DSW - A weekend of dance in the county of Rutland

The village of Cottesmore in the tiny English county of Rutland is an ideal spot for a weekend of dancing. This picturesque village, with its buildings in local limestone, offers a well-equipped village hall capable of comfortably accommodating up to about 70 dancers, a bar on the premises, an adjacent sports field and facilities for those wishing to camp, and all located directly behind the ancient Sun Inn with its excellent restaurant.

The defining characteristic of the weekend was its more-or-less equal attention to three types of dancing: Scottish Country, English Country and International. Fundamentally it provided a genuine opportunity for dancers normally practising one or other of these genres to have lots of fun experiencing other forms of dance in rather more depth than would normally be the case at a basic taster session. Teaching was in the very capable hands of three well-known personalities from Leicester: Doris Buchanan for Scottish, Roy Garrington for English and Geoff Weston for International. 

The weekend began on the Friday evening with social dancing and a fish and chip supper. It was all great fun and totally relaxed as our teachers took turn and turn about to lead us through a very varied programme of dances from England, Scotland and continental Europe.

Saturday morning was just a little bit more serious with a series of three workshops on English, Scottish and international dances. In view of their common heritage from the Playford era, there is obviously a fair degree of common ground between English and Scottish country dancing, although we do not (normally) see set and turn single or siding or dances in triple time in Scottish, or anything like a strathspey step in English. Dances Geoff introduced us to from such places as Russia, Turkey and central Europe were, however, quite different. In some cases, partners were not needed and we simply joined hands in a long line to execute precise sequences of steps (and arm movements) to what many country dancers might regard as rather unusual dance music.

As normal at weekend dance events, we were free on the Saturday afternoon to explore the area, but reconvened in the evening for another dance. Again the programme consisted of a mix of dances from England, Scotland and other parts of the world, but on this occasion interspersed with three short demonstrations of dances from each area and a ploughman’s supper.

Sunday followed with three more one hour workshops before lunch, then an afternoon dance with tea and a wonderful selection of cakes to conclude the whole event. The dance programme was by request, based entirely on a repeat of dances done earlier during the weekend. All three teachers must have been pleased to see how well many people were coping with dances that had been a struggle for them earlier.

Thanks are due to the teachers, to all the helpers and, in particular, to Doris Buchanan of the RSCDS Leicester Branch, the organiser and driving force behind the whole weekend, for its resounding success. It was thoroughly enjoyed by everybody and, including the proceeds of a raffle and the sale of knitted dolls, succeeded in raising over £900 for the East Midlands and South Yorkshire Rainbows Children’s Hospice.