Our tutor Rod Downey gives dancers some tips about practicing steps and formations, appropriate dances, videos to watch and music to dance to.
New dancers
More experienced dancers
All dancers
Music to dance to
New dancers
- New dancers 1: Skip change, The New Rigged Ship, Linton Ploughman, pas de basque, suggested videos and music
- New dancers 2: Pas de Basque, suggested videos including Rod demonstrating the step at the kitchen sink
- New dancers 3: Video of a EU programme looking at Scottish Country Dancing
- Reels: Music structure, reel basics, learning basic reels at home, mirror and parallel reels, reels across
- New dancers 4: Rights and Lefts
- New dancers 5: Strathspey travelling step
- New dancers 6: Who your corners are and turning corners
- New dancers 7: List of steps, formations and progressions covered in Beginners’ Classes
More experienced dancers
- More experienced dancers 1: All Round Poussette, The Gentleman
- More experienced dancers 2: Foot changes, linking steps
- More experienced dancers 3: Tourbillon – instructions and dances with this formation
- Reels for the more experienced: Crossover reels, learning crossover reels at home
- More experienced dancers 4: More about crossover reels
- More experienced dancers 5: Strange entry reels
- More experienced dancers 6: Corners in Reel of the Royal Scots and diagonal half rights and lefts
All dancers
- The Phrasing Game: All about getting to the right place at exactly the right time
- Videos illustrating phrasing and reels: Danced by members of Johnsonville Club
- Phrasing reels of four: Including a video of Johnsonville members doing a reel of four with accurate timing
- Ladies’ Chain: Key points and historical notes
Music to dance to
- Music to dance to 1: Older videos and recordings – a mix of strathspeys, reels and jigs
- Music to dance to 2: Running step, jigs and reels, music to listen and practice dancing to
- Music to dance to 3: Fugues Including Rod’s dance The Great Teddy Bear Hunt and canons