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The Reeling StyleThere are at least three distinct styles of dancing the same Scottish dances: the formal and correct Royal Scottish Country Dance (RSCDS), reeling (the base style of the City Reeling workshops, but read on...) and barn dances or ceilidh dancing.PGT Reels (Parsons Green) say "Reeling is probably the closest form of Scottish dancing to how dances were done in the 17th century. The dancing is more fluid and less ballet like compared to the formal Royal Scottish Country Dance type style, although it tends to be more defined than barn dances or ceilidh dancing." Unlike barn dances or ceilidh dancing, dances in the reeling style aren't "called" at the time (though there may be a quick reminder in advance at the informal evenings) - if you don't know a dance when you join in, look for an experienced partner or rest of set (who are usually helpful), as long as you don't mind being yelled at in a friendly way and pushed around in the heat of the action. If you have a thinner skin, look for a teaching evening or come to the City Reeling workshops first. The most obvious (and dividing) difference between the reelers and the country dancers is footwear: the Scottish country dance people ("pointy toes") wear soft pumps and would be foolhardy to share a dance floor at a ball with the reelers ("yah-brigade"), where the men are in formal black-tie shoes and the women wear whatever won't come off and looks pretty. The reelers generally have more boisterous fun and the girls get to dress like Cinderella (there's little contest overall on the production quality of their balls), the pleasure in the RSCDS style is that the more precise dancing means that the pattern of the measures, which is the beauty of the dances, is more apparent. The Little Ship Club is somewhere in the middle, on the soft shoes and country dance side of the divide; its allied Hurlingham Club balls are fully up to the reeling ball spec and have two dance floors, catering for each style separately. There are some minor differences in terminology and movements, as shown on the crib sheets which are in the Scottish country dance language: the reeling "figure of eight" becomes a "reel of 3" (their figure of eight, seen in the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, is just one person dancing round the other two as immobile posts), and "right-hand teapots" are "dance RH across". The reelers circle using the travelling step, and the country dancers side-stepping. The City Reeling workshops will start the evenings in the reeling style. Some of the more advanced reels at the end of the evening may need to be danced in soft flexible leather-soled shoes. Our aim is to combine the best of both styles: the pizzazz of the reelers with the precision of the RSCDS and to extend the skills of those that want to explore beyond their current abilities, whether beginners or experienced reelers. Who we are |
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Katherine: I'm an enthusiast about both styles of Scottish Dancing. My parents first met at a reels evening and I first encountered the dances in my teens when they dug out their 78s during a dull moment at a New Year's Eve party. I learnt "properly" after going to RSCDS classes, and then really learnt the reels from teaching friends informally as we made up parties for the London reels balls. | |
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Davinia: I'm now a fully certified RSCDS teacher, but my heart
still lies with the reelers! I have been dancing for "a number of
years"! and now do quite a lot of teaching.
I have taught for several years to a group of general dancers at Chiswick and a group of reelers at Clapham. I also MC for a Wimbledon group in a rota with others. I have been on the London Branch Committee of the Royal Society of Scottish Country Dancing and am on the Little Ship Committee which meets each month during the winter and spring for general country dancing. We have 3 large functions with a band which we share with the Hurlingham Club during each year. I am always happy to help and like to encourage others to enjoy this very sociable activity and always look forward to meeting new dancers. |
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