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'.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, May 14, 2012
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.!
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
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)
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)
Thursday, April 19, 2012
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.
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.
Friday, March 30, 2012
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Dancing on the Heights - 13 February 2012
It turns out that this is a very busy week for the New Haven Branch. Monday was this class, Tuesday was Valentine's day (and was being celebrated by the class in New Haven), Wednesday the Middletown class and the Branch is celebrating Ken Way's 65th birthday, and Thursday there is a performance at the Foote School in New Haven.
Attendance at my class was understandably light but I had a full set for most of the evening.
The Big News coming out of the class is that we will no longer be meeting on the 2nd Monday of each month, but rather the 4th Monday (pending confirmation with the Meeting).
I taught:-
Happy to Meet (32 J 3 set) Iain Boyd - Happy to Meet
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (Gary Thomas)
Dancing In the Street (32 R 4) Bk 42 (Tom Toriyama)
A Book of Verse (32 S 3) Iain Boyd - unpublished
State of Grace (32 S 3) Tim Wilson - unpublished
Swashbuckling Iain (32 J 2) SF 2 (Carolyn Hunt)
A Dance for Marjorie (32 S 3 set) Peter Price
**********
Happy to Meet:- Very much a warm up dance, at least for this group, because they are very experienced and this becomes a throwaway. It was walked for the most part. Most of the group was behind schedule and nobody was present during the set aside time for warm up.
Maurice:- I get warm and fuzzy feelings when I dance this one. Even when I just teach it. It is that good.
The only thing that kicks this dance out of pure dead simple into complicated and difficult is the odd entry into the diamond poussette - it doesn't throw beginners mind you, only the self assured experienced dancers who just can't quite modify their muscle memory. And I taught it because it will be done at the Kilts & Ghillies tea dance on April 28.
Dancing in the Street:- This was requested from the floor. It is on the New Haven Highland Ball program and not, apparently , commonly done in the New Haven class. It isn't one of my standards either - I gave it a B rating when I first taught it in 2003. It didn't get any better this time.
A Book of Verse:- This dance is listed in the database as "unpublished". I received a photocopy from Ellen Sears who taught the dance at the branch class in NYC. Iain Boyd wrote it for Mel and Ellie Brisco.
Special setting to open (nice). fairly standard middle but a lovely variation on Allemande to finish. Keeper.
Definitely going on the short list for next year's ball.
State of Grace:- This newly written dance was sent to me by Tim Wilson (San Francisco area) and is still in trials as it were. It is what I call a journeyman dance - it is solid but unexceptional. Only the final circle and chase is unusual and to get it right one needs to dance straight in and and then straight out without any movement around the circle.
No spiraling which is called for in several of John Drewry's dances so don't get caught out.
Swashbuckling Iain:- Simple but cute enough to keep handy. I wouldn't give it an A-rating but it is better than a B - so B+? One dancer felt there was too much chasing going on - there is all of 12 bars of it.
A Dance for Marjorie:- I wrote the dance in 2006, taught it six time but not since then. Six years and I couldn't remember it. The 'feel' of it didn't come back until the 2nd or 3rd round. Then the smiles appeared. I have a note on my card showing that I had it short listed for this year's K&G Tea Dance. Maybe next year. It is good enough.
Attendance at my class was understandably light but I had a full set for most of the evening.
The Big News coming out of the class is that we will no longer be meeting on the 2nd Monday of each month, but rather the 4th Monday (pending confirmation with the Meeting).
I taught:-
Happy to Meet (32 J 3 set) Iain Boyd - Happy to Meet
Maurice (32 S 2) Dunsmuir Dances (Gary Thomas)
Dancing In the Street (32 R 4) Bk 42 (Tom Toriyama)
A Book of Verse (32 S 3) Iain Boyd - unpublished
State of Grace (32 S 3) Tim Wilson - unpublished
Swashbuckling Iain (32 J 2) SF 2 (Carolyn Hunt)
A Dance for Marjorie (32 S 3 set) Peter Price
**********
Happy to Meet:- Very much a warm up dance, at least for this group, because they are very experienced and this becomes a throwaway. It was walked for the most part. Most of the group was behind schedule and nobody was present during the set aside time for warm up.
