The DSAH Teachers

Everyone has nothing but praise for all the teachers who have taught online classes this summer. Here are some of them. They describe the challenges they faced when planning their lessons.

Andrew Timmins, Central Germany Branch

The only set-up issue was with Zoom, as I was unable to read any previous chats, the dialogue boxes or the icons. I chose Glasgow Regatta because it is a 2-couple reel which can be danced within a two square metre area and it has a poussette, so I could focus on the change of feet for the men. For me, warm/cool-downs are more important than warm-ups. They stretch the muscle back to its length prior to the exercise; improve muscle and joint range of movement; and help remove metabolic waste from body tissue, ie lactic acid.

Atsuko Clement, Edinburgh Branch, Japan

I was stranded in Japan as my return flight was cancelled. It was a challenge as I did not have a music player, and I had few books with me. My biggest problem was my lack of knowledge of technology, and it had to be recorded with the time difference – 7 in the evening in the UK was 3 in the morning for me! As I had very limited space, I chose The Threesome

Reel, which can be easily danced alone and it was a good way to introduce Highland steps as Scots used to use. We know this from the comments of Captain Edward Torpham who visited Edinburgh in 1774/5.

Graham Houston-Donald, HQ Member, Gran Canaria

Setting up the class needed a lot of thought, and trial and error. I tried out a practice session with Zoom to make sure that all of me could be seen on-screen and to get the laptop positioned correctly to show my feet, but not cut my head off. I also checked that the music and my voice could be heard. I just chatted away as though people were in front of me.

It was great that dancers were chatting online while I was teaching, but I couldn’t keep up with the number of comments coming in. As there would be many wine-drinking non-dancers, I wanted music which would be great to listen to. Muriel Johnstone’s Dancing Fingers 2 provided wonderful waltzes, which I used for warm-up stretches to start with. Jim Lindsay always has arrangements which challenge tradition. His arrangement for Bonnie Geordie’s Wig from the Book 49 CD is a particular favourite. Comments from dancers attending previous online classes included requests for an intermediate level of class, so this dance was perfect. I focused my lesson on foot transitions between pas de basque and skip change of step, use of hands for hands across and for rights and lefts as well as correct positioning of the body in anticipation of the next formation.

Diana Hastie, Sydney Branch

I was thrilled to be asked to lead a class and Angela was keen for me to cover some step dance repertoire. Blue Bonnets (Dancie Reid 6/8 version) is one of the easier dances in the St Andrews Step Dance Collection, so I decided to use its first two steps as a taster for those who had never tried Scottish Step. I started out fairly basic and worked up to a more advanced level. I ended up having to record it twice as there were issues with the sound quality of the music and the timing. We worked out a plan for me to pause at certain times to let Angela chat and answer questions. I had to wait a couple of days after it was aired to see the catch-up video and finally get to read the comments. I hope a few people will seek out step dancing lessons as a result.

David Queen, Ribble Valley Branch

Teaching the online class was certainly an experience! It involved a lot more planning than a normal class due to the time constraints, the use of recorded music, and the different style of teaching required. I decided to teach step transitions – achievable for a solo dancer and accessible for all standards, and to build on step technique already taught in previous classes. I finished with an easy dance Jig to the Music from Graded Book 2. I made a decision to involve the audience and generate interaction through the chat feature by getting them to make dance suggestions for the transitions being taught. This worked well, but meant that I needed to include a lot more information, so I needed prompts and had paper stuck all over the kitchen! I was lucky in having my wife Cathy to operate the music and assist in prompting.

