Oh, I'm actually pretty proud of how I do -- in relative terms, I think Carolingia continues to run an exceptionally good dance practice.
That said, in absolute terms new dances are very useful, in that they keep things new and interesting for the more experienced members. Variety is a powerful force, and I do think continuing to introduce more into the repertoire would be a benefit for helping keep people engaged.
How many different dances do you teach compared to an actual, period dancemaster? And in how many different styles?
Number of styles, obviously more. Number of dances -- less clear. The Italian dancemasters had pretty big repertoires. More importantly, though, they were teaching a different audience for different purposes. They probably tended to teach their dances in more depth, with more hammering on style, because dancing really *well* was very important socially. So their priorities were different: less about socializing and entertaining, more about instructing people about how to survive in an environment where dance was quite important to one's standing...
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Date: 2008-06-06 12:37 am (UTC)That said, in absolute terms new dances are very useful, in that they keep things new and interesting for the more experienced members. Variety is a powerful force, and I do think continuing to introduce more into the repertoire would be a benefit for helping keep people engaged.
How many different dances do you teach compared to an actual, period dancemaster? And in how many different styles?
Number of styles, obviously more. Number of dances -- less clear. The Italian dancemasters had pretty big repertoires. More importantly, though, they were teaching a different audience for different purposes. They probably tended to teach their dances in more depth, with more hammering on style, because dancing really *well* was very important socially. So their priorities were different: less about socializing and entertaining, more about instructing people about how to survive in an environment where dance was quite important to one's standing...