Maurice:- I get warm and fuzzy feelings when I dance this one. Even when I just teach it. It is that good.
The only thing that kicks this dance out of pure dead simple into complicated and difficult is the odd entry into the diamond poussette - it doesn't throw beginners mind you, only the self assured experienced dancers who just can't quite modify their muscle memory. And I taught it because it will be done at the Kilts & Ghillies tea dance on April 28.
Dancing in the Street:- This was requested from the floor. It is on the New Haven Highland Ball program and not, apparently , commonly done in the New Haven class. It isn't one of my standards either - I gave it a B rating when I first taught it in 2003. It didn't get any better this time.
A Book of Verse:- This dance is listed in the database as "unpublished". I received a photocopy from Ellen Sears who taught the dance at the branch class in NYC. Iain Boyd wrote it for Mel and Ellie Brisco.
Special setting to open (nice). fairly standard middle but a lovely variation on Allemande to finish. Keeper.
Definitely going on the short list for next year's ball.
State of Grace:- This newly written dance was sent to me by Tim Wilson (San Francisco area) and is still in trials as it were. It is what I call a journeyman dance - it is solid but unexceptional. Only the final circle and chase is unusual and to get it right one needs to dance straight in and and then straight out without any movement around the circle.
No spiraling which is called for in several of John Drewry's dances so don't get caught out.
Swashbuckling Iain:- Simple but cute enough to keep handy. I wouldn't give it an A-rating but it is better than a B - so B+? One dancer felt there was too much chasing going on - there is all of 12 bars of it.
A Dance for Marjorie:- I wrote the dance in 2006, taught it six time but not since then. Six years and I couldn't remember it. The 'feel' of it didn't come back until the 2nd or 3rd round. Then the smiles appeared. I have a note on my card showing that I had it short listed for this year's K&G Tea Dance. Maybe next year. It is good enough.
Westchester - 25 January 2012
It was a Burns night party and an end of session party combined and I tried very hard to keep the program to a realistic length - and finally got it right 'cause we weren't rushed and we ended on time.
We opened with the St. Bernard's Waltz (for warm up).
The country dances were:
The White Cockade (32 R 3)
The Lea Rig (32 S 2/3C set)
Barley Bree (40 J 4)
Ca' the Ewes tae the Knowes (32 S 2)
Caberfei (32 R 3)
a break for haggis and whiskey (as well as neeps and tatties) and then dancing continued with:
Ann Arbor (32 J 3)
Monymusk (32 S 3)
Montgomeries' Rant (32 R 3)
**********
The White Cockade:- I have been dancing it for years and, I must confess, I still like it. It must be the music.
The Lea Rig:- The music is sublime but the dance is tedious, especially if it goes the full eight times through. thankfully I had a six times through version.
Barley Bree:- I was very pleasantly surprised. I expected breakdowns during the strip the willow part and that didn't happen. I also saw a lot of smiles and I didn't expect that either.
Ca' the Ewes:- The song tune is hauntingly beautiful but we don't dance to it. What a shame. Sigh.
Caberfei:- I love it! It has so many moments! This is one of my Top 10 reels.
Ann Arbor:- From the mind of one of New Haven's own, Bob Gregg, it is a delightful dance that is easy on the legs and makes a good re-warmer for a second half.
Monymusk:- I long disliked this dance and then, one evening at Scottish Weekend at Buffalo Gap, I had such a band and the music went off the page and I went through the roof. Oh my goodness! Steve Hickman, Earl Gaddis and Alistair Fraser with Liz Donaldson and crew. I got a pirate recording of that performance, and it is a crummy recording, but I have been using it ever since to the almost complete exclusion of all other recordings because the magic of that night comes through.
Montgomeries' Rant:- I have only seen smiles and heard cheers after this dance is done and this night was no exception.
We opened with the St. Bernard's Waltz (for warm up).
