Reviews Jennifer’s Dances: A Selection of Social and Performance Dances Each of the components of the recently published collection Jennifer’s Dances can stand on its own: a book of dances, two CDs of music to accompany the 12 social dances and the 13 performance dances, and a DVD showing the dances as performed by the Red Thistle Dancers. The complete set is well worth having to fully appreciate the dances, the music, and the performances. The result of this significant undertaking is a polished and professional package, and all of the contributors are to be congratulated. Before their retirement Jennifer Kelly and her husband John led the San Francisco Bay Area’s Red Thistle demonstration team (pictured above) for almost 50 years and through over 500 performances. Jennifer’s choreography for the group is well-known and highly regarded, but she has also devised a number of social dances which celebrate special events and people. One of her jigs, The Scallywag, was published by the RSCDS in Book 52 and is therefore not included in this publication, but the music is included in the social dance CD and on the demonstration video. Jennifer is also known for her strathspey The Laird of Atherton which was published in the second San Francisco Collection and notable for its original tune composed by Alasdair Fraser. The social dances in the collection are accessible and enjoyable, though likely most suitable for intermediate and advanced dancers. An interesting presentation of Red Wine and Straight Lines has the dance performed as a 1x32 Jig, 1x32 Strathspey, and 1x32 Reel. While the dance can be done in any one of the three tempi, the CD uses the full combination as that is how it was choreographed for performance and it is unlikely to be available elsewhere. Armin’s Dance includes a variation on a men’s chain where the two men begin giving right hands, while the two women cast to begin. Marianna’s Strathspey has an interesting new figure called Petronella Pass. This 4-bar figure is danced by 1st couple and they finish facing first corners; it requires careful phrasing and technique. The figure is clearly described in the book and demonstrated by the team on the DVD; Muriel Johnstone’s tune composed for the dance is included on the CD. Serendipity is a lovely five-couple strathspey and as is often the case with Jennifer’s compositions, a
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slight variation in a figure adds a pleasant challenge. Here the two consecutive three-quarter figures of eight followed by crossing on bars 7-8 the first time and leading down on 15-16 add just that bit of interest. All of the dances are beautifully executed on the accompanying DVD and the video angle looking down on the dancers gives a clear presentation of the figures. The performance dances are, of course, more involved than the standard 3x, 4x, or 8x through of the social dances. But in the foreword, Jennifer urges us not to dismiss them as inaccessible. With over 500 performances to their credit, the Red Thistle Dancers have a huge repertoire from which to choose, but these have been selected for publication to show the variety that is possible. The venues, the events, and the audience all play a role in the choice of tempo, length of performance, and the complexity of figures. As Jennifer notes, ‘not all of the dances in this group are technically, or even choreographically challenging, so please do not discard them without a little investigation’. The two CDs include original and traditional alternate tunes for the dances. Red Thistle Music plays for most of the Red Thistle performances and includes Susan Worland, also a member of Reel of Seven, on fiddle; Lyle Ramshaw on piano; and Michael Bentley on bodhran. The music is lively, energetic, and unfailingly danceable! The musicians and dancers have been friends and colleagues for many, many years and their ability to inspire and encourage each other to lift up the performances is wonderful to watch and to hear. Michael Bentley (Susan Worland’s husband) was a co-producer of the collection and is to be congratulated on the quality of the finished product. As noted earlier, each of these items can be purchased separately and are available through: https://www.redthistledancers.org/shop and https://redthistlemusic.bandcamp.com/ Red Thistle Dancers are now under the direction of Fred DeMarse, a long-time member of the group. We can look forward to the continued quality of dance and music from the team. While we cannot yet enjoy dancing together, I assure you that many pleasant hours can be whiled away watching these accomplished dancers, listening to these excellent musicians, and planning how to teach Jennifer’s dances once we can return to the dance floor! Marjorie McLaughlin, San Diego Branch
