strathspey@strathspey.org:61071

Heiko Schmidt

Re: Tandem Reels (was Re: Reels in Bishop of Columbus)

July 8, 2011, 1:22 p.m. (Message 61071, in reply to message 61068)

Hi,

>> Never understood why anyone would call them "tandem" reels.  You
don't see couples riding tandem bicycles getting off and changing
seats every time the road curves.  Nor, to change the subject, have I
ever understood the term "barn-door" turns for the figure in which one
partner turns another person by right hand and the other partner turns
another by the left hand.  Barn doors don't and can't revolve 360
degrees.
>>
>> Mike Briggs
> Yep - illogical!  That name assignment happened in 2005 when the
RSCDS updated the manual.  Having published Pelorus Jack as an RSCDS
dance, the Society seems to have decided they needed to name what I'd
usually heard called "double switchback tandem reels" (two wordy) as
simply "reel of three in tandem."  What I think of as a "tandem reel"
is what we do in bars 9-16 and 17-24 of Ferla Mor - 1M following 1W
throughout with no change of lead.  Had the RSCDS published Ferla Mor,
I suspect we'd have gotten more logical formation names:  "Reel of
three in tandem" being what we do in Ferla Mor, and "reel of three in
tandem with change of lead" for Pelorus Jack.
>
> "Shadow reels" is a new term for me; it's certainly not in the RSCDS
lexicon (but neither are the more commonly used "mirror reels" a.k.a.
"reflection reels").

"Shadow reels" is the name Terry gave it in the dance's description. In 
my imagination, one dancer is following her/his partner like a shadow, 
i.e. dancing as one item.

Chris Ronald gives a nice overview over the history of the terms shadow, 
tandem, dolphin and falcon reels in his book "12 Scottish County Dances".
According to that Barry Skelton used the term "tandem reels" first in 
the publication of "Pelorus Jack" in RSCDS Book 41.

I also stick to Chris' decision to use "shadow reels" when the partners 
do not change lead and "dolphin reels" in case they do. The latter term 
I had learned quite a while before hearing the term "tandem reels", 
which I agree is not logical for a movement changing the lead... a 
hilarious picture to imagine on a tandem, but I do not want to be part 
of the experiment.

Differently to this, in "petronella in tandem" the term is more 
intuitive as there is no change of lead.

I have never heard of "barn-door" turns yet (is there an example?). The 
term "revolving doors" seem to be more abundant here, e.g. to describe 
the turns at the end of the "Tournee".


If you are interested in an electronic copy of Chris Ronald's book "12 
Scottish County Dances" which contains the text on those reels, he 
offered to send it on request in his post on "Re: The Strathspey 
Anniversary Challenge (8 years later)" (26.5.2011).

Cheers,
Heiko