Tune Worms

I’ve been suffering from a severe case of tune worms.  It seems like I merely need to think about a song and it continues to buzz around my head until something else replaces it.  This is usually a sign that I’m tired and can vary in the degree of annoyance it causes me.  The annoyance has a direct correlation to the song.  This morning I was humming along to Tradition as I fed the cats.  This was the first time that The Butterfly Jig tune worm had released it’s hold on me since Saturday when we succeeded in turning a minuet into a jig.

At the ball, I picked up a cd of what I thought was dance music.  Turned out, it was an album of listening music compiled to support a Bay Area shinty association.   Every once in awhile there are tracks that I simply must dance to.  The Butterfly Jig spoke to me immediately.  The problem I had was that while it is, technically, a jig, it is so much slower than our normal jigs that I couldn’t actually make any fast-time steps work.  With the Modesto Games coming up, I was trying to pull The Yellow Haired Laddie out of the mental mothballs.  On a whim, I danced a basic minuet step.  It fit.  I went through the first step.  It worked.  What was more, it turned a dance that I was really starting to loathe into one that I enjoyed.  Everything seemed to fit together so perfectly.  For the first time, ever, that dance felt beautiful.

Proof that you can SCD to anything!

I will be the first to tell you that I am NOT a fan of the Sound of Music.  I thought this take on it was simply brilliant.  For those of you in the know, look for some obvious dance placement in the choreography.

Thanks to Carol to passing this on to me.

Spring Ball Recap

I will get some pictures up soon, but suffice it to say the ball is over and went fairly smoothly, especially considering the ball chair came down with the flu and had to bail on the entire event (we did, at least, get 24 hour notice of this, so we were prepared).   It says a lot about how organized she was that we could pick up the reins so easily and run with it.  This meant that Sandra and I had to take her share of ball reviews and dance briefings (which, for me did NOT go well – I don’t think I have ever briefed so badly, and one dance I reviewed totally incorrectly).  I am still totally exhausted, hurt everywhere, and still shudder when I think about how totally incompetent as a teacher I must have appeared – fortunately I had several of my students there to prove that I actually DID know what I was doing most of the time.  I got several compliments on my dress/appearance, and we got lots of compliments on the event as a whole. 

As far as I’m concerned, if I’m sore and tired by the last dance and am still inspired to dance full out 8 rounds plus a once and to the bottom encore, it was a great evening.

Eureka!

If anyone has fallen into this blog via any of the RSCDS tags, they’re probably fairly disappointed.  In fact, of all my activities and hobbies, I have written the least about dance (even though it probably takes up MORE of my time).  This will undoubtedly change as we start to enter Games season and performances start lining up. 

Our first performance will be in a month.  It is the Camellia Festival, a multi-cultural dance “concert” (the link has stills and videos from previous performances – my group is the White Heather Dancers).  I have always obsessed over this performance: it’s invitation only, it’s a large audience, it’s in the round, it’s radically different than the Games.  I have eight minutes or less to showcase Scottish Country Dance for people who have no idea that such a thing exists.  It is the chance for the choreographer in me to claw its way out (and believe me, sometimes it can be a monster) for a brief spot in the sun.

This year, faced with a dwindling class, I have been concerned about exactly what we’ll be performing.  I always have the option of pulling in some adult dancers, though it means I have to take care to pick dances that are well known so that they can be dropped into position with minimal rehearsal.  This year, I’ve also lost two of my more experienced dancers, which means I have to be cautious about the difficulty level. 

I think I have found this year’s program.  At the party this evening we had to modify the Wild Geese to accommodate a three couple set (first couple led waaaay down and returned to third place, then danced rights and lefts with the threes).  The track we danced to was actually the Flock of Geese (the five couple version of the Wild Geese) from the Memories of a Scottish Weekend CD.  I have always loved this version, from it’s simple beginning with just flute and piano, to it’s expansion into lush strings for the middle tunes, to it’s thrilling finish.  And yes, I’m sure I’m biased because of the heavy flute use.  Nevertheless, I think it is thrilling music and I love to use it whenever possible.  So, here’s my plan: mirror the music.  Start with just three couple set for the first round/tune.  Add a couple for the second round/tune (instruments are being added here), add another couple (we’d now be dancing Flock of Geese) for the third round.  Then start taking couples away as the second and main tunes return.  The B part of the main tune, last round is very exciting, and I’d like to see if I can choreograph an ending that can lead into our bow.  I’ll have to futz with it a bit.  Wild Geese is on our ball, which is the week before the concert, and is immensely popular (never mind easy), so any adults I pull in can, indeed, be dropped into place.

