Tutor notes:

On Monday we were very lucky to have Sharlene and Lynne playing for us and we did a mix of simple and more challenging dances.

We started off simply with Mr Michael Bear’s Reel (R) which is on the new dancers programme. In the video it is being danced at Johnsonville Club venue, Khandallah town hall, where we will visit them on the 19th September.

We then moved to Jig time and practiced pas de basque to this rhythm. In Jig time the first beat of the 3 is held longer than the 2nd and 3rd. We practiced setting on the right and moving on the left, and used this in Set to Corners and Partner (colloquially known as Hello Goodbye setting).

We danced Links with St Petersburg using this formation in addition to Set and Link. Note how they make the links wide in the video giving this formation a lovely shape.

We then danced The Gentleman (S) to give our brains a bit of a rest. We did however look at the strathspey pousette and how it is important to maintain the arm and shoulder position throughout, in a similar way to Ballroom dancers “keeping the frame”.

We then danced Joie de Vivre (J), always a favourite of mine, and finished the night with Masks and Faces (S) again – a repeat from the week before – with the set and shuffle formation.