strathspey@strathspey.org:8377

Angus Henry

Re: Mairi's Wedding

July 31, 1997, 1:22 p.m. (Message 8377, in reply to message 8345)

>The very first Social I attended had Mairi's Wedding on the programme.  I
>was apprehensive about venturing out and had, I hoped, learnt most of the
>dances on the programme.  My friend (also a new dancer) and I decided that
>we knew Mairi's Wedding well enough to take our place on the floor.
>Imagine our horror when we found the first couple dancing reels which were
>certainly NOT the reels we had learnt - it very nearly put me off SCD
>forever.  It is also worth noting that of the 8 people in that particular
>set FOUR of them were certificated teachers!  And all of them knew that we
>were very new dancers!
>
>Again I guess it gets back to one of my favourite "hobbyhorses" and that is
>that teachers really do need to set a reasonably good example.
>
>Now that I am teaching I do tell dancers what they are likely to experience
>BUT I much prefer my own class to dance dances as they are written (I must
>admit that I do have some renegades!)
>
>Jan Wilson
>Sydney, Australia


Hear Hear!  If you want to dance SCD, why not dance Mairi's Wedding?  It IS
a dance written by Jimmy Cosh.   If you want to turn somersaults, swing on
a trapeze, spin like a top or do the splits etc, why not join a circus or
take up gymnastics?  (:-^).

Vive la difference!

(I once danced Mairi's Wedding with a (big!) partner who knew the correct
way, but chose without warning to charge into a right shoulder pass in the
half reels.   She thought it was funny - I said nothing, but behaved
politely.  A few days later I partnered her in General Stuart's Reel; after
turning 2nd corners left hand, I danced a right shoulder pass (following
the same principle).  She did not think it was funny - I said nothing but
behaved politely.)

Angus


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