strathspey@strathspey.org:8355

Irene Van Maarseveen

Re: Mairi's Wedding

July 30, 1997, 11:28 p.m. (Message 8355, in reply to message 8323)

Going back to the "dating" bit that started this topic off,
and using that as an excuse to continue the discussion ...  
If you're tired of it, delete this.  

Colin Garrett said he thinks Mairi's Wedding was first published in
1959, and that it then clearly specified that the dancing couple
should pass left shoulders in the half reels of four.  

James Cosh's letter to The Reel was printed in 1961, and dispels any
myths that his original intention or preference was other than what
was actually published.

The edition I have of the booklet was printed in or after 1973, and
still says to pass left shoulders.

Colin also said:
> I once asked James about this and he said 
> "Do what is comfortable!"
That, AFAIK, is _new_ information to this list.

I'm assuming we can take that as factual (sorry, Colin, I don't know
you).  _When_ was that?  Did James/Jimmy Cosh eventually resign
himself to the fact that very many people evidently think that the
reels are more fun or flow better passing right shoulders?  Was he
later _comfortable_ with that variation on his dance?

A number of people (now too many to name) have pointed out that:
-  a dance should be taught (and danced) as written;
-  consistency makes it easier to dance in any group anywhere;
-  teachers should point out any variations that might be
   encountered;
-  unexpected variations in a dance can be distressing and
   confusing for inexperienced dancers;
-  such variations can lead to mishaps;  
-  dancers should consider the rest of the set;
-  if little embellishments are accepted in one dance, then why not
   others too;
-  some think variations can be more fun or "better", some disagree.

Ok.  Good points.  

Personally, I always preferred the right-shoulders version of the
Mairi's Wedding reels - and we used to believe that that was, in
fact, the _original_ (though unpublished) way.  Then I heard, via Ron
Mackey's quote of the letter in The Reel, that James Cosh
specifically wanted people to pass left shoulders.  Frankly, for me
that has put a damper on a dance which I used to think of as a
"last-on-the-programme-and-just-let-your-hair-down-and-have-fun" one.
Passing left shoulders is a bit restrained (and can be awkward if
either person dances the loops a bit wide), and passing right
shoulders is going against the clear wish of the deviser.

Do we really need to make such an issue of this particular variation
in this particular dance?  After all -
-  it directly affects only you and your partner;  
-  beginners could in any case potentially be confused by the reels,
   as there are some dances in which the dancing couple _should_ pass
   right shoulders;
-  we do make minor adaptations to other dances, such as all joining
   in for a final circle when it should only be three couples; 
-  some dances have been revised since their initial publication, and
   a modified version later republished; and
-  there are other dances in which regional variations are recognised
   (eg The Robertson Rant).

To add one more date: James Cosh died in October 1995.

Irene van Maarseveen  
Pretoria, South Africa  
xxxxxxxx@xxxx.xx.xx