Hello all,
Considering the number of Westerhopers we have/potentially have, Rachel and I have decided that there isn't much point Westerhope trying to practice on Sunday. We will look into when you can have another practice, either giving you a couple of hours solid practice on the next day practice which will be all day, or organising a separate evening/afternoon to focus in on.
Therefore if you are in Westerhope but not the DERT set you are not expected to turn up.
HOWEVER, if you are a likely reserve (in particular Jo S. and Hannorah) it would be really helpful for you to come along so that you can see any neatening up and be involved. Perhaps you could aim to get there around 4? That way the main DERT set can have a couple of hours solid work and then spend the last couple of hours passing it on, but means you're not hanging around too much.
Sue if you could be there for some of the practice (it doesn't really matter if it is the start or finish) that would be really helpful as that means we can have you in the set and as eagle eyes for judging us.
If there is anyone who would like to come along for the sheer joy of it, or to practice stepping, or to help by critiquing you are more than welcome to. The more people we have watching the easier it is to discern if something is improving or if something looks really naff.
Some people are meeting in the pub around 1 for pre-practice lunch. For everyone else we start at 2 going on until we get tired (6-7ish).
Ffion if you could bring your ipad for filming purposes that'd be really appreciated as it's easier to see on the larger screen!
Thanks all, if I don't see you on Sunday I'll see you Monday :)
Becky xx
Hi Everyone,
Excellent stepping practice on Monday (many thanks to Ru) - hope everyone
found it helpful.
Sadly not quite as big a collection as usual from our crawl - we collected
£105.45 in the end.
1. Day Practice
2. 23rd March Crawl (Laura S and Rachel especially)
3. Day of Dance
4. AOB
1. Sunday practice will be in our usual hall from 2-7, meeting in the
Crosse Keys for lunch from 1 if anyone fancies that. (The pub is open until
1830 - bit later than I thought - so we'll be able to get water / use the
"facilities" until near the end of practice.) Watch out for any further
details from Becky this week.
2. 23rd March Crawl - Ffion has accidentally double booked herself and it
would be good to be able to dance both Westerhope and Picadilly out as this
would be our last crawl before DERT. So, we are looking to see if the 22nd
would work instead. From Monday, it looks to be good for most people (I've
added everyone onto the sign-up sheet for that day - sorry if I got
anything wrong!) - if you weren't here on Monday could you please fill
yourselves in?
3. Day of Dance - not looking promising at all for the May dates. I'm
taking these off for now, and we'll have to have a think about what we can
do. Ideally we want a good strong team, so it's trying to find a time when
most of us are likely to be around.
4. AOB - Forgot to mention that Hannorah is intending to drive to DERT,
leaving Friday morning and is offering lifts to anyone that would like one.
If anyone would let us know so we can count you out of ticket purchases -
please note we hope that Ravens will be able to cover the whole of our
travel (if not, then most of it), but currently doing some number crunching
to make sure. Also please check sign-up sheets if you haven't already done
so - a maybe is always better than a "no-reply".
Have a lovely week!
Hannah :)
Some pictures taken by my friend Alex on our recent crawl. I think my
favourite is #3: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/uat
p2fjyltq0s7b/AACP8jMUgxNyiOAhyPmAuTOfa?dl=0
Rachel x
Hi all,
I've been thinking a bit about the costume and tommy options for
Westerhope, and reading the official competition rules for this year, which
can be found here
<http://www.dert2017.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Traditional-Competitio…>.
The following is my interpretation of the rules, but I'd welcome feedback
and other insights.
The rules say that the marks available will be split into two sections,
each worth half the marks: Notation and Performance. "There will be 4
judges, 2x of whom will be assessing the performance in the same manner as
the Main Competition, and 2x of whom will be assessing the performance
having previously considered submitted notations and researched the
specific traditional dance. Each dance is marked by all 4 judges."
The notation section says "The inclusion of historical costume, characters
and other accoutrements will have no effect on the marks given and do not
need to match the notation." The performance section just says "This will
be marked in exactly the same way as the Main Competition, to the same
marking criteria." The marking categories for the main competition are
Stepping; Sword Handling; Dance Technique; Buzz factor; Presentation;
Music; Characters.
*Costume:*
I think that we need to be neat, tidy, uniform, etc (as per the
presentation marks in the main competition), but we do not need to recreate
the costumes that the Westerhope team would originally have worn. I would
therefore suggest the same outfits as last year, with shirts and ties as a
nod to the tradition, but keeping very much in the team's style with the
skirts and colours.
*Tommy:*
I think that we probably should introduce a tommy to the dance, despite
there not having traditionally been one. As I read it, the notation
section explicitly says that the tommy doesn't need to match the historical
notation, and the performance section indicates that there will be marks
available for character (which it would be a shame not to get). If we
decide to do this, there is obviously a further conversation about what the
tommy should do / look like / interaction with the set.
I'd really appreciate other people's input, especially on whether or not
you read this documentation the same way I do! Looking forward to hearing
all those opinions.
Rachel :)
Sorry ladies, my phone died so I've had to stop by my office to charge it. I'll be with you in half an hour, once I've got some juice on it.
Hannorah Lee
Head of Corporate Partnerships and Community Fundraising
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Hello all,
Just to confirm Ru is coming on Monday to help with stepping.
I want her to help as many people as possible and that does come with prep on our part. If possible step in front of a mirror, or just consider what feels wrong about your stepping. That way you can actually have a conversation with Ru rather than just looking bemused! Don't worry if you have no idea of course, that's the whole point of her coming :) Also, I know stepping in front of people can feel scary, especially if you think you're being watched, but just try to relax, everyone is at different levels and everyone is improving all the time, Ru will hopefully just speed up the process a little.
See you tonight.
Becky xx
Hi everyone,
1. Crawl
2. Stepping Practice
3. Sign-ups
1. Crawl on Thursday will be around Farringdon - details on facebook. I
think we're probably meeting at the crown ready to dance at 1930, though
Katherine will correct me if I'm wrong!
2. Ru will (hopefully) be coming to help us all improve our stepping next
Monday - 13th, so please try to be there as it will be really useful! It
might also help to think about the things that you think you are good/bad
at as that might make it easier to get help with things that you find
difficult.
3. Sign-ups - We have a few possible things coming up in May/June/October,
I know that's still a while away, but for some of them we could do with
putting a bit of thought into them if we're able to do them. I've added
another weekend in for a possible date for our day of dance - 3rd June, so
if you could all consider that one as well please, that would be great. If
it turns out we can't find a suitable date before the summer festivals
begin we may have to look at something in September - though would probably
be better to do it this side of the summer if we can as otherwise we'll
risk getting close to Thrales Day! I may resort to doodle poll at some
point.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XHQc6j0g7HQto7rhOs6k0bfkw-
XmFb8jmCeRa48IRI/edit
See you tomorrow!
Thanks,
Hannah
