She's Back!

Oh, my public, all one of you, did you miss me?

I was being so good about posting daily that I hated to skip even once. But sickness won, and even had it not taken me over an hour to find parking last night, I still would've gone directly to bed after I got home. (Please note that parking is much more plentiful on E. Durham Street, and neighboing Boyer, without those pesky parking zones, meters, or anything like that...)

As it is, I'm hoping I'm over the worst of this cold/plague/ickiness that has me, she says, hoping her tea cools off faster...

Tonight I went to teach English dances from the ES Ball program to the Bi-Co Scottish class at Bryn Mawr. I was grateful for the pirate invaders that came along from Swarthmore class, and the few Bryn Mawr students I consider to really be mine, and Eleanor, of course, who is not only a great dancer, but who danced with many beginners.

It's so interesting to see the differences in that class from Swarthmore class, mostly I think because of how the classes are traditionally run.

Scottish classes in general, and Bi-Co habitually has been more on the authoritarian side - you will do this now in this way. In the past it's been almost eerie to go to that class and have all the students be so quiet, attentive, almost. Swarthmore is not like that. First Jenny, and now I encourage buzz, trying to appreciate what the students can offer each other. Heck, they might be able to teach each other a step, figure, or dance better than I could, and present a less threatening figure. (Although I hate to admit it, I know that I make a bunch of the students nervous. It takes them a few years to figure out that they can and should sass me back, and that's it's all bluff and bluster.) And I have to say, that idea of Jenny's to have the student's talk through the dance for themselves - it's just the greatest thing since sliced bread. So it's a little hard to regroup sometimes, but it's a friendlier, more open class in this way.

There are other differences too. One other is that at Bi-Co, people seem very concerned with getting it right. Dancers direct each other verbally all the time. Newer dancers are more concerned about knowing nothing. At Swarthmore, I think most people want to have fun. Of course, this produces fewer stellar dancers, but I think it produces more long-term dancers who will seek out dancing beyond school.

These observations, and there are others, are, of course, completely biased. If you can't tell, my children at Swarthmore are rowdy and many lack precision, but I love them and their enthusiasm. I wouldn't want them to be otherwise.

And one or more of them are always willing to shout to the class for quiet when I have a cold and no voice.