14 Jun
2016
14 Jun
'16
11:31 a.m.
Luke Donforth wrote:
I didn't know it came via Scottish, but that makes
sense. It's called tandem or alternating tandem reels there?
It's not clear to me how it ended up being called a dolphin hey instead of a falcon
hey; but I'm not going to try to change that vernacular.
You've got several possible concepts here (where, how much, with or without change of
lead); 'dolphin reel' and 'falcon reel' in SCD are just shorthand terms
for a couple of them:
[Non-alternating] tandem full reel[=hey] across: Scott Meikle
http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/10920/, Cranberry Tart
http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/9157/
Alternating tandem full reel across: Raven's Dance
http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/10773/ (though I haven't heard this called a Raven
Reel!)
Alternating tandem full reels on the diagonal [falcon reels]: Flight of the Falcon
http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/2222/
Alternating tandem half reels on the diagonal [dolphin reels]: Pelorus Jack [a dolphin]
http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/5209/
Alternating tandem (for two pairs!) full reel on the centre line: Eileen Watt's Reel
http://my.strathspey.org/dd/dance/12793/
When I ran it for contras, I had a demo on the floor
(jumping down myself to do it, or working with a couple I had taught ahead of time). If I
keep it rotation, I'll see if I can develop the language to teach it completely
verbally; but for now I'll rely on a demo. I'd also be curious how other folks
teach it; and I'll query some instructors of Scottish and/or English.
I have called Scottish, English and some contra in Cambridge. We're in the unusual
position that our contra dancers pretty much all also dance ECD or SCD or both. So
they're already familiar with heys for three (and at least for SCD we plan the
programme for the first term to build up the figures gradually, as we have new students
joining each year, and we won't introduce dolphin reels until we've taught the
basic figure). So alternating tandem reels are relatively straightforward to teach. I
begin by getting people to walk the reel with the dancing couple stuck together probably
in promenade hold, then get them to walk it again but stop when the dancing couple have
got out to the corner of the set. Then I get them to turn round and notice that the back
person is now in the lead. I may warn people that a dance features a pantomime dolphin,
which is much more interesting than a pantomime horse / cow, in that the people get to
swap between the head and tail ends : p.
Edmund Croft,
Cambridge & Worcestershire, UK