The country dances were:
The White Cockade (32 R 3)
The Lea Rig (32 S 2/3C set)
Barley Bree (40 J 4)
Ca' the Ewes tae the Knowes (32 S 2)
Caberfei (32 R 3)
a break for haggis and whiskey (as well as neeps and tatties) and then dancing continued with:
Ann Arbor (32 J 3)
Monymusk (32 S 3)
Montgomeries' Rant (32 R 3)
**********
The White Cockade:- I have been dancing it for years and, I must confess, I still like it. It must be the music.
The Lea Rig:- The music is sublime but the dance is tedious, especially if it goes the full eight times through. thankfully I had a six times through version.
Barley Bree:- I was very pleasantly surprised. I expected breakdowns during the strip the willow part and that didn't happen. I also saw a lot of smiles and I didn't expect that either.
Ca' the Ewes:- The song tune is hauntingly beautiful but we don't dance to it. What a shame. Sigh.
Caberfei:- I love it! It has so many moments! This is one of my Top 10 reels.
Ann Arbor:- From the mind of one of New Haven's own, Bob Gregg, it is a delightful dance that is easy on the legs and makes a good re-warmer for a second half.
Monymusk:- I long disliked this dance and then, one evening at Scottish Weekend at Buffalo Gap, I had such a band and the music went off the page and I went through the roof. Oh my goodness! Steve Hickman, Earl Gaddis and Alistair Fraser with Liz Donaldson and crew. I got a pirate recording of that performance, and it is a crummy recording, but I have been using it ever since to the almost complete exclusion of all other recordings because the magic of that night comes through.
Montgomeries' Rant:- I have only seen smiles and heard cheers after this dance is done and this night was no exception.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Westchester - 18 January 2012
Well, Burns' night is growing near and it falls on me this year to double deal - not only is Wednesday the 25th the last class in this winter session it is also the date chosen to celebrate Robert Burns - and I get to put together that double duty party program. So many thanks to Naomi Lasher for, lo these many years ago, sending me a list of dances with connections to the Scottish Bard.
Last week we did The Lea Rig, this week we did Red House, and Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes.
Life has been interesting which, in a very round about way, brings me to certain "Rules of Life". Bill Wagstaff, who I rather wish I had met, had one: Always buy Hondas and Apples (computers). I'm on his side now.
Last week my computer (a spotted cow if there ever was one), decided to process a number of updates even though I told it to do so "later". Top notch programming rule: never let the user specify how much later - and in the middle of class it shut down leaving me to reboot - never a quick procedure with Windows (I WANT A MAC!) and that meant Louis Perez, his wife being away, had the opportunity to fill the time by telling a joke. I REALLY REALLY want my Mac back!!
Then, this week, in trying to reconcile a number of "unknown' bands and albums, all of which had that information input, the computer 'lost' about 25 albums and the associated music files. It is a very good thing that I live nowhere near the Microsoft engineers. There would be a new term for someone (me) going on a shooting spree - "he went windows". I have spent about 15 hours relocating and relinking all those music files.
Ground down teeth and several glasses of wine later....
Other than discovering that several of the music files I had planned on using were mislaid I had a splendid evening, the dancers left happy and I will miss teaching the group.
The evenings dances were:
Swashbuckling Iain (32 J 2) San Francisco 2
Simon Brodie (32 S 3) 18C
Red House (40 R 2) 7/2
Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes (32 S 2) 16/8
Sunday Afternoon Jig (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Monymusk (32 S 3) 11/2
**********
Swashbuckling Iain:- Done as a walk-through warm up dance, the music is good, the dance too. It has been a while since I last danced it so that little chore is now on my to-do list. Verification of a dance requires more that watching it takes dancing, and this dance has caught my eye again.
Simon Brodie:- Not for wimps! The last formation requires strong steps, good strong handing and forethought in the phrasing. And the music, by Dave Wiesler and Mara Shea, a set of really good, strong traditional strathspeys is wonderful... and why I chose to teach the dance. Recommended.
Red House:- The list I received said there is a connection to Bobby Burns, I don't know what it is - anyone? This is one of my favourite dances and full of opportunities to embroider and play (and over do).
