strathspey@strathspey.org:28042

Adam Hughes

Re: Lead up - which hand?

Nov. 5, 2001, 1:19 p.m. (Message 28042, in reply to message 28041)

Hi Pat,

I'm not entirely convinced that Arbeau is a good manual for SCD... :) 
One of the definite changes over the 350 years between Arbeau and the
RSCDS is the move from holding hands at hip level to holding hands at
shoulder level (the W shape we all love).

But, I agree with the point.  You can look to historical sources all you
like, but the details were not written down (in any of the ones I am
familiar with).  Possibly you can interpret the Arbeau's picture of a
reverence in that way, but they could easily have changed hand hold
specifically for the reverence, although Arbeau would most likely have
mentioned that.

We dance the way we dance because of peer pressure in the present.  SCD
is a tradition, and tradition is about passing information from person
to person.  A tradition is living, and to say we should do something
different because that is how it used to be done, is to miss that
point.  The tradition evolves, or it stagnates.

We dance now, not in the past.

Adam
Cambridge, UK.