Intros and recaps

campbell

March 6, 2006, 1:23 p.m. (Message 44510)

Jim Healy writes
>>The second point (from the clarification of the difference in Doug’s
>>terminology between recap and brief) points up a growing trend that, in
>>my view, needs to be stopped. Recaps or whatever you want to call them
>>should be brief! I now flee the room whenever Quarries’ Jig (an
>>excellent dance) is on the programme because the ‘brief’ tends to
>>take longer than the dance.

This discussion prompts me to air my thoughts for our Cape Town Scottish
Ball in September, where we will have a wide variety of standards of
dancing, because the event is meant to promote SCD to a wider audience. 
Our plan is to have three categories of dance on the programme, all
identified by asterisks or whatever.  The first category will only be
briefly recapped and then danced, the message being - dont get on the
floor if you dont know the dance.  The second category will be described
in full and then danced - for those dancers who have been dancing
sufficiently long to feel confident they can follow a briefing. The third
category will be walked through - for those who are new to dancing.  We
hope in this way to avoid the Quarries Jig situation Jim describes above
(Quarries Jig is on the programme as a first category dance), speeding up
the process whilst still making a sizable part of the programme accessible
to the newer dancer.  What do you think?  Has anyone else tried this, has
it worked, do you have alternative suggestions for catering for a wide
range of abilities?

Campbell Tyler

SMiskoe

March 6, 2006, 2:37 p.m. (Message 44511, in reply to message 44510)

In theory the idea of telling the dancers which category of dance is on the  
program and hoping they will make intelligent decisions is great.  But I  
dont' feel it is very practical.  For instance -
A set needs a couple.  One experienced dancer is willing but there are  no 
other dancers who are experienced.  The set gets filled.  Or, as  the MC is 
pleading with someone to fill the set, an inexperienced couple takes  the floor.
New folks are encouraged to come and dance.  Everyone gets them up and  there 
is little regard for the level of difficulty.
Here in the US all dances are breifed, the conflict comes over walking or  
not walking through each dance.
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord, NH USA