Hi all,
Sorry this is a long email, you can skip to the numbered bit if you're short on time!
At the EGM we identified 3 priorities for the next few months - teach everyone the 'perfections' for the Julibee dance, get everyone doing different positions in the Jubilee dance, create a funky new dance. We've started on all of these but it's difficult to split our time evenly between these three things because we've only got 2 hours a week (less if we need to spend so much time on the sign up sheet, ahem) plus I never know who's going to be there until we start practising!
In addition, we discussed last night how it's embarrassing not having a second dance at festivals. This is why we created the circle dance last summer but that's fallen by the wayside in favour of creating a funkier, more difficult round dance. We've got some interesting ideas for the new dance but realistically it won't be ready to dance out until the end of the summer - maybe Rockingham could be a target date?
Jo is going to ask Ru at Camden clog whether she'd be able to come and teach some of us a clog dance, just so we have something extra for festival dance spots, but I think that's a long-term project too! We could therefore look at changing our summer priorities to learning a new second dance which is easier than the funky one we're creating. Options are 1) revive last year's circle dance - it will probably come flooding back to those who did it at Tenterden 2) create a new dance - probably a chorus dance with 5 simple figures inbetween 3) learn a trad dance. Beadnell is by far the easiest - I reckon we could learn it by Leigh if the same 5 people turned up both of the next weeks. Swalwell is also quite simple and is done at a laid back speed so a good contrast to the Jubilee dance. Thrales do Beadnell and Sallyport do Swalwell so we might look like we're copying, but I don't think we'll overlap at any bookings this summer. Or we could look at one of the trad dances that no other team does at the moment which would be good if we've got one eye on the trad competition at DERT, however would definitely take longer to learn as there will be no videos to learn from!
So could I ask you all to have a think about what you feel we should spend the next 3-4 months concentrating on? Here are the options including how many weeks I think it would take us to complete these tasks if we only worked on that task:
1) Perfecting Jubilee - I think we got to about pixies, so there's half the dance to go = 3-5 weeks.
2) Learning new Jubilee positions - according to the positions sheet there are 11 people who aren't yet dance-out-ready in their secondary position. I don't think we need to prioritise getting everyone sorted straight away. If we aimed to get 5 people confident in new positions that would take 3-5 weeks.
3) Creating the new funky dance. Approx 3 weeks to finish writing, 3 weeks to teach to everyone and 2 weeks to polish = 8 weeks
4) Learn an extra, simple-ish dance. Beadnell/old circle dance would take 2-4 weeks, Swalwell maybe 4-5 weeks.
In addition to these options we need to go over the procession stuff with Nic and Janet before Leigh. People have also requested that we do a session on dancing in small spaces, which I'll try and schedule in some time before the July crawl.
So... if you've got to this point in the email, please can you help me to plan the next 12-16 weeks by sending me your thoughts on which two things from the list of four you think we should prioritise? It doesn't need to be an essay like this has been, just 2 bullet points will suffice! Please send me your thoughts by FRIDAY if posssible so I can create a summer plan over the weekend.
Thanks very much,
Ffion x
Please take a look at my blog on Welsh folk songs - caneuongwerin.wordpress.com
Hi all,
We spent a long time going through the sheet again tonight. It's taking up lots of our collective time that we could be practising and I'd rather it took up your personal time that you could be watching TV/commuting/knitting etc. PLEASE LOOK AT THE SHEET AND TELL US YOUR AVAILABILITY https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XHQc6j0g7HQto7rhOs6k0bfkw-XmFb8jmCeRa4…. Rachel is frequently updating the sheet so why not set an alarm on your phone to make sure you update your availability once or twice a week? Even a maybe answer is better than no answer at all. Some people said they couldn't get the sheet on their phones. Have you tried downloading the new version of google docs from the app store/google play? I just have and it works fine on my phone now.
In general we discussed:
1) There are three potential events in 10 days - 21, 26 and 29 June. Perhaps it would be better to do just two of them. Some people felt it would be better to focus on the external events to raise our profile, some people felt crawls were important for the money. If you're signed up for any of these events and have an opinion about which, if any, we should drop please email ASAP.
2) 6 July with Greenwich - unless one maybe person becomes a yes person we can't do this. Please can the 'no replies' fill in their availability - we've got a good chance of getting a definitive answer on this one, even if it is 'no'.
3) Croydon on 19 August - there wasn't much enthusiasm for this. If you'd like to encourage people that it's an event worth attending, please speak now!
4) Faversham - if we go it might be nice to camp. Rachel, can you find out what the sleeping arrangements might be?
5) Several people said they'd like to prioritise Rockingham over Godalming or Norwich for the weekend of 13 Sept. It would be good to get info on timings. We haven't assumed that your answer for Rockingham would be the same as your answer for Godalming so please fill this is separately.
6) At some point in the future Jo will organise to have an extended business session to discuss what we should do with our money.
See you next week,
Ffion x
P.S. SIGN UP NOW!! https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XHQc6j0g7HQto7rhOs6k0bfkw-XmFb8jmCeRa4…
Hi all
I'm afraid I won't be either. Hope to see you all next week.
Nic x
Sent from my HTC One X on O2
----- Reply message -----
From: "Laura Smyth" <laura_marie_smyth(a)hotmail.com>
To: "Katherine Bates" <katherine_bates(a)hotmail.com>, "team" <team(a)towerravens.org.uk>
Subject: [Tower Ravens] Tonight
Date: Mon, Jun 9, 2014 11:59
Unfortunately I can't make it tonight either. Hope you have a great time and I hope to see you all next week.
