Information About Practices
This page tells you something about what we get up to (and where) during the Winter practice season, roughly mid September to end April
Venue Information etc.
Location
This year (Winter 2010 - 2011) we are again practising at the Village Hall at Ash. This is an execellent hall, conveniently situated adjacent to the Bell Inn! The post code is TA12 6PB, for those who use satnav, but it shouldn't be too hard to find the pub!
The hall is perfect for our purposes, being big, well lit and having a nice wooden floor. There is heating, and kitchen facilities. There is plenty of room for big dances.
Times
The actual practice is every Tuesday evening from 8:00 until 10:00, followed by (or if we get there early enough, preceded and followed by!) a drink in the Bell Inn.
We ask that erveyone tries to arrive by 8:00pm so that there's time for a bit of socialising and to get ready before the teaching starts at 8:15 prompt.
Dates
Practices start on Tuesday 5th Oct 2010 and will continue until Tues 21st December, then restart after the New Year holiday (actual date to be decided) and run through until around about St George's Day (April 23rd) - again the exact date of the last practice is yet to be decided, but it will probably be 26th April 2011.
What to wear
Loose clothing such as T shirt and jogging trousers is ideal, but broadly whatever you prefer! Footwear is very personal but most people like to wear trainers or deck shoes rather than sandals or flip-flops.
What Happens
What we'll be doing this year
This year we will be learning or re-learning the dances from the four main traditions which have been the mainstay of Dr Turberville's repertoire in recent years:
- The Wayford tradition, from Somerset
- The Hinton tradition, from Northants
- The Ilmington tradition, from Warwicks
- The Bledington tradition, from Oxfordshire (if time allows)
The main focus will be on standardising members to dance the styles in a more uniform fashion. Later in the year there will be two new dances for Wayford.
New beginners need not worry about not knowing the dances or not picking them up quickly as the Turbs teaching style of learning placement in the set before learning the intricacies of the stepping will again be used. This is inclusive and capable of bringing a new dancer up to an acceptable dancing level fairly quickly.
A Typical Practice
Content
In a typical practice we might be working on one dance in a tradition and seeing what needs attention by performing it through, then going through it figure by figure to adjust the details that require attention.
Attention to detail being a main theme for this year, there will likely be one or two different dances practised on each night - and both from the same tradition. Dances from the same tradition will have shared characteristics such as stepping, the way we move, etc. so details learned in one dance will be reinforced in another.
A little light relief is supplied with another "let your hair down" dance or a "try to kill Dave" (only joking, Dave!) jig whilst a rest can be taken by the other dancers.
Approach
Participants can expect to be closely watched and every attempt will be made to make observations which are positive and non personal. By necessity, if an example of what to avoid is seen in one person then this could be used as a demonstration of what to avoid. Participants should keep in mind at all times that it is the action that is being corrected and it is not the person but the action that is wrong. Therefore the correction applies to all - not just the person who demonstrates the undesired trait - and is relevant to all.
So, if someone else's dancing is highlighted be very aware that you yourself should take note too, just because you are not in the frame doesn't mean the correction does not apply.