Review for Book and CD 46

Book 46 and CD

Having enjoyed taking part in the Society’s worldwide selection process for the new Book 46, it was a further pleasure to go to Summer School this year and to learn and dance the new dances –and to discover the final choice. 91 Branches participated in the selection of the 13 dances finally chosen out of an impressive 97 dances submitted. The result is a fitting reward for all the effort put in by Headquarters and branches to bring us this new collection. The dances selected are all very danceable, and will readily find their place on programmes and in classes from intermediate up to very advanced level. The dances for the most part contain generally basic, straightforward figures but either with interesting links and phrasing, such as in Peggy Spouse MBE, or with just one lesser known or new figure for added interest, such as the circulating allemande in The Flower of Glasgowor the three-couple bourrel in Barbara’s Strathspey,where the addition of an extra couple in this already beautiful and flowing formation adds a surprising new visual dimension. The sheer fun of the dynamic corner figure in Best Set in the Hallwill make this dance a real favourite. Each dance in the book has its own appeal and the collection as a whole will certainly cover a wide range of dancing tastes. Is this an advantage of the democratic selection process? If Book 46 is a reflection of current dancing tastes it is interesting to note that two out of the five strathspeys are for three-couple sets and no twocouple dances are included. For branches such as ours, which don’t have musicians for classes, it is a great advantage to have the CD published at the same time as the book. The music by Kenny Thompson and the Wardlaw Scottish Dance Band is lively and rhythmical, although I tend to prefer strathspeys just a little slower and a little less accentuated. I particularly liked the enthusiastic interpretation of Scott Meikle, the tune written by George Meikle for his son.

Tom McKinlay, Paris Branch