant in my life is change - much has happened and continues to happen.

I went to TAC this summer and stood my RSCDS Unit 2 exam after a week of strenuous dancing (I am  middle aged but my legs are positively stone aged, and act it). I passed. I find I still have serious doubts about the entire process of teacher certification. It is infinitely better then it was when I stood and failed my Full Cert. exam in 1998 but there are still, in my humble opinion, serious problems with the process.

I am still considering the experience but I am not ready to put my thoughts into words and post them here. I will be - Real Soon Now.

This past weekend was the NJ Branch Alpine Boat Basin Dance - and it was delightful... but...
We danced most of the first half with only briefings. Then came the first call for a walk through and then everything needed to be walked. Even Montgomeries' Rant. I was flabbergasted, appalled and gobsmacked. And that doesn't even begin to accurately describe my feelings on the situation.

A body of solid intermediate level dancers cannot do a std. repertoire dance from a briefing? Incomprehensible! And that raises the question of what we the teachers are doing wrong. It isn't all the dancer's fault. The teachers have to be aiding and abetting (facilitating?) this behavior, this lowering of standards. And I don't know the solution.

Well that was certainly a cop out. I do actually know the solution. It is all the teachers retraining them selves, stopping doing things the way they have been for the last 20 years, and holding the dancers to the highest standards and not wimping out on them.

The standard of dancing in NY and surrounding areas is either bad, getting there, or getting worse. Westchester used to be a fabulous place to teach. I could pull just about any crazy dance out of my file box and they would handle it with ease. That is no longer true. About half the solid dancers aren't any longer. They are either not there, have aged, are losing their ability to remember, and are less able physically then they were - and I can not hold them to the old standard.

The unfortunate part is that the few new comers who actually stick around are not held to the old higher standard and they will never get there because they never see it. The core of good dancers who understand the form (and the importance of form) is shrinking and shrinking quickly.

To fix this situation the NY Branch has put together a 'list'. It has 60 dances.  A third get replaced each year and no dance may stay on the list for more then 3 continuous years. All but three dances on marquee dance programs must be drawn from this list, and for local parties the three off list dances must be beginner friendly.

The idea is that through repetition dancers will begin to acquire a repertoire of dances, will become more comfortable at events because they will have seen most of the dances many times before and will acquire a better knowledge of formations through this repetition. I am on board with this idea because I have no better one. I do not, however, see this working.

I am willing to give it an honest try. And that means we need to measure the results of the experiment which needs to be run over a three to four year period to be valid.

Politics. I hate it. But it is ever present. Sigh.

All the above is a response to the very gentle, mild chewing out I got after teaching the NY Branch's Thursday Night social hour and did not teach a dance from list.

After tea the teacher of the basics class briefs the dance he taught in the first hour. The next dance is supposed to be harder, the basic level dancers watch; they get included in the third dance and anything else we get to in the evening is supposed to be for the intermediate and better dancers.

So we goofed. We didn't make the announcement early enough and the beginners lined up for the next dance. I am nor about to kick them off the floor so I did The Findlays' Jig, a nice simple Goldring dance that is non list. My other, prepared choices, were Flowers of Edinburgh and The White Cockade - both reels as was the dance we had just done. I chose to do a jig instead, and I didn't have a jig from the list prepared.

Considerations:
It was a small class.
I had 2 sets/8 couples, then 6 couples, then 5 at the end.
only 3 dancers were basic level - they left
of the other dancers only two were intermediate -
all others were advanced and some were teachers.

I looked at them and did not feel the list dances were appropriate.
Most of the dancers already knew what we were trying to teach.
The others were, I thought, quick studies. I was mostly right.

My second dance, the first "advanced" dance was The Gypsy Weaver.
I was a bit rusty, we worked it out. It is a beautiful dance and was well received.

My next dance was to be for the full class, but the beginners had left by then, but I taught The Captain any way. A dance from Russ King (SF) it is based on Mrs. Stewart's Jig and everyone knows that dance. No problems.

