Talking About Curves

Anselm Lingnau

Message 53006 · 8 Jul 2008 23:25:07 · Fixed-width font · Whole thread

Campbell Tyler wrote:

> So Gypsy etc means nothing to me. Pat says that new SCDs
> are incorporating them. Are they called something different in SCD? Can
> you give me an example of SCD dances containing these figures?

Gypsy turns are turns without hands, but with eyes. This can be great when
you're dancing with that very special person, but the formation does tempt
people to stare, and, as Pat already mentioned, many people do not especially
enjoy being ogled by the »wrong« person for seconds at a time. (This sort-of
begs the question of whether there isn't the same problem in turns *with*
hands; the answer to that is probably that, in a »handed« turn, you can allow
yourself to look elsewhere every so often -- e.g., to check your covering --,
while in the gypsy turn the eyes are what basically holds the turn together,
so looking away is that much more difficult.) Hence, gypsy turns are viewed
with a certain reservation in some circles. In principle, eye contact is one
of the important »flavour-giving ingredients« in SCD, but like all spices it
is best used in moderation.

On the other hand, it's not as if gypsy turns are about to take the SCD world
by storm. They are a bit of a novelty these days, but I think that on the
whole we enjoy giving hands so much that we'll be unlikely to do away with
regular turns anytime soon. Give me the final four bars of »Up in the Air«
and you can have all the gypsy turns I've stashed at the back of my
wardrobe :^) (I suppose that in a pinch I could always move to
Charlottesville and dance with Pat.)

> And on a broader note, does anyone think that we are heading towards BCD
> (British Country Dancing)? As is happening in so many other endeavours of
> life, do you think we shall all eventually migrate to one uniform grey
> monotone? Or will SCD always be different, going its own way and not
> absorbing or being absorbed?

We do absorb ideas from elsewhere but not all of them really catch on (which
is probably a good thing). It is important to try new things to see if they
are any good. However, »BCD« could only develop if SCD and ECD were actually
heading toward a middle ground, which I don't see happening (not that I'm any
kind of expert on ECD). IMHO, by now the two forms have diverged enough that
any attempt to fuse them would presumably lead to a third, new form, to the
very vocal dissent of many people who enjoy their SCD *or* ECD just the way
it is, thank you very much.

Anselm
--
Anselm Lingnau, Friedberg, Germany ..................... xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
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