strathspey@strathspey.org:44561

Ian Brockbank

RE: Difference Between Briefing a dance and Recapping a Dance

March 8, 2006, 11:17 a.m. (Message 44561, in reply to message 44528)

Andrew Buxton wrote:

> Here in Sussex, there is a dance happening somewhere almost 
> every Saturday.  We can't possibly practise in class every 
> dance on every programme even once (despite quite a lot of 
> overlap between programmes) and someone wanting to go to one 
> of those may well be unable to attend the particular class 
> when it's practised.  So I don't think it's fair to expect 
> that people going to events will be fully confident of every dance.
>    
>   We've discussed the difficulty for visitors of getting 
> partners (and a place in a set) for each dance.  If you have 
> to check Pilling or a printed briefing in the gap between 
> dances there's even less chance of getting in.  If you know 
> there's going to be a briefing you can have more confidence 
> in asking someone.

That's an argument for a recap.  It's not an argument for reading
out the full text of the instructions.  If they can't get it from
a brief recap, they won't get it from the full text.

I don't know if we're arguing different things here.  The original
posting had the instructions given twice before the dance started,
and the subsequent explanation implied the first set of instructions
was a full teach of the dance.  To me that's overkill.  It's too
much to take in all at once, and it won't stop me going wrong.  A
quick recap should be enough for people to go "oh yes".  If they
need more then I really doubt that any amount of talking will do,
and they'll have to rely on the rest of the set.  If instructions
can be sent out in advance, that would allow people to do some
swotting (if the information goes in that way for them).

Of course there may be one or two more complicated or less well
known dances on the programme which do merit a bit more.  But these
should be the exception.  (If they're the rule, then the group needs
to rethink its programmes...)

Ian Brockbank
Edinburgh, Scotland
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