My final dance was from Sue McKinnell of Chicago - I really loved her dance Barbara's Strathspey from Book 46 so I went looking and found this one. It has a beautiful celtic knot figure for 2 couples dancing around the other 3, standing, couples.

As I was packing up I was gently chided for not teaching any list dances. It was so gently done that I didn't realise I was getting a chewing out until the end.

In my opinion there were only two dancers on the floor who might have benefitted (strong maybe) from my teaching list dances. Everyone else on the floor already knew them or knew how to do them from talk throughs. I saw no benefit for them so I chose to teach interesting, beautiful, entertaining dances.

This experience leaves me with a sour taste in my mouth and much  to think about. It was not my understaanding that the list was to be a ball and chain that we HAD to use at all times in all situations. My understanding was that it was a guideline, a tool for use to use to achieve a certain end. Was I wrong?

Stay tuned. Further installments in this latest soap opera forthcoming.

13 September 2012 - NY Branch Social Hour

Granville Market  - 32 J 3 - 2nd Graded Book
Miss Jane Muirhead - 32 S 3 - Dunsmuir Dances
Ann Arbor - 32 J 3 - B. Gregg
Solway Reel - 48 R 4 - Carlisle and Border


20 September 2012 - NY Branch Social Hour

The Findlays' Jig - 32 J 3 - Goldring
Gypsy Weaver - 32 S 3 - Between the Rivers
The Captain - 32 R 3 - Solstice Party
Chasing the Red Dot - 32 R 5 - Sue McKinnell leaflet

24 May 2012 - NY Branch Class

Well, I am back and the update/catch up continues...

I was asked to teach the NY Branch's class on short and I was thankful for the opportunity.
The only dance coming up was their United Nations "Summer Dance" fund raiser for Unicef so there was little opressure from the "we need to learn the dances" crowd. One of my fellow teachers calls this "The tyranny of Ball Prep."

I taught the first hour and the dances were:
     Good Hearted Glasgow  (32 J 3C) Knapman
     Mrs Muriel More  (32 R 3) Johnson
     Dragonflies  (32 S 5some) Lataille
     Rothesay Rant  (32 J 4 square) Holden
     The Reverend John MacFarlane  (32 R 4) Gary Morris

**********

Good Hearted Glasgow -  A good basic opening Jig, popular and often used around here.

Mrs Muriel More - A very nice reel that I learned from Mervyn Short when attending the NY Branch's Pawling Weekend. A lovely sequence of half reel, turn; half reel turn. On my Top 50 Reel list as it is worth doing and, more importantly, worth doing again (in my humble opinion).

Dragonflies - It is an extraordinary dance on its own merits and when paired with Susie Petrov's 5x32
strathspey medley (lead tune: Hamish Henderson's Refusal) the synergy puts this dance through the roof. Recommended doesn't begin to cover it. This dance will be on the April 2013 Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance.

Rothesay Rant - On the United Nations Summer Dance Program but imho the kindest description for this dance is "tedious". In the extreme. But our everyday dancers can do it without anxiety attacks so...

The Reverend John MacFarlane - this one is growing on me. There is real opportunity here to dance with panache, to almost camp it up. I find myself smiling just thinking about this dance and that says something good.

=========================================

29 May 2012 - Dancing on the Heights (Friends Meeting)

The last class before summer when I lose dancers to heat and vacations so I planned somethings new (most of it) something old (well, done at least once before) and a trial dance needing guinea pigs and feed back.