That will take up 2.5 minutes.  If I add a strathspey (I’m thinking St. Andrew’s Day because a student requested it and it will use the space well), that will bring our dance time to just under 6 minutes, well within the limit.  I won’t be presenting a reel this year, but I think I can live with that.  Considering that last year the poor kids had to learn and remember 5 (five! what the f*** was I thinking???) dances, giving them only two this year is a well deserved respite.

Dancing Diva

Tonight was our monthly party, so I abandoned my fellow pit dwellers at La Cage for dancing.  It was one of the best decisions I’ve made in awhile.

I love playing music.  I also love dancing.  Last year I suffered an injury (due to me being clumsy and falling) to my foot and both my knees that rendered dancing a very painful proposition.  I nursed the injuries along as best I could, and then finally cried “uncle” and visited my doctor, who put me in physical therapy.  I stopped going to my semi-weekly sessions around Thanksgiving, and began to try to work myself back into my normal routines, with a couple noticeable exceptions: I stop at the slightest twinge and I keep a frozen water bottle in my freezer against inflammation. 

We had a great program planned for tonight with live music, and I desperately wanted to be able to DANCE.  So, I was very careful during my class this morning to not overdue it, and rested during the afternoon.  I dressed in my favorite skirt, grabbed my ghillies, and was off.

I missed the first dance (another thing I always do now is warm up thoroughly), and walked the second to finish the warm up process.  By Caberfei, I was ready.  And from that point on only sat out two dances.  We cut two dances from the program due to a lack of people issue, so that meant I danced two-thirds of a normal party program.  And I mean danced.  The music was fabulous and I could not keep still.  The flame that has been well banked for almost a year roared into life and carried me with it.

So I sit here freshly showered, sipping tea.  Cautiously, I touch the tender parts of my knee and heel, hoping that tonight’s extremes didn’t cost me another month in physical therapy.  A little tender, but certainly no worse than on a normal, non-dancing day. 

I’m back.  May I have this dance?

A Dance for St. Andrew

Today is St. Andrew’s Day, which also means that it is National Day in Scotland.  Unless you belong to a church that celebrates saint days, or are immersed in the Scottish culture this day has very little meaning to you.  Tomorrow, my class is performing for a St. Andrew’s Festival, and I wrote this dance for this performance.  It’s actually less in the honor of St. Andrew and more in the need for a Scottish Country Dance for five people.  For you non-dancers, this is going to look like Greek, but I’m posting this in case there are other teachers out there who need dances for their dwindling classes.

St. Andrew’s Cross
A 32-bar strathspey for 5 people

3        4                                  4          3
      5                                            5
2         1                                 1          2     
    TOP                                     TOP
(Figure 1)                          (Figure 2)

Dancers begin arranged as in Fig. 1

1-8: 5 dance figure 8 around 1 & 4.  Pass 1 by right shoulder to begin.  Finish facing 1.

9-10: 5 & 1 turn both hands once round.  Finish, near hands joined, facing down on the diagonal.

11-12: 3, 5, 1 balance in line.  Meanwhile 2 (facing diagonally down) and 4 (facing diagonally up) set inward on the diagonal (to make a St. Andrew’s cross).

13-14: 3 & 5 turn both hands once round.  Finish, near hands joined, facing up on the diagonal.

15-16: 3, 5, 1 balance in line as 2 & 4 set inward as above.  Face finish facing out the top.

17-20: All advance and retire, 5 dancing out the top and all others dancing in on the diagonals.

21-24: 1, 2, 3, 4 chase 2 places clockwise as 5 dances 2 Glasgow Highlander’s steps facing position 2.  On the last step, 5 turns the short way to face position 4.

25-28: 4 with 1, 3 with 2 set & link as 5 dances two Glasgow Highlander’s steps facing position 4.  At the end, you should be as Figure 2

29-30: 5 turn 3 halfway with left hand.

31-32: 3 turn 1 halfway with right hand.  1 should now be in the middle (ready to be the new 5) and all other dancers have progressed one place clockwise.

Repeat from new places.

Tune: Any good strathspey.  I’ve been using the 5 time strathspey on Green Ginger’s Miss Ogilvie’s Fancy.

Copyright Lynne Lockwood, 2007
All Rights Reserved