Thread
Index
How Long a Beginner?
Ron Macnaughton
Nov. 19, 1998, 4:54 a.m. (Message 14658)
I had a discussion at our monthly dance about how long someone should attend classes before participating in social groups, general dances and major balls. I my case (with two left feet and no two right arms, or at least usually the wrong one) I went to social groups (where dances are walked) after 3 months, general monthly dances after 5 months of dancing and major balls (sometimes without briefing, but with lots of study) in a year and a half. I've heard comments from some very experienced SCDers that most people should spend about two years at classes before moving to higher levels of dancing. Maybe, but (a) Don't we want to encourage as many new dancers as possible to progress to the most enjoyable phases of dancing? (b) Many experienced dancers (including me) make lots of mistakes, sometimes more than beginners so the quality of dancing might not be that reduced. (c) I suspect most newer dancers would want to continue classes to improve their skills anyway. I ask for comments from teachers of beginners on how long should a keen new dancer wait before dancing outside their classroom? Ron Macnaughton Bolton Ontario
Hi I and the branch with which I dance have always felt that people should be encouraged to dance when and where ever possible-It may be wise to teach/advise beginning dancers to be wise/polite enough to ask a supportive experienced dancer whether a dance is so advanced that his/her dancing would mess things up for more experienced people or frustrating for a newer dancer. I've always felt that the prigs who say"Beginners keep out" are not in tune with the principles of SCD or of civilized society.Usually they are no where near such good dancers as they think they are,either. Kirk Bachler
--------------7322EF1342FC94E4D550E8EB Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854"; x-mac-creator="4D4F5353" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit This may not be the input you wanted, but regarding beginners: I certainly had no idea what I was getting into when I started dancing nearly four years ago, and if 'classes' had been my only exposure to SCD, I mightn't be dancing now. Not to disparage any of the wonderful teachers to whom I am deeply indebted, but there is something to be said for the 'romance' of a ball. Being whisked around the room in a dream of a dance, learning to appreciate the power of the music, meeting new people, seeing friends from class in formal attire--these were some of the enchanting aspects to me as a beginner. The clouds of innocent oblivion were (and still are!) kindly lifted by more experienced dancers with grace equal to that of the dance itself. We all reciprocate the times when we couldn't tell our first corner from the next set by helping dancers newer than ourselves. Why restrict the glamorous side of SCD to experienced dancers? It can be overwhelming at first, but seeing the jubilation possible beyond the classroom can be great motivation to improve. Genevieve Moore Asheville, North Carolina, USA --------------7322EF1342FC94E4D550E8EB Content-Type: text/html; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit <HTML> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> This may not be the input you wanted, but regarding beginners: <P>I certainly had no idea what I was getting into when I started dancing nearly four years ago, and if 'classes' had been my only exposure to SCD, I mightn't be dancing now. Not to disparage any of the <U>wonderful </U>teachers to whom I am deeply indebted, but there is something to be said for the 'romance' of a ball. Being whisked around the room in a dream of a dance, learning to appreciate the power of the music, meeting new people, seeing friends from class in formal attire--these were some of the enchanting aspects to me as a beginner. The clouds of innocent oblivion were (and still are!) kindly lifted by more experienced dancers with grace equal to that of the dance itself. <P>We all reciprocate the times when we couldn't tell our first corner from the next set by helping dancers newer than ourselves. Why restrict the glamorous side of SCD to experienced dancers? It can be overwhelming at first, but seeing the jubilation possible beyond the classroom can be great motivation to improve. <BR> <P>Genevieve Moore <BR>Asheville, North Carolina, USA </BODY> </HTML> --------------7322EF1342FC94E4D550E8EB--