The dances were:
     Jill's Gentle Jig  (32 J 3) Tim Wilson (Measures of Pleasure)
     Chasing the Red Dot  (32 R 5) Sue McKinnell leaflet
     The Langdon Knot  (32 S 3)  Tim Wilson (ibid)
     The Southpaw Reel  (32 R 3)  Bob Gregg - new composition
     Mrs Muriel More  (32 R 3)
     Muggons in May  (32 J 4) Barry Priddey
     Naishcombe Hill  (32 S 3) Mervyn Short

**********

Jill's Gentle Dance - anything but. this dance belongs tot hat category of dances that I call Huffin-Puffers. There is no rest. Immediate feedback was: no way is this dance a program opener (and maybe never again). Nice patterns but not only is there no down time for the dancers there are stretches in the dance where the dancers have such a stretch to get to their next position that they are truly struggling, and my dancers, who are good dancers, were having trouble. It needs revisiting, but in the middle of the evening, before break, when dancers are warm and able both mentally and physically.

Chasing the Red Dot - again I found it worth doing. The 'Celtic Braid' pattern is fun to watch and to dance. On the Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance short list along with Dragonflies.

The Langdon Knot - I will have to revisit this dance. I know that what I saw was very, very pretty and worth dancing. But that was not the response I got from the floor and that means the dancers may need another try at it. I certainly feel the dance is worth a Teacher's Choice Award and ought to have a Dancer's Choice Award bestowed on it, but that is only my opinion, and I have been wrong before, haven't I?

The Southpaw Reel  - A new dance by Bob Gregg, it may be nice but we don't know that yet. The directions were nearly inintelligible as written. I certainly had trouble figuring out what Bob's intentions were and the dancers had clue not one. Bob finally agreed that his wording needed work and with that we broke for refreshments.

Mrs Muriel More - Once again the dance was well received and it is creeping upward toward my Top 50 list. All other considerations aside the only consideration that really matters, or makes sense, to me is this: Is it Fun? And this one is,  and that means it is worth doing even though it is no well known and one of the standards. that is why, I think, Mervyn Short taught it at the Pawling Weekend, to give it the exposure he felt it derserved.

Muggons in May - I just don't know. It looked good on paper but did not get the rousing and enthusiastic response from the dancers I thought it would get. A revisit is in order.

And from the book there is this:

      If they would drink nettle in March
      And eat muggons in May
      Sae mony  braw maidens
      Wodna gang tae the clay


Naiscombe Hill - by Mervyn Short and it received mixed reviews. I did not think it read well and only taught it to find out. And I am still not sure what I found out. What I do know that there is more to the dance than I initially thought and that it might actually be quietly very good as opposed to being an instant classic or bomb. I will definitely be revisiting this dance and trying his others.

I have mixed feelings about his dances, they seem, on first reading, to be unspectacular if not outright mundane, but when danced this one showed some subtlety and I may have to, in fairness, reconsider my initial 'read'.

Catch Up time, I am more than just a wee bit behind in my posting.


28 April 2012 - Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance
Music by Terry Traub and Alice Backer
================================


Ann Arbor (32 J 3) Bob Gregg
Adieu Mon Ami (32 S 3) Bk 24
Flowers of Edinburgh  (32 R 3) Bk 1


The Elusive Muse  (32 J 3 set) Tim Wilson (Measures of Pleasure)
The Docent's Tour  (32 S 3)  Tim Wilson (Measures of Pleasure)
The Captain  (32 R 3)  Russ King (Solstice Party Book)


Rockside  (96 J 4 square) Goldring
Dean Bridge of Edinburgh  (32 S 3)  Bk 23
Pinewoods Reel  (32 R 3) JB Dickson (Yankee Sampler)




Gary Scott's Jig  (32 J 3)  Tim Wilson (Measures of Pleasure)
Maurice  (32 S 2) Gary Thomas (Dunsmuir Dances)
Scotland's Gardens  (32 R 3) Goldring - leaflet


Balgeddie Reel  (32 R 5) Mary Brandon - leaflet
Birks of Invermay  (32 S 3) Bk 16
The Kilt Maker  (32 R 4)  Priscilla Burrage (Pinewoods Coll. #2)


Christine M. Phillips  (32 J 3) John Brenchley (Bk 46)
Gifts  (32 S 3 set)  Irene van Maaseveen (Many Happy Hours)
The Dancing Man  (32 R 3) Goldring - 10 Social Dances


******************
That it went well doesn't come close to covering it. I have had only good comments about the program and the music. Usually when there are issues there are always a few negative comments and when the positive and the negative run about even then, in my opinion, a good balance was achieved. What I know for sure is that next years program will have a hard act to follow.


