The Teaching of Dance

[ This article appeared in volume 1 of the Letter of Dance. ]

I know that many of us love to dance. Even "non-dancers" like to dance. However, the most frustrating thing is to be told, "Oh, this dance may be too difficult for you because you don't know dance terminology." This, in itself, is a fallacy. I can do some very intricate dances, and though I have been dancing in and out of the SCA for over eleven years, I still do not know the names of some of the steps or dance sequences. This "lack of knowledge" has not stopped me yet from learning (and teaching) the dances to others.

In order to teach dance one should know dance. I am not saying that one should have formal training in classical ballet, but just a knowledge of how a dance is danced. For instance, if Lady Mary has attended every dance practice and can do Sellenger's Round backwards with her eyes closed, then she is a good candidate to teach Sellenger's Round. Although milady may not know all the dances, knowledge of one or two can be helpful to a dance master/instructor during those evenings when dance practice seems to be lasting forever and his voice is dying due to screaming dance instructions over the music to that one couple who always seem to go left when they should go right and go forward when they should go left. (No one laugh, we've all done it.) One of the only ways to know if you can teach a dance is to try teaching it. I will sometimes review dances that I have not done in a long time while listening to the music. I even do this before I teach the dance just to be sure. Dance masters/instructors should encourage new persons to teach, even if the dances they teach are the most simple dances. I feel a little honored when someone requests to teach a dance. It makes me feel that I have done my job well as a dance instructor.

I realize that not everyone will know how to dance. This is why I came up with "Cailtidh's guidelines to teaching dance." They are as follows:

• If everyone is where everyone should be at the time that everyone should be there, then the dance went well.
• If everyone is on the correct foot at the time and place that everyone should be on the aforementioned foot, then the dance went better than well.
• If everyone is on the correct foot, using the correct arm position, then the dance went better than better than well.
• If everyone is on the correct foot, using the correct arming position, with the correct partner, on the correct beat, using appropriate facial expressions, and looked beautiful in their attire, then pat yourself on the back for having well trained dancers.
• However, if no one was using any of the aforementioned "correctness," but had a great time and requests you to teach again, then you have done best.
• The most important thing to remember is that dancing is fun. If it were not fun, then why would we do it? (We certainly haven't made much money at it.) When teaching dance, mention that the dance begins with a certain dance movement or figure, then demonstrate it. Call it by its appropriate name, if known, but always make sure that when you say "worship figure" your dancers know what a worship figure is. Some dances do better calling the movements by their more modern names. For instance, when teaching Karabushka, I refer to the turn as a disco turn. I usually get moans and groans, but everyone knows what I mean.
• Remember that when travelling to other kingdoms (or regions within your own), that not everyone does the dances the same. (I have danced Black Nag seven different ways.) Do not assume that the way you know a dance is "the correct way." One has to remember that most dances were never written down. Those that were written down were mentioned as thus: "and they were dancing a wild dance in a circle with the ladies dancing to the inside and all skipping." I attended a girls' boarding school on the border of Scotland and learned "Road to the Isles" fourteen different ways. All of them "correct." I have always been interested to learn how a group dances their dances. I have even changed the way I have taught dances due to my liking them the "new" way. I also will most always do a walk-through of a dance before I do it at an event or revel. There will usually be at least one person who is not sure of all of the steps. Instead of making the person feel uncomfortable to the point that he wishes not to dance, walk through the dance once to familiarize (and refamiliarize) the person with the dance. It only takes a few minutes and you may find that someone who was positive of the dance forgot about that third verse.
• Dance is fun!! Dance is fun!! Dance is fun!! Make it so. Who wants to dance if he will be yelled at for bumping into someone or stepping on someone's toes due to forgetting the steps. I have even messed up on dances that I learned my first year in the Society and that I have done at almost every event I have attended. One of the best ways to make dance fun is to do it in a period fashion. That is, using lots of flirting and (non-malicious) gossip. While teaching pavannes (one up down two up down one two one up down), which tends to bore me after a while, I will strike up a conversation with my partner about the way that Lady Mary and Lord John clash. "How could she ever think about wearing that red dress if she knew that she would most likely end up dancing with him when everyone knows he always wears that garrish turquoise tunic." Or, "Can you believe the flamboyancy of Lord John wearing that red velvet doublet? Does he not know the cost of redying red??" Also any dance that has exchanges of partners, even if it is brief, had the availability of flirting.
• In closing keep in mind the first time that you danced and the horror you felt as people threw new terms and had you dance to music that you had never heard before. However, also keep in mind all of the fun times that you had dancing and what made it so. Experience is a great instructor. And even when you think that you "have learned it all" keep your mind open to the possibility that someone might know it a little bit differently, but still showing a period style. If everyone had a great time and requests you to teach again, then you have done best.

In Service to the dream,

Cailtidh