[SCA-Dance] Dance games and how we dance, was Re: Maltese Branle vs SCA Maltese

David Learmonth david.a.learmonth at gmail.com
Tue Oct 11 19:56:47 EDT 2011


Ah, right, I was doing off the top of my head and I knew there were a few
key ones I had missed.

Yes, definitely I agree, Montarde is one of my most useful bransles for this
purpose.  I like to say it is good for those people who say they have "2
left feet".  :)

Ah, and Scottish, definitely fun, I really like it / them.  Not a bad one
potentially to use, interesting and bouncy enough.  You just have to be able
to make sure people can figure out the latter bransle of the two.  Seems it
can throw people for a loop a bit.

Hay I haven't done often.  I think the double bransle suite are the ones I
am least familiar with.  (surprisingly I actually have done Poitou and
Trihory.  They are fun, but weird, and aerobic).


Yes, you may be correct in some of the aspects of what works for the general
populous, in regards to types of dance.  I've actually noted that in the
even later evolutions of country dance, you seem to have a lot that get into
the style of long lines of couples, progressing, with reasonably short
sequences of steps.  (Contra dance, and later progressive ECDs).  I think
what tends to work in these cases seems also to be that the figures, once
you are used to the style, can be taught fairly quickly, but then you
actually will dance such a dance for 10 minutes at a time.  So the
dance:teaching ratio is favourable, compared to some of the ones we do.  But
again, if we were in a society where more people danced these dances more
frequently, and throughout their lives, then you could probably pack in more
dancing and less instruction even in our styles.

Anyway, just thinking.  :)

Darius


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