The dances by Tim Wilson are really good ones and are on my permanent short list - meaning they will get early consideration for any program I am planning.


The Balgeddie Reel had some problems - there were a some breakdowns on the floor - and I try to avoid that. I clearly miscalculated with this dance. It was for me the low point of the program and I had thought it would be one of the better dances.


Gifts is one of the sleepers on the program. The first time I danced it I knew I had a potential winner but I are never sure it's true until it is over. I asked the band to play the name tune (the Shaker hymn Simple Gifts) with variations and not use a medley. It got a long round of applause.


The other sleeper on the program is Christine M. Phillips - get the transition between the half reels into the turns and it flies! I knew it was good but didn't realize just how much fun it was going to be.


Maurice deserves to be part of the standard repertoire. Every one should know this dance. How ever much effort one puts in is repaid with interest. And it just keeps getting better every time I dance it.
It is not too much of a stretch to say that this dance is as good enough to be ranked right up with Montgomeries' Rant.


The Dancing Man is another good dance but it is not a good program end-er. It too physically demanding. It qualifies as a real huffin-puffer. First half end-er maybe, certainly better earlier than later.


Kudos to all who made this evening a huge success:
Cate Mahoney, Barbara Austen, Susan Leff, Ed Davis, Nina Stein, Ingrid Davis, the band, the set up crew, the cleanup crew, the watering crew, the kitchen crew and all the the others who worked and taught and practiced and then showed up to dance. Thank you all for all that you did that I know about and especially for all that you did that I don't know about.


==========================================


8 May 2012 - Fanwood, NJ


I had a surprise call asking me to teach the class in Fanwood back in April, and I got return engagement.


The April class gave me a good idea just how good the Fanwood dancers are with figures and geography. The RSCDS standard on footwork is ignored there, but they are certainly very well trained "above the navel dancers" in John Drewry's words. In short they can dance. It may not be "pretty" but they do have fun.


I tossed three difficult dances at them this night and they did superbly.


Warm up was EH3 7AF, then I did a dance of my own, a dance by Bob Gregg (of New Haven), a dance from the Imperial Book #3, and closed with a nice strathspey to some GREAT music.


The dances were:
     EH3 7AF  (32 J 3)
     Altamont Fair (32 R 3) Peter Price
(or Peter Price's Apologies to Geoff and Pat Walshe)
    Dress Parade  (32 S 4) Bob Gregg
    Mrs Stuart Linnell  (40 R 3)  Imperial Bk 3
    Dragonflies  (32 S 5some)  Jane Lataille


**********


EH3 7AF  -  Standard, nothing special but good for warming up a class who doesn't like that stuff.


Altamont Fair - I wrote this dance Labor Day weekend while driving to Albany for the Schenectady Pipe Band's Capital District Highland Games held at the Atltamont Fair Grounds outside of Albany, NY. 
It borrows the setting figure from Da Rain Dancin' by Ron Wallace and there are moments when dancers have to move.


There is some history to this - in the early 90's Geoff and Pat Walshe started dancing in New Haven. They were both retired ice skaters (dancers) with Pat having competed at the Olympics. So there was a rather high level of ability. What I didn't realize at first was Geoff's age. It turns out he served in the Royal Navy for the duration of WWII, was sunk on at least one occasion, and wounded/injured more than once.


It became apparent that he was plateauing early and was having trouble with the more subtle aspects of the dance so I pushed for and got a class together whose purpose was to push the intermediate dancers and get them up to the advanced level. I did a poor job at that and really blew things when "politics" raised its ugly head.


