On Wed, 6 Feb 2002, Nigel Gatherer wrote: > As for dancers not knowing the difference between a reel and a jig: why > on earth should they? I can't see that it's very relevant to how they > dance. One plays 2 or 4 notes to the beat, the other 3, but the beat > remains the same, doesn't it?
Actually, it does matter a bit. As Ian has pointed out (referring to strathspey steps, but it applies to most of the steps used in dancing to reels and jigs as well), a step has four "bits", roughly step-close-step-and; and where they fit on the music is different for reel and for jig. (It's right that the "step" bits come on what you refer to as the "beats" if I'm understanding properly; but the other bits matter.) I believe that's the main reason that jig music is preferred for teaching the "skip-change-of-step", and reel for the "pas de basque". In the end, both steps have to be done to either kind of music, and _should_ be slightly different depending on the music. Enjoying the discussion, Peter McClure Winnipeg, MB Posted to Scots-L - The Traditional Scottish Music & Culture List - To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
