About the dance: I don't remember exactly where I
got hold of this tape, probably at a circle dance teachers' get
together, but among the pieces on it this one leapt out at me. I'd
learnt Skudrinka a long time before (but never well enough to teach)
and I liked the relentless quality of the music, especially when it
speeded up. What I liked about this version was that the musicians
seemed to be inspired to play the tune in their own way rather than try
to recreate something 'authentic'. I found the tune very hypnotic and
it made me think of a magikal ceremony, reaching a trance, making a
gateway to another world and summoning something or someone. So I had
the name, I just needed some steps.
The dance came very quickly. I knew I wanted a short sequence and
evenly paced steps to let a trance feeling build up, this left me with
twelve beats to work with. The melody had a rhythmic structure of one
4-beat phase followed by a different 4-beat phrase that repeated, again
I wanted to follow this so that the dancers wouldn't need to think
during the step sequence. Starting with the left foot crossing in front
of the right and the right stepping to the side the easiest thing to
follow was to repeat it. The melody changed at this point, so after
continuing with a crossing step to give people time to notice the
change the right foot is replaced the left foot is lifted in front and
then steps to the left side. As the second phrase repeats the footwork
is repeated, but with reversed feet.
I chose a basketweave hold to tie the dancers closer together and add
to the unity of motion and feeling of trance. Finally I decided on a
broken circle to symbolise the gateway through which something could
enter.
Music: 'Arap' (although it sounds like Skudrinka to me) by the Freedonia State Orchestra from 'A Village Band (The Partridges have Hiccups)'.
Formation: A broken circle (or as long a line as you have dancers for) with the leader on the right hand end. The arms are in a basketweave hold.
Steps: Another even rhythm with a step on every beat.
There's a long introduction, begin the dance at the start of the musical phrase once it gets going.
Later thoughts: I like the way that the three crossing steps form a counter rhythm without being taught, and I was delighted when Laura (Shannon) pointed out that this dance fits the ancient pattern of 'three steps, do something, one step, do something'. And it was quite a while before I realised that there's a variation in the middle of the music which puts the steps out of sequence with the 12-bar phrase, but this just seems to help the sense of trance that the dance can bring.