Why Dance?

Traditional Country Dance source book

Review by Sheree Greenhill of Dance Kaleidoscope

When asked to review a CD of English folk dance music I was thrilled at the chance of discovering new music for my English dance group. What a surprise when the package arrived to find that it was a complete dance resource. Jane Downes and Pat King have produced a compact, very well organised book containing a brief history of English country dance, all the information needed to teach and run a dance and 2 CD’s.

So Why Dance? Good fun. Good exercise. Make new friends. Now with this resource anyone can hold a dance. The dances are organised in order of rhythm with suggested music. Set formations are shown by clear diagrams. The degree of difficulty is noted. Programs are suggested for all ages and from beginners to experienced dancers. Advice is given about booking a hall, setting up and organising the evening allowing people who have never run a dance to do so with minimal difficulty and great confidence. I have been teaching and running dances for 15 years and wish I had had access to this book when I was starting!

Music by The Catsfield Steamers is lively, strict tempo, but most importantly makes you want to jump up and dance. All the tracks are dancing length and permission is given to use the music for public dances and displays.

School teachers wanting to teach their students to dance will also find everything they need in this package. My major difficulty in teaching dance to students has been finding an easy to use resource for teachers. This book should be in all school libraries.

Why dance has an easy to negotiate website with sample music and dance notation so check it out at www.whydance.org.uk

So the main question is not - WHY DANCE? ...but WHY NOT?