Originally a 48 bar dance - 3 part music - AA BB CC - the Scottish Dance Society chose to edit out one of the As. I can understand why, but only half heartily agree.
The original (Playford ca. 1650):
A1 Set, cast to 2nd place:
A2 Repeat back to place.
That in 2 phrases of music/16 bars - so given our modern Scottish style it would be: set for 4 bars; cast for 4 bars: that again: which is, I agree, a bit much and so the edit.
What the Society may not have realized is that in English Country Dance the term "set" can also apply to "advance and retire" i.e set advancing then set retiring. Dancers can do that or use a simple walking step instead, which creates a delightful surge - especially where it follows the first cast- i.e. adv & retire; cast off; (here it comes) adv & ret.; cast back to place.
In English CD they keep the 48 bars but even up the dancing by splitting the parts between 1C and 2C:
A1 1C fwd & back set & cast off;
A2 2C the same. (everyone home)
B1 1C chase.
B2 2C chase (again, everyone home)
C1 1C 2M reel of 3 across (2M cuts the reel Rsh to 1L)
C2 1C 2L reel of 3 across (2L cuts the reel Lsh to 1M) and with an extra pass all end progressed.
The Scottish 40 bar version where the reels are on the sides: -
A1 1C set, cast; set, cast back.
B1 1C chase end below 2C.
B2 1C (1L followed by 1M) chase. End home.
C1 1M 2M pass Lsh to begin AS 1L dances down and across to below 2M's place where she enters the
reel by giving Rsh to her partner. Last 2 bars 1L dances home as men pass again to progress.
C2 1L 2L pass Rsh AS 1M (from 2nd place) dances across to below 2L's place where he enters the
reel by giving Lsh to his partner. Last 2 bars 1M dances across to 2nd man's place as 1L 2L pass more
time to progress.
My inclination would be to dance the first half closer to the ECD style and keep the Scottish version of the reels which are so delightfully different.
A1 1C Adv and Ret; set, and cast off.
A2 1C repeat, back to place.
B1 1C chase
B2 1C chase back?
C1 Scottish style reel
C2 The same.
Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes:- The connection here is the incredible tune to which Burns wrote the words.
Dougie MacLean sings a wonderful rendition on his CD "Tribute" and Marian Anderson, Judith Linton and Muriel Johnstone have a dynamite set on their CD "North of the Tweed" that begins with the true tune.
Unfortunately Ca' the Ewes... is a song tune and the RSCDS chose to set the dance to a different tune, a strong traditional style strathspey and, in so doing, cut the connection to Bobby Burns. Sigh. FYI the official RSCDS recording (made by Bobby Crowe) uses "Miss Mariane Oliphant (Rossie)" as the lead tune for the dance.
Last week we did The Lea Rig, this week we did Red House, and Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes.
Life has been interesting which, in a very round about way, brings me to certain "Rules of Life". Bill Wagstaff, who I rather wish I had met, had one: Always buy Hondas and Apples (computers). I'm on his side now.
Last week my computer (a spotted cow if there ever was one), decided to process a number of updates even though I told it to do so "later". Top notch programming rule: never let the user specify how much later - and in the middle of class it shut down leaving me to reboot - never a quick procedure with Windows (I WANT A MAC!) and that meant Louis Perez, his wife being away, had the opportunity to fill the time by telling a joke. I REALLY REALLY want my Mac back!!
Then, this week, in trying to reconcile a number of "unknown' bands and albums, all of which had that information input, the computer 'lost' about 25 albums and the associated music files. It is a very good thing that I live nowhere near the Microsoft engineers. There would be a new term for someone (me) going on a shooting spree - "he went windows". I have spent about 15 hours relocating and relinking all those music files.
Ground down teeth and several glasses of wine later....
Other than discovering that several of the music files I had planned on using were mislaid I had a splendid evening, the dancers left happy and I will miss teaching the group.