Laura x
From: katherine_bates(a)hotmail.com
To: team(a)towerravens.org.uk
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2014 10:59:05 +0100
Subject: [Tower Ravens] Tonight
Hi all,
As I feared I've been asked to stay late at work tonight as my boss is still away on honeymoon so can't cover. This shouldn't happen so often, if at all, from next week as we'll be back to being fully staffed (lots of people have inconsiderately had babies recently so lots away on leave!)
It was good to see some of you at St Neots, and to dance. Even if I did get soaked in the morning, sun burnt in the afternoon, went a bit wrong, hit you with my badge sash and got a cut finger! A great day all round apart from that (and thanks for the £1 loan for cake!)
See you all next week.
- Kat
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2014 19:29:24 +0100
From: janetdilke(a)btinternet.com
To: team(a)towerravens.org.uk
Subject: [Tower Ravens] St Neots
A GOOD Day with Cake and Pub Visit at the finish.
I am unable to come on Monday but will bring some cake the following week.
Janet x
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Hey,
I remembered that I mentioned we'd been invited to Rockingham's 10th birthday in Peterborough on 13th of September but it never seems to have made it onto the sheet. It now clashes with one of the Godalming days.
I'm assuming we'd be a no for the rockingham day but if could know then I can tell Ken's Mum (fun!).
Cheers me dears,
Becky xx
Hi all,
Last night we experimented with how to get into tumbles in the new dance. We worked out who'd need to be where to make it possible to have the single tumbler and the double tumblers as different people, however, having looked at the possible combinations of dancers on paper, I think we should go with the single tumbler being one of the double tumblers tactic. We can review this further down the line when we know if we can squeeze some more tumblers out of the team :-) As number three gets the glory of breastplates and displaying locks I think it would be nice for number 2 to be the single tumbler who gets to show us their knickers twice!
With this in mind, plus trying to juggle everyone's tumbling/pillaring capabilities, and the preferences for positions you wrote on the sheets at the AGM, and people's general availability for practices and crawls, I've come up with a configuration of people and positions for the new dance. I've also written down everyone's positions in the Jubilee dance. P means primary position and S means secondary position. I've made it so that everyone has a primary and secondary position. I know not everyone has started learning a second position - this is more aspirational! I've made things bold where I think people are dance-out-ready in a certain position. Please let me know if anything unbold should be bold and vice versa!
The details are all in this google doc. Hopefully you can all see it using this link https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wP--H3QhDYfZPRlKkZpYvWnYQNWR4PeXFY_hhpS…. I've also shared it with towerravensrapper(a)gmail.com so it should be 'on file' for the future.
Ffion x
Hi all,
We had quite a long business tonight and discussed the following things:
1) Happy 21st Birthday Katherine!
2) Mmm, cake
3) Then things got serious and we talked through the potential bookings on the sign up sheet for the rest of the summer. We got some more people signed up to things. If you weren't there please sign up to things asap. We need to get back to organisers but we also need to arrange our own travel of we're going to go to far away places like York.
4) If we're going to go to far away places like York we shouldn't be afraid to spend some of the kitty money on transport costs - we don't want people to be put off taking part by costs.
5) We should revisit the idea of collecting partly for charity sometime.
6) Crawls - yes, we should keep crawling in summer as long as there are enough people available for them. At the moment there are enough people signed up to make June, July and August viable but concerns were raised about the fact that people don't always honour their commitment to crawls - we need to be as committed to crawls as we are to external bookings because someone puts time and effort into organising them. Becky and Janet will organise a crawl in Pimlico in July. Laura will organise September in Kentish Town. We still need someone to offer to organise June and August. Please have a think about whether you can organise something around where you work or live and put your name next to the crawl date on the sheet if you can organise one.
See you next week,
Ffion x
LINK TO THE SHEET - https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XHQc6j0g7HQto7rhOs6k0bfkw-XmFb8jmCeRa4…
Hey Rachel and all.. I definitely can't do St Neots as in the isle of Wight that weekend xxx
Sent from my HTC One X on O2
----- Reply message -----
From: "Rachel Sheridan" <rachel.sheridan(a)cantab.net>
To: "team(a)towerravens.org.uk" <team(a)towerravens.org.uk>
Subject: [Tower Ravens] Tonight
Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2014 19:08
I've had an absolutely horrific day at work and just need some time at home, so I won't be there either. Leaves you rather short - sorry.
Could somebody read out the upcoming events at https://docs.google.com/document/d/11XHQc6j0g7HQto7rhOs6k0bfkw-XmFb8jmCeRa4… - we particularly need dancers for St Neot's (7/6) and Leigh-on-Sea (29/6), as well as a few new invites.
Thanks,
Rachel
On Mon, Jun 2, 2014 at 6:26 PM, Joanna Smee <joannasmee(a)hotmail.com> wrote:
Sorry but won't be there tonight. Have a fab practice.
Joanna x
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OMG me neither!! Sorry folks xxx
Sent from my HTC One X on O2
----- Reply message -----
From: "Joanna Smee" <joannasmee(a)hotmail.com>
To: "Tower Ravens" <team(a)towerravens.org.uk>
Subject: [Tower Ravens] Tonight
Date: Mon, Jun 2, 2014 18:26
Sorry but won't be there tonight. Have a fab practice.
Joanna x
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