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0AM7L@SIA
Jan. 28, 2006, 3:48 p.m. (Message 43905)
About workshops: Not everyone is 'local' and has had the luxury of practicing 16+ dances weeks ahead of time like the sponsoring branch has. We Detroiters can attend workshops in neighboring states and Ontario, and we're lucky if we get to do even some of the dances once before we go. (If Branch dancers are going to different events, it's impossible to work on ALL those dances, so we have to 'take turns' requesting dances.) With new & intermediate dancers, they're heading to an out-of-town weekend with only a brief review (if any) of 16-18 dances in their heads, and don't need a strange new dance sprung on them (been there, done that, more times than I care to remember). They are going because it's a _workshop_ and they need work on their _skills_, not a larger repertoire of dances. I am speaking from the dancer's standpoint, _not_ the teacher. The only reason my husband and I attend workshops any more is to encourage our new dancers to go. I'm thinking of them and their jam-packed brains. 1st and 2nd year dancers NEED someone other than their regular teacher to 'whip them into shape' but not fear losing them. Many people don't absorb 'polite' suggestions from their teachers about improving their technique, and need an independent party to get through to them (i.e., workshop leader). A workshop should be to improve one's dancing skills. Our regular teachers can teach us new and/or complicated dances any time. No need to drive a couple hours for that. I've made my suggestion, and I can see it's been taken to heart (by some). That's all I ask. Margaret
As a long time dancer and a teacher and with a wife who is relatively new to SCD I agree most heartily that "away events" should be for fun and /or skill development. The best workshops I've attended were those that improved skills and gave new/fresh insight into dancing and technique rather than experiences of "dance collecting". The best social events or balls were those that were fun with a bit of challenge but NOT a string of arcane or "hotshot" dances especially those that require "rehearsal" Kirk Bachler Twin Cities Branch ,Minneapolis,Mn We have met the enemy and he is us!
I find I like workshops that teach technique and new figures. We always schedule a ball walkthrough on Saturday afternoon for those who'd like to review the dances on the evening's ball program. Sue Chicago, IL USA Shameless plug: our annual weekend workshop is the second weekend in June: http://rscds-chicago.org (click "Events") -- Susan McKinnell xxxxxx@xxxxxx.xxx http://suedan.com "A house without a cat, and a well-fed, well-petted, and properly revered cat, may be a perfect house, perhaps, but how can it prove its title?" - Mark Twain, The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson
Hi Margaret, > They are going because it's a _workshop_ and they need work on their > _skills_, not a larger repertoire of dances. There are so many dances out there that the emphasis should be on learning dancing, not dances. By which I mean learning the standard figures and steps and how to fit them together. If you take that approach, and don't try to remember individual dances as whole units, it really doesn't matter whether the skills are taught in the dance from the evening or in a different dance, since they are transferable. In fact, the skills may be _better_ taught in a different dance which allows the figure to be concentrated on better. If I went to a workshop and dance, and the workshop was just a teaching session for the dances from the evening, I would feel cheated. The reason I go to workshops is to learn new figures/techniques and get a different perspective from that given by my usual teacher. I don't learn dances to add to my repertoire - I learn figures. That way what I learn is useful even if I never do the dance again. Having said that, in Edinburgh we usually have two dances in the evening dance following our day school nominated as "Teacher's Choice" - the idea being that this is a chance to try out one of the dances from each class in a social setting. Cheers, Ian Brockbank Edinburgh, Scotland xxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx http://www.scottishdance.net/