Hi - I recently started a group in Houston and am experimenting - new dancers come every week - the first hour the new dancers are shown steps and basic figures then the next two hours additional people show up and I go through dances with them, I select several dances with similar figures and do them progressively (i.e. first dance with promenade, second dance with an allemande, third dance with both a promenade and an allemande) - everyone helps everyone else and we're having a great time - when any social, ball, etc. is coming up that people in the group want to attend then we include dances from the program - I've had people after only five weeks successfully go to socials (giving them a list marking which ones not to try). I am also having guest teachers from other forms of dance come occasionally and teach. A combination of inexperienced people (in any form of dance), new Scottish dancers with prior experience in other forms of dance (who generally pick it up VERY quickly) and dancers who have danced quite a while make it possible for new people, in my opinion, to learn more quickly and more thoroughly and have more fun. Dianna Shipman email: xxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxx.xxx
When I started dancing it was at social dances and not a class. My paren= ts would walk through all the dances they thought I could manage in the afte= rnoon and then we would go at night to the dance. Once I was seven and conside= red old enough to go to a class, I went, but still kept walking through the dance= s before we went anywhere. I think a lot depends on the group you are dancing with. If they are rea= sonably experienced and willing to help then it is not a problem, but it they hav= e enopugh trouble getting themselves through the dances, never mind anyone = else, then I would suggest waiting a while. A friend of mine just started dancing in September and attended his first= social last week on the basis that he could now do reels of three. Se=F3naid
I was attending monthly parties after two months, devising dances after five months (mostly because it helped me to learn to read pillings, but one or two weren't half bad), and attended my first Valentine's Ball (no briefings, no pillings, quite formal) after six months - and was able to dance about two-thirds of the program, including an all-female Reel of the 51st which I will never forget! (Well, we weren't about to let ourselves be left out. The gents could have all the attention if they liked, but not all the fun!) But then, I'd had half a year of very informal semi-SCD taught through a Renaissance Re-enactment group, not to mention a few years of modern dance and ballet as a youngster ( many years ago). And after my fourth month of proper SCD classes I attended a second weekly session, at which point I noticed the rate at which I learned accelerated quite noticeably. So perhaps how long one is a beginner can be influenced not only by number of months or years and whatever native talent one may be fortunate enough to possess; but also by what other dance experience one has had, and by how many nights a week one dances. In my case both of the latter made all the difference in the world. Slainte, Michelle Dunsmuir Scottish Dancers San Francisco Bay Area How long a beginner?
At Linlithgow Scottish Country Dance Club _which is not a class_ the evening has three sections... 7.45-8.45 - everything walked thro 9.00-10.00 - everything briefed, but not walked 10.00-10.30 - Stretcher Session - usually a single more difficult dance walked thro for those still on two feet. This gives opportunities for a dancer to strut his/her stuff at various levels. There is a small beginners class on another evening in the week, but sometimes dancers cant make that evening so turn up at the social dancing session to be dragged thro till they improve. This perhaps the best way for dancers to encourage new members to keep going. It is also fair to say that some people stay beginners for a very long time:-) -- Bryan McAlister
Ron Macnaughton wrote: > > I had a discussion at our monthly dance about how long someone should > attend classes before participating in > social groups, general dances and major balls. The Ardbae SCD'ers in Ottawa invite beginners to attend the second monthly social. Their teacher prepares a list of the dances that they can do (with instructions), and the program is designed so that they can dance at least half or more. They also learn the dances during class. I am pleased to say that we had a goodly number of them attend our last social, and that they did very well! Our annual Ball is in January (Burn's Night). Beginners are not encouraged to attend in their first year, but it is certainly allowed, and we have a "spectator" ticket that allows 4 or so dances. We have had beginners in the past who could dance most of the evening on a full ticked successfully, although this is not altogether common. We also co-host a Beginner's Ball (in April or May) with the Ottawa Branch RSCDS, which is usually well attended. And fun! We are lucky to have a school with two adjacent gymnasia. The beginners dance by themselves for the first few weeks, but then they join the intermediates half-way through the evening. They really enjoy this, and we have found that they progress quite rapidly. Of course, some of you who dance with groups with only one class will think this is no big deal! But, we find that this mixing really adds to the social nature of the dancing as well as improving quality.
