Reviews Does your branch or club have a new book which you would like reviewed? If you teach a class and are interested in reviewing books from a teaching point of view, please be in touch: mag.editor@rscds.org
Around the world in 13 Scottish Country Dances Marcela Galve and Maria Solange Grimoldi
Around the World in 13 Scottish Country Dances is a publication aimed at primary school children published by the BASC Dancers in Buenos Aires. It includes 13 dances with music and some background on an animal that lives in that area of the world, with either a short story to introduce the character or a fact file. Additionally, there are 13 games and activities relating to each dance to reinforce the things learnt about the animals. After each dance description there are ‘Find out’ questions where the children (and adults!) can find out a bit more about each animal. The dances vary in difficulty with many of them allowing the dancer to develop their footwork but also other elements of good technique such as covering, teamwork, handing and eye contact. Each dance has a tune to accompany it, which relates to the part of the world that the dance is about. This leads to some of the tunes being well known to some of us and other tunes being more unusual but still fitting the dance. The first dance is Cornie, the Unicorn, Joins the Dance which is a four couple 32 bar jig. There is a simple cast to the bottom as the form of progression, with four bar turns with right hand and left hand also in the dance. This allows for practice of phrasing and covering to name just a couple of the technique elements that can be introduced and worked on to give a great presentation of the dance. The first strathspey in the book is called Meet Mrs Kiwi. This is for three couples in a four couple longwise set and so the introduction of doing a dance with the top three couples and then again with the bottom three couples is introduced at a tempo where things are a little less frantic. It does include a progressive promenade to bring the first couple to second place, but the other formations in the dance are more straightforward. Sakura Invites You to Tokyo is the only square set in the 13 dances. It is built up of simple formations with either the first and third couples dancing followed by the second and fourth couples, or the girls dancing and then the boys. This allows dancers to learn the valuable idea of watching what other dancers are doing if they have that moment of forgetting what they are supposed to be doing. Dart the Dragon introduces moving pas de basque in both a variation on balance in line and a poussette. It is nice to see the poussette being used as the progression in the dance as it is often overlooked by devisers, myself included, as newer (are they really improved?) formations are used. The last dance in the book, Ethan from Australia, is the trickiest. It has some good step transitions and I think will be a good dance to use for eye contact and awareness of the other dancers in the set. All the dances are well written with different things to concentrate on in each dance. I can see children and adult beginners enjoying each of the dances as they master the different formations and technique. For those teaching new dancers, whether they are children or adults, I would recommend buying a copy of this book. It allows for great fun while learning, together with finding out a little more about the world we all live in. Alasdair Brown, Glasgow Branch Available from the RSCDS Leeds Branch shop: http://rscdsleeds. uk/index.php?id_product=1274&controller=product
Further Ado Scottish Country Dances by Hedge and Hughes This book is a combined music and dance project by Lydia Hedge from Nova Scotia, who has written the dances, and Maurice Gilbert (Gillie) Hughes of Belfast, who has composed the tunes. It was a delight listening to the music while imagining each dance being enjoyed on the dance floor. With clear and concise instructions for each dance it was an easy and pleasurable task. The book comprises instructions for two reels, two jigs and five strathspeys each with its own tune. Gilbert’s music has been impeccably matched to the dance compositions – there is also a bonus tune for a waltz. He has also suggested accompanying tunes, and for the dancers, Keith Rose has provided dance diagrams. As I get older, and learning new dances becomes more of a challenge, it is always a relief when dance instructions are in short sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. Further Ado’s dance instructions are perfect for me! The title dance Further Ado, a reel, affirms the joy of a toetapping tune which made me want to get up and dance. It’s a busy tune with lots of notes which is perfect accompaniment to the dance which includes double triangles and ends with six hands round and back. Arthur Govan’s Here, a strathspey, is a gentle but strong tune. Unhurried, allowing for lots of stretch and grace while dancing, it ends with an all-round poussette which fits perfectly with the flow of the dance. A View of the Moon is a jig danced in a square set. The music melds beautifully with the movements of the dance - circles, set and link and turning as if orbiting the moon as the notes state. The Branches of the Yew are Evergreen a strathspey in a longwise set, includes the formations allemande into set and link. The strength of the music prevails throughout. Gold in my Pocket is a jig. The tune is uplifting and cheery. This dance is well kent, being devised by The Gay Gordons in 2012. It includes two new formations: a lady-boy chain and the kissing gate formation, so worth a try. The strathspey, Gillie’s Garters, flows beautifully with a half turn, then pulling back right shoulder and dancing to the opposite side followed by corner pass and turn – both with lots of drive and flight, the tune again matched perfectly to the movements of the dance. Bird in the Hand, danced in a three-couple longwise set, offers movement and progression throughout with a cheerful tune to match. The strathspey, Bennet’s Brae, includes the formation corners pass and twirl and ends with one of my favourite movements, diagonal rights and lefts. The wonderful tune made me imagine I was stepping lightly up that brae on my dancing feet! The last dance in the book is a real treat. The Minnowburn, a 4-couple strathspey, emulates the journey of the stream as it makes its way through Belfast, eventually becoming a river. The music follows the journey of the dance where there is fast flowing water, busy rivulets, and intricate patterns along the way. Music and dance are inextricably linked, perhaps because Gillie Hughes wrote both! I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to preview the book and music and look forward to dancing the dances one day. Theresa MacVarish Clark, Edinburgh branch Book available now from TACbooks: https://books.tac-rscds.org/ The CD is in preparation. Reviews continued on page 29 w
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