A couple of the advanced dancers in the class objected loudly and publicly to Pat and Geoff being in the class. They considered the class to be for advanced dancers and didn't hear/comprehend that it was an Intermediate/advanced class with the intent of growing the intermediate dancers and I failed to squash the gripers and set the record straight. The end result was that Pat and Geoff stopped dancing in New Haven and went elsewhere for their dancing to our profound loss.


A few years later I heard in June that Geoff had been diagnosed with cancer in December. In August I headed up to the Captital District Highland Games. I was listening to the tape Soir et Matin by Kerry Elkin (fiddle), Peter Barnes (piano) and Danny Noveck (strings). One cut of reels had this dynamite tune, listed as Dm Reel, that had me bouncing in my seat. Soon a series of figures came together and I had a dance.


Some weeks later I was was struggling with a name when inspiration hit and I realized just who deserved the dance. I printed a copy, took it by, and gave it to Pat. Unfortunately Geoff never had a chance to dance it, he died later that fall. I still didn't know the name of the tune, sent the tape to a friend, and got chills when I heard back - the tune was Michel Ferry's Farewell to Tchernobyle.


The dance is published in the New Branch's book The Nutmeg Collection under the title The Altamont Fair (or Peter Price's Compliment to Geoff and Pat Walshe).


I admit it - I wimped out. The title should always have been Peter Price's Apologies to Geoff and Pat Walshe (or The Altamont Fair).


Dress Parade - by Bob Gregg a dancer from New Haven, this dance has a unique and very different Set and Link pattern. It is rather disorienting and dancers not paying close attention are in trouble.
Handled beautifully by the Fanwood class.


Not a dance I would repeat often. The pattern is a "fun once" but would become very tedious if oft repeated.


Mrs Stuart Linnell - Oh my what a fun dance! One necessary foundation is the dancers must be comfortable with fractions. The half reels really must be EXACTLY half. The three quarters turns are only three quarters if the half reels are proper half reels. If one dancer gets it wrong - chaos.
But when it is right a rhythm and a pulse come out and then, oh then...


Worth It!!


Dragonflies - 5some (5 dancer) strathspey by Jane Lataille now in Santa Fe. A linear set and link for 3 makes this one interesting. And when danced to Susie Petrov's 5x32 set of strathspeys from her vinyl album Hold the Lass till I get Her the result is sublime.


Well I am out of time today, so I can't complete this update, the rest will have to wait.

24 April 2012 - Fanwood, NJ

I accepted an offer from Loretta Holz and traveled to Fanwood, a good hour and a half from Norwood.
John Drewry has a lovely phrase for the different kinds of dancers - those who LOVE technique for technique's sake as opposed to those who learn technique because it helps them. the former are "below the navel" dancers and the latter are "Above the navel" dancers. The dancers in Fanwood are definitely above the navel dancers, in fact they would rather not have any technique taught to them at all. I can agree but only to a point. There are times when the use of good technique will get you through a difficult piece of choreography and keep a dance from falling to pieces.

I once again taught dances from the Kilts and Ghillies tea dance program. I don't think anyone at this class  had ever seen some of them. I also pulled a couple of surprises from my card file.

The dances were:
Ann Arbor  (32 J 3)  Bob Gregg
The Captain  (32 R 3) Russ King
Maurice  (32 S 2)  Gary Thomas
The Elusive Muse  (32 J 3)  Tim Wilson
A Dance for Marjorie  (32 S 3)  Peter Price
Chasing the Red Dot  (32 R 5)  Sue McKinnell

Ann, Arbor, The Captain, Maurice, The Elusive Muse, all from the Kilts & Ghillies program were, yet again well received and some of them were, as I was later informed, repeated the next week.
A Dance for Marjorie is a bit of a technique challenge. There are moments where dancers need to have strong steps and good handing.

