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Teaching and guns
Andrea Re
March 14, 2006, 1:15 a.m. (Message 44693)
Ron Mackey ha scritto: >> 2) SCD footwork is easy. No, let me say this better, SCD footwork is >> VERY easy, especially compared to other forms of dancing like ballroom, >> highland, salsa, etc. There are only 5 steps to be mastered and the most >> difficult one (PdB in my opinion) doesn't take years of classical >> training to learn. The proof of what I am saying is that /I/ can do it.... >> > > Andrea, > You are young, agile and have physical energy to > spare. I know, I have watched you dance. > What do you tell someone of 50+,say, who wants to dance? > "Don't bother - you'll never master sufficient technique? You'll only > slow us down? You'll make us look shoddy?" > > Instead of thinking of technique just thank the powers that > you can do it to your own satisfaction. Many of us would love to but > no longer can oor even never could. Will you deny us the floor? > > The head, the hands and timing are FAR more important > than feet! > They are a luxury for the, comparatively, few. > Dear Ron, it's well past my bedtime, but I shall try to reply to your message. I am not saying that only Nureyev and Margot Fontaine should do SCD. SCD is suited for everybody and everybody should be allowed to progress as far as they wish to. However new dancers should be given enough info to get by and then they can decide for themselves whether to progress or not. Whatever they do, they will still be able to enjoy dancing IF properly instructed. As somebody pointed out (Anselm, I think) a class should allow a newcomer to understand in a reasonable short period of time that all these (allegedly) incredibly difficult dances are made of only 5 steps (which, I insist, are easy for any standard and especially if compared to Cape Breton, Highland or ballroom, to mention but a few) and 36 basic formations (number taken from the new manual). In my view, a class (I am not talking about a "social club") for beginners/intermediate must provide all this. OK, one has to put it in such a way that it is fun, etc., etc., but that should not deter from the final objective, which is to make sure that people can pick up a dance in one minute as it is recapped. If people are unsure about their footwork, their attention will be misplaced; if they are not able to recognize 1/2 RL, again they will be late for the following 8 bars. Besides, lowering one's expectations is not in general a good policy (although it does spare you a lot of disappointments): if you aim high people will adjust to a higher standard; if you aim low, especially at the beginning, it is going to be difficult to reverse the trend. SCD101 is not something that has to be in everybody's curriculum, especially at this high and energetic level that you, Ron, are talking about, but new dancers have to know that there is a choice: if you want, and you can, you are allowed to be energetic, work on your PdB and so on. If you are not that into that stuff - in other words, if they have a life :-) - then you can just enjoy dancing at a different level. One of my ex pupils from my beginners' class of 2 years ago has managed to improve, after a rather shaky start, to a level that allows him to go to dances. He is not interested in improving, doing dems, etc., but he enjoys dancing; instead of attending classes he goes to dances and now he is attending a Siroc (spelling?) class, since he feels that in SCD he has gone as far as he wants to (I have to stress that he goes SCdancing almost every week end). So he didn't turn out the way I would have wanted him (although he went a long way further than I would have ever envisaged, especially at the start), but what the heck, he enjoys it, pays his subscription, knows his steps (in some fashion or other) and knows the difference between hands across and hands round. What else can one ask for? If you go to a class where everything is sedate, you go through a few dances, the teacher never bothers to tell you what you could do to improve this or that, you don't get pointed out what key formations to learn, he doesn't invite you to use your hands or count the bars (as you yourself very rightly point out), then.... what is the point in going? The teacher is there to stretch your abilities, to make you want to improve; age is irrelevant. Branches need to expand, run both "social clubs" and classes at various level. Alas, this is not the case, and has not been the case for a long time now; the "social" (and I use the word "social" disparagingly in this context) aspect of SCD is what seems to count. The result? Ageing population and low standards. Gosh, it is weeeelllll past my bedtime now. Nighty, night, Andrea (fae Dundee) PS Ron, thank you for the "young, agile and with physical energy to spare" :-D
<< I am not saying that only Nureyev and Margot Fontaine should do SCD. SCD is suited for everybody and everybody should be allowed to progress as far as they wish to. >> I like the last bit of this "as far as they wish to be" So many people are physically or mentally incapable of progressing beyond a certain point. But they enjoy dancing none-the-less. Incidentally, I performed on stage with both of these dancers when I was a teen. Margot was every bit a lady with a kind manner about her. Nureyev....well that's another story. Bob McMurtry
Andrea - they are both dead - and well above 50 both of them :>) > Dear Ron, it's well past my bedtime, but I shall try to reply to your message. I am not saying that only Nureyev and Margot Fontaine should do SCD. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.1/279 - Release Date: 10/03/2006
Has anyone come across this kind of dancer? An Englishman and his wife have been dancing with us here for some years now. When they first turned up, I never thought they would continue, they just did not appear to be dancers. But they have stayed, and little by little, have learned the steps. When we do skipchange or strathspey round the room for little practise or warm-up, this gentleman's steps are quite satisfactory (not quite Nureyev, but just as good as I see on visits to GB), but in a dance, while he is generally at the right place at the right time, there is no way I can get him to do anything like a Scottish step ! Should I be scolding him? Or be glad that he comes along regularly with enthusiasm and a friendly smile? Martin, in Grenoble, France.
I wouldn't scold him - he is obviously not 'multi-skilled' i.e. he can only concentrate on one thing at a time. Ladies I am NOT going to go there !!!!! :>) I would find a really, really easy dance that he knows to distraction, and ask the class to concentrate on one single thing in their footwork - like third position, and just see if that would help. Apart from that, enjoy that you obviously have taught him so well that he likes what he is doing. Pia
They are a delightful couple, I would be glad to have them, not only is he in the right place, but his non-steps are largely in time with the music. I would whinge about the problem child/children in our group too, but I fear that some of the group might be subscribers, and not happy with my analysis. David At 03:43 AM 3/15/2006, you wrote: >Has anyone come across this kind of dancer? > >An Englishman and his wife have been dancing with us here for some years now. When they first turned up, I never thought they would continue, they just did not appear to be dancers. But they have stayed, and little by little, have learned the steps. > >When we do skipchange or strathspey round the room for little practise or warm-up, this gentleman's steps are quite satisfactory (not quite Nureyev, but just as good as I see on visits to GB), but in a dance, while he is generally at the right place at the right time, there is no way I can get him to do anything like a Scottish step ! > >Should I be scolding him? >Or be glad that he comes along regularly with enthusiasm and a friendly smile? > >Martin, >in Grenoble, France. David Grubb <xxxx@xxxxxxx.xxx> Ithaca NY, USA