Thinking back to the time that I went to a class, I think one of the most fundamental things that I did to progress was a - To record every dance I did on the back page of my Pillings. b. -To read through the Pillings version during the 2-3 minutes before the next dance. This helped me learn Pillings as well as fix the dances in my mind. Strangely the teacher reprimanded me for doing this, which I ignored as I had learned about Pillings years earlier while playing for SCD and new very well that Pillings was the best short source for SCD. The point about this is that it seems important that new dancers be shown the importance of preparation and a cost effective reference source for the dances. It seems essential nowadays to mug up dances before big occasions and therefore everyone should be prepared for this process. -- Bryan McAlister
> Thinking back to the time that I went to a class, I think one of the > most fundamental things that I did to progress was > a - To record every dance I did on the back page of my Pillings. > b. -To read through the Pillings version during the 2-3 minutes before > the next dance. This helped me learn Pillings as well as fix the dances > in my mind. > > Strangely the teacher reprimanded me for doing this, which I ignored as > I had learned about Pillings years earlier while playing for SCD and new > very well that Pillings was the best short source for SCD. > > The point about this is that it seems important that new dancers be > shown the importance of preparation and a cost effective reference > source for the dances. > It seems essential nowadays to mug up dances before big occasions and > therefore everyone should be prepared for this process. > -- > Bryan McAlister > > -- > Bryan McAlister <xxxxx@xxxxxxxx.xxxxx.xx.xx> > > Hi, You can now buy your Pillings from RSCDS HQ in Edinburgh ! Cheers, Ron :) < 0 Ron Mackey, 'O> Mottingham, /#\ London. UK. l> xxx.xxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.xxx
How Long a Beginner? A long time, if you stay in a "beginners' class" where the only model is the teacher. There is more imitative reinforcement of bad habits (seven bad models in each set!) than positive reinforcement from the one teacher who cannot be in everyone's line of sight the whole time. Not so long, if a few beginners are surrounded by more experienced dancers, who will allow them to get the feel for SCD fairly quickly, and provide constant --but silent ! -- reminders of the way things should be done. I have only once taught a weekend workshop with no experienced dancers at all -- was it hard work! The kind of discipline we are used to (straight lines, pointed toes, correct posture, timing, ...) was completely foreign to the experience of these total beginners, and I found I was playing the part of the strict school-teacher in order to get any results at all. I was patient with them (just), they were patient with me, and by Sunday afternoon, we were beginning to enjoy ourselves and performing dances that looked the way they ought to (well, more or less). But this was intensive training. With short weekly classes, there is ample time for the particular characteristics of SCD to be forgotten. Every year, I get beginners in my regular club nights, and, as long as we don't allow them to dance together, they do not peturb the group, as most of the more experienced dancers are ready give a helping hand, and the spirit of cooperation remains dominant. I also have a separate beginners' class, but only because I was asked to run it in a local social centre. It's not my ideal, and the dancers there are not making the progress they would surely make in a mixed-level class. My wife, Genevieve, sometimes tells the story of her first visit to St Andrews summer school (before which she had learnt some stepwork and that's all), when the organizers arranged a special beginners' class just for her. The other dancers were not beginners, and some of them did nothing to hide their displeasure. My wife felt uncomfortable and discouraged and wondered why she had come. Luckily, by midweek, it was decided that the beginners class should be dicontinued and she was placed with the intermediates. After which she began to enjoy her dancing, progressed, and has never looked back. If she had remained in the so-called beginners class, she would have wasted her whole stay in St A, and might well have given up SCD all together. >From this experience, Genevieve sometimes relieves me of the task of pointing out that we were all beginners once, and only ceased to be beginners thanks to the patience and understanding of our fellow dancers. It's a pity that such reminders are necessary, but some beginners can be discouraged so easily by impatient gestures and remarks from others. Without new blood, small groups such as we have here would be doomed to die. Martin, Grenoble, France. ------------------ http://perso.wanadoo.fr/scots.in.france/ Cycling, country dancing ...