The evenings dances were:
Swashbuckling Iain (32 J 2) San Francisco 2
Simon Brodie (32 S 3) 18C
Red House (40 R 2) 7/2
Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes (32 S 2) 16/8
Sunday Afternoon Jig (32 J 3) Dunsmuir Dances
Monymusk (32 S 3) 11/2
**********
Swashbuckling Iain:- Done as a walk-through warm up dance, the music is good, the dance too. It has been a while since I last danced it so that little chore is now on my to-do list. Verification of a dance requires more that watching it takes dancing, and this dance has caught my eye again.
Simon Brodie:- Not for wimps! The last formation requires strong steps, good strong handing and forethought in the phrasing. And the music, by Dave Wiesler and Mara Shea, a set of really good, strong traditional strathspeys is wonderful... and why I chose to teach the dance. Recommended.
Red House:- The list I received said there is a connection to Bobby Burns, I don't know what it is - anyone? This is one of my favourite dances and full of opportunities to embroider and play (and over do).
Originally a 48 bar dance - 3 part music - AA BB CC - the Scottish Dance Society chose to edit out one of the As. I can understand why, but only half heartily agree.
The original (Playford ca. 1650):
A1 Set, cast to 2nd place:
A2 Repeat back to place.
That in 2 phrases of music/16 bars - so given our modern Scottish style it would be: set for 4 bars; cast for 4 bars: that again: which is, I agree, a bit much and so the edit.
What the Society may not have realized is that in English Country Dance the term "set" can also apply to "advance and retire" i.e set advancing then set retiring. Dancers can do that or use a simple walking step instead, which creates a delightful surge - especially where it follows the first cast- i.e. adv & retire; cast off; (here it comes) adv & ret.; cast back to place.
In English CD they keep the 48 bars but even up the dancing by splitting the parts between 1C and 2C:
A1 1C fwd & back set & cast off;
A2 2C the same. (everyone home)
B1 1C chase.
B2 2C chase (again, everyone home)
C1 1C 2M reel of 3 across (2M cuts the reel Rsh to 1L)
C2 1C 2L reel of 3 across (2L cuts the reel Lsh to 1M) and with an extra pass all end progressed.
The Scottish 40 bar version where the reels are on the sides: -
A1 1C set, cast; set, cast back.
B1 1C chase end below 2C.
B2 1C (1L followed by 1M) chase. End home.
C1 1M 2M pass Lsh to begin AS 1L dances down and across to below 2M's place where she enters the
reel by giving Rsh to her partner. Last 2 bars 1L dances home as men pass again to progress.
C2 1L 2L pass Rsh AS 1M (from 2nd place) dances across to below 2L's place where he enters the
reel by giving Lsh to his partner. Last 2 bars 1M dances across to 2nd man's place as 1L 2L pass more
time to progress.
My inclination would be to dance the first half closer to the ECD style and keep the Scottish version of the reels which are so delightfully different.
A1 1C Adv and Ret; set, and cast off.
A2 1C repeat, back to place.
B1 1C chase
B2 1C chase back?
C1 Scottish style reel
C2 The same.
Ca' the Ewes to the Knowes:- The connection here is the incredible tune to which Burns wrote the words.
Dougie MacLean sings a wonderful rendition on his CD "Tribute" and Marian Anderson, Judith Linton and Muriel Johnstone have a dynamite set on their CD "North of the Tweed" that begins with the true tune.
Unfortunately Ca' the Ewes... is a song tune and the RSCDS chose to set the dance to a different tune, a strong traditional style strathspey and, in so doing, cut the connection to Bobby Burns. Sigh. FYI the official RSCDS recording (made by Bobby Crowe) uses "Miss Mariane Oliphant (Rossie)" as the lead tune for the dance.
Sunday Afternoon Jig:- The first dance that I have taught from the "Dunsmuir Dances" collection that has me less than thrilled. But it is worth trying again, and when I do I will make every effort to be in the set and dancing it.
Monymusk:- Another of my favourite dances. It wasn't until I danced to it to music played by Liz Donaldson and all her regular suspects with the following additions: Earl Gaddis, Steve Hickman and Alasdair Fraser. Oh my did that change my mind. If the music is anything but strong, dark and handsome I wouldn't bother. If the music is all that then I would called to the dance floor.
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