Trish Nicholls, Sydney Branch

Samuele Graziani, Northern Italy Branch

The offer to teach the online class initially prompted the ‘fight or flight’ reaction in me! I chose the flight option first, then Angela gently persuaded me to do it. The most difficult aspect was setting up the correct camera angle from my iPhone: too far back and I may not have been seen nor heard; too close, and my feet wouldn’t have been visible. As I live in Sydney, the class needed to be pre-recorded. I recorded it in three parts: the warm-up, step/transition section, and the dance/cool down. I taught Espie McNabb as it contains all the quick-time steps, basic formations, and several transitions. I thought this would revise and build on David Queen’s class from a couple of weeks earlier. When I was asked to teach, I felt two emotions: deep pride and gratitude on the one hand, something near to panic on the other. My language is not English, so if I don’t have the words in class I can always gesticulate, but online! The difficulties were basically two: firstly, ours are social dances, designed for at least 2 couples; secondly, teaching online you do not have the perception of the class, you don’t know if you are moving with someone or if you are doing it alone in front of your PC like a madman! I taught a warm-up, some technique, then a few strathspey exercises. The most impressive thing was the number of people who watched – roughly a thousand! I don’t know when I will be able again to teach a thousand people at the same time!

Fiona Mackie, Dundee Branch

Teaching a class online sounded simple in principle. Schools and universities were doing it; yoga and fitness had moved to online, but a dance class? What space to use, will I trip over the rug? Where can I put the coffee table? Despite not being able to see anyone else, and trying desperately hard not to move out of the space your screen allows, we had power! We had a musician and we were ready to go with 1200 other people. I taught Petronella from Book 1, as it was easy to do with only one person. The shape of the dance also fits nicely into the space available. It was great to see the comments from people who had learned this as their first dance years ago, and were glad to have danced it again.

Alice Stainer, Oxford Branch

When I was asked to take the class, I was excited at the thought of connecting with dancers across the world and apprehensive about the practical challenges. Angela was having a power-cut; the night was hot and stormy in Oxford; the signs were not auspicious! I cleared as big an area as possible, but found that keeping head and feet on screen simultaneously was a feat! Another issue was the management of my equipment as I did not have the luxury of an off-camera music monitor. I was afraid the music wouldn’t start or fail to stop! I rigged up various music delivery systems before finding one that was reliable. I needed a dance that could be done easily by one person, so opted for Delvine Side from Book 2. Despite containing a corner figure, it was easy to keep track of imaginary fellow dancers, and focus on how to maintain the continuous flow of the dance. I particularly enjoyed my devilishly handsome ghost partner Finbarr!

Sue Porter, Oban and Lorn Branch

This was a teaching experience like no other. Teaching is very much an interaction between dancers and teacher and this wasn’t there. My husband had helpfully linked his laptop up to the TV so I could read the chat in a bigger scale. Strangely, I was going in opposite directions at the same time on my laptop and the TV. Living in Oban on the west coast of Scotland, I decided to use music with local connections – either tunes written for local places or played by local musicians. I taught Invercauld’s Reel from Book 11. The band was John Renton’s, local and with family connections. Set to and turn corners, I felt was a formation, where a single dancer could more easily imagine the participation of the other dancers. The left shoulder reel of three and rights and lefts had been covered by previous teachers, so that meant I just had to teach the variations of the endings.

Robert McOwen, Boston Branch

The main problem was preparing to teach such a compressed lesson: warmup, steps, figures, and a dance all in 30 minutes! Since I knew it was a mixed level class and I was the only dancer, I prepared some diagrams on posterboards that I held up to the camera to help convey the geometry of the figure. I also used a couple of stools to mark places on the sides of the dance. It all went smoothly, and I ended on time. I taught Hame Came Our Gudeman, a strathspey from Book 30. It has elementary figures – rights and lefts and promenade – as well as a more advanced figure, the poussette. My wife, Barbara, played solo fiddle for the class.

Fred deMarse, San Francisco Branch

I taught The Scallywag from Book 52 – a dance with local connections to my Branch. Jennifer Kelly devised it for Mikkel Thompson for his 50th birthday. The tune, Mikkel’s Jig, was composed by Kim McGarrity. It was challenging to go through the steps and formations and the dance without receiving any visual feedback. It was also challenging to stay focused on my lesson plan and also keep track of the Chat Room comments. I was so impressed with the number who attended and the international coverage. I want to give a huge thank you to Susan Worland and Michael Bentley for playing and managing the sound system, and to Julee Montes for helping to demonstrate. I couldn’t have done the class without them!