June 15, 2001, 4:08 p.m. (Message 26360, in reply to message 26355)
Regarding barn dances vs. schottisches: Brian seems to be missing the point in my previous. The point of intersection of barn dances, schottishcess, ecossaises is their strathspeyness: the step step step hop. By simply mentioning an example of how one faces in one form does not change their common essence. Yes, barn dances are round the room couple dances, but at the same time by their step, barn dances are schottishces and therefore ecossaises. Since I don't know of any barn dances that do not use this step, I would say that a barn dance is a subset of a schottische. Simply describing the step in French does not change this. When you say "quite different", you both fail to explain the difference and cite any specific reference to the Fletts. Of course the barn dance as a programmed schottishe is boring when the tune is played with too many repetitions, which is why the unprogrammed schottishe is probably intended by these long versions as the boredom is releaved by the breaking of what is essentially a round dance into a freestyle slow polka with an infinite number of variations as in ball room dancing.