At our last committee meeting the idea of putting a crib, with links to videos, for each week’s class on the website was on our agenda.  Arguments for and against were discussed. It was agreed this will run for a trial period following which it will be reviewed. 

It is thought that having a crib available will help dancers to become more familiar with dances.  There is no obligation to look at the dances beforehand, if you don’t wish to.  We understand that some dancers prefer to simply come along to the class without having to prepare first. Others may wish to see what is planned. The dances will be taught and walked as now.  

The programme may vary – some dances dropped, others added, depending upon numbers and who is present on any particular week.

The link to the cribs and videos for the class on 12th March.

One of the dances is the popular The Blooms of Bon Accord, which was devised by John Drewry to commemorate Aberdeen winning the ‘Britain In Bloom’ competition for the third year in a row in 1971. Bon Accord is the motto of the city of Aberdeen and is often used as another of the many nicknames for the city; it means “Good Agreement” in French. Legend tells that its use dates from the 14th century password used by Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, when he and his men laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308 and massacring the English Garrison, retaking Aberdeen for the townspeople. Extract from the Scottish Country Dance Dictionary.

If you want the crib on your phone, the mobile crib app is very useful. Use the dance list reference 57961 to load the full list. Alternatively, just load the ones that you want.

A further resource for beginners is the Lower Hutt site. It has short YouTube videos of a great many basic figures as well as quite a lot of advanced ones.

One of the dances on 5th March, Rodney’s Rant, was devised by Ann Dix for Rodney Mount’s 80th birthday, 16 years ago. It was written as a jig. He joined us as we danced it as a strathspey.