Chasing the Red Dot, is a terrible name for a good dance with a loverly Celtic Braid pattern created by active 1st and 5th couples. Worth doing again.!

23 April 2012 - Dancing on the Heights (Friends Meeting House)

Again an "upcoming ball workshop" class. Again I taught the more esoteric dances from the program.
Again I found that they were still fresh for me. Many dances are fun once, maybe twice but more that three times in a short span become tedious. Scotland's Gardens is on the edge of it though. I probably will let it lay for a year or so, and Dean Bridge of Edinburgh, while it will not make my Top 25, is growing on me. Tim Wilson is rapidly gaining status in my view. The Docent's Tour is just superb and is soundly applauded by the dancers whenever I teach it.

The dances I taught were:
Maurice - 32 S 2 - by Gary Thomas from Dunsmuir Dances
The Elusive Muse - 32 J 3 - by Tim Wilson from Measures of Pleasure
Scotland's Gardens - 32 R 3 - by Roy Goldring from a leaflet
The Dean Bridge of Edinburgh - 32 S 3 - by Alex Gray from Book 23
Rockside - 96 J 4 square - by Roy Goldring
Christine M. Phillips - 32 J 3 - Book 46
The Docent's Tour - 32 S 3 - by Tim Wilson, ibid
The Kilt Maker - 32 R 4 - by the late Priscilla Burrage from one of the Pinewoods Collections
Gifts - 32 S 3 set - by Irene van Maarseveen

22 April 2012 - Westchester Workshop

Naomi Lasher was most kind to offer her house and dance floor for the occasion. I had a set and that was a very good thing and we made it through a goodly part of the ball program.

The dances were:

Ann Arbor  32 J 3  Bob Gregg - The Real MacGregor 1
The Elusive Muse  32 J 3  - Measures of Pleasure (Tim Wilson)
The Docent's Tour  32 S 3 - Measures of Pleasure (Tim Wilson)
The Captain  32 R 3  - Solstice Party Book (Russ King)
Rockside  96 J 4 sq  - Goldring
Dean Bridge of Edinburgh 32 S 3 - Book 23
Christine M. Phillips  32 J 3 - Book 46
Maurice  32 S 2 - Dunsmuir Dances (Gary Thomas)

Scotia (NYC) - 9 April 2012

Vivian Anapol asked me to teach the 2nd hour at the Scotia class in NYC. She wanted the more difficult of the unfamiliar dances taught.

So I taught:-

Maurice   (32 S 2)   Dunsmuir Dances (Gary Thomas)
The Elusive Muse   (32 J 3)   Measures of Pleasure (T. Wilson)
The Kilt Maker  (32 R 4)  Pinewoods Coll. (P. Burrage)

It all went well, and the weird transition into Strathspey Poussette went flawlessly.

I do have one additional comment to add to what I said previously in regards to the dance Christine M. Philips.
On bars 9-16 (and again on bars 17-24) the 1C dance a 4 bar half diagonal reel followed by a 2 bar turn with their corner dancer followed by a 2 bar turn with partner.

The corners are dancing a SIX bar phrase - a half reel of four and a turn with 1C - as one piece. There is no separation between the reel and the turn - they flow one into the other NO STOPPING, especially not to bask in the glory of a successful half reel.

Short commercial announcement:

Sunday the 22nd of April - there will be a workshop at Naomi Lasher's for those dancers who want to learn the Kilts and Ghillies dances. I will bring fliers as the links above hasn't always worked as advertised.

Monday the 23rd - my 4th Monday class on the Fair Haven Heights (Friends (Quaker) Meeting House, New Haven, CT).

Tuesday the 24th - I have been invited to teach the Fanwood, NJ class. I will be doing a few of the Kilts and Ghillies dances.

Dancing on the Heights - 26 March 2012

Hmmm, where to begin. At the end of last month's class one of the dancers commented on the use of hands by dancers listening to the briefings. She said it made her very dizzy. One person learning the dance with their hands wasn't too bad, but when three dancers did it, and none the same way, well it was too much for her.

