An Early Frost for Philippe

In her last book of dances, Serendipity, Fried Herman writes about the character of the dance. Do English Country dances give much pleasure Yes, most of them do. The ones that are boringin tune and, or movementstend to be forgotten after some time. However, that does not mean that all English Country dances give us the same kind of pleasure. Some dances are just a bit of fluff. And how important these dances can be in a program Theres great enjoyment in just moving to an uplifting tune without much brainwork. The next step up are dancesagain, with good tuneswith a bit more meat in them. Something into which we can sink our teeth. Think of Another Nancys Fancy, Mr Beveridges Maggot, Face the Music Sion House, Up with Ailey. To dance these dances, we need a bit more understanding of how the tune and movements fit together. Yet another step up are the complicated dances so much loved by experienced dancers: The Phoenix, Ah Belinda, Musidora, Fain I Would, Spring Garden, Norbury Park, etc. A