I never noticed. Mainly because I use my hands to trace the movements and I do it with my eyes closed. For me it is the kinesthetics that lock in the pattern, the actual movement of my hands as I trace the path; I feel it so I don't need to see it. Now that I am aware that there is a problem I will have to tone it down.

In other news I have finally gotten my computer and stereo system linked up properly and can now digitize vinyl and old tapes and have been doing so. One friend, soon to be moving, handed me a box of some 20 tapes and asked me to turn them into CDs. I am. Very slowly. The unfortunate part is that I have to listen to everything in real time, and then take the time to insert markers between the tracks and clean up the noise and split the tracks, and import it all into iTunes, convert everything into MP3 or AAC format and only then burn. The upside to this is that I have, temporarily, in my possession a copy of the music for Gentle Annie, 32 S 3, written by Ellie Hurd, sister to Bob Houghton, published in the Delaware Valley Silver collection. Music commissioned from Terpsichore, Liz Donaldson and Elke Baker. Super dance, super music, and now mine!

On a similar note: I was at the NY Branch class this past Thursday (March 29) and was browsing their CD collection and I saw four or five CDs, home made, of a favourite band leader, Jimmy Blair. I just love the one album of his that I have, Highland Dance Party. I want more, as much as I can get. Anybody out there willing to pass on to me any other albums of his? I would be willing to send back with a digital version. Please, anyone?
FYI - I use Jimmy Blair's version of Lady Sophia Anne of Bute instead of the name tune recording for the dance Solway Reel.

A couple of new books have been added to the collection. I recently bought The Kangaroo's Paw and Auld Friends Meet (Collected Leaflets of Roy Goldring). I went looking and found Sue McKinnell's web page and found she has posted some 10 or so years of dance compositions. I picked out some dances to try because her dance, Barbara's Strathspey, is a hot item in the NY/NJ area.

I taught one of the Roy Goldring leaflets to tepid response and one of Sue's to loud applause and a Dancer's Choice Award as well as a few groans for the name.

The evening's dances were:
     East of Yeadon  (32 J 3) Roy Goldring
     Chasing the Red Dot  (32 R 5)  Sue McKinnell
     The Docent's Tour   (32 S 3)  Tim Wilson
     The Balgeddie Reel  (32 R 5)  Mary S. Brandon
     The Happy Dancers  (32 J 3)  Roy Goldring
     Maurice   (32 S 2)  Gary Thomas

**********

East of Yeadon:- From The Collected Leaflets of Roy Goldring, this read as an ok dance but danced as tedious. No special spark to pick it up and maybe that is why I had never heard of it before? Another possibility for the tepid response is that I made a poor choice of music. Worth another try at a later date.

Chasing the Red Dot:- Sue McKinnell apparently has a lot of cats, and she loves to tease them with a laser pointer. The name needs work the dance doesn't. There is a lovely "celtic braid" formation danced by first and fifth couples that looks spectacular and is simple to dance. All were in agreement and bestowed a Dancer's Choice Award and I have gone further, it is on the short list for next year's Kilts and Ghillies Tea Dance.

The Docent's Tour:- Tim's dance continues to delight. Smiles all around every time I teach it. I had a nice email from Ken Way (teacher of the Middletown, CT class) who picked the dance up from Tim Wilson last summer and was teaching both it and Gary Scott's Jig in Middletown before he saw the Tea Dance program.

The Balgeddie Reel:- a flirtatious dance for 5 couples - according to Mary S. Brandon and she is the authority. Great fun!

The Happy Dancers:- I picked this dance out years ago. But the response just hasn't been what I expected. It may be the music. The Name tune recording just isn't as good as I would like. It is OK, but that is damning with faint praise. This dance is going on the back burner and may end up being pulled from my card file of active dances altogether. "Nice" and "good dance" are not the same as applause, cheers and a Dancers Choice Award.