Sequence history
Posted by sequenceblogger (admin) on August 21, 2009
A number of readers have written in expressing a general approval of the Blog, but asking why I tend to publish fairly old and obscure sequence dances as opposed to those they were more used to dancing (by this they mean very recent dances and/or the evergreens). I very much hope that this question can be answered simply by looking at the dances published on the Blog and comparing them with the dances they refer to. In my opinion, those on the Blog are more varied, more challenging, better constructed, more true to the ballroom genre that they are on meant to be based on, and generally more appealing. As I said on the About page, the Modern Sequence dances were at their best from 1970 – 1985, and the three years either side of 1980 in particular were vintage years (which is why the Blog is currently focussed mainly on that period).
The likely reasons for the rise and fall in sequence dancing history are many and complex. In the post-war years sequence dancing became very popular but was unregulated – new sequence dances were published in droves by any Tom, Dick, or Harry that cared to produce them. Many of the so-called evergreens hail from the latter period and were arranged by social dancers-turned leaders with limited ballroom training, and this is evident in the party-dance/square-dance nature of those arrangements. It was not until the late sixties/early seventies that this situation changed. Regular competitions started to take place and with more regulation, and high calibre dance professionals with a proper understanding of the ballroom genre began to show an interest in these competitions. Their involvement as competitors continued until the late eighties, early nineties. Although a reasonable output of good new dances was maintained throughout the nineties, interest from competitors of this callibre certainly waned during this period. One can only speculate why, but many of those arrangers who had previously contributed probably felt that there was little point in continuing to arrange more sequence dances when the best variations/amalgamations had already been used (fair point too it might be said). And, having made their mark as competitors, many probably thought that they should look for bigger fish to fry. Another factor is undoubtedly that today’s sequence dancing public do not have the strong ballroom background that their counterparts thirty years ago did, and have picked up the some basic skills simply by attending sequence clubs and following others. Because of this more casual approach, their repertoire more limited, and, clearly, today’s arrangers have adapted to this situation with somewhat watered-down material.
The good news is that the tide is turning and, once again, people in the UK are getting interested in ballroom dancing and in investing in proper training in the dance schools. But if sequence dancing is going to benefit from this boom, it is vital the best sequence dances from the golden years be accessible and put to use. Good material is an absolute must as a starting point for the future prosperity of sequence, and the irony is that there is excellent material already out there but gathering dust in the archives – it needs to be show-cased ! And it is important also to be selective (as there is still a lot of rubbish out there even from within the vintage years, and it is quite costly for anyone to browse the archives in order to pick out the wheat from the chaff).
In summary, I strongly suggest you to take a look at the some of the material published here, even if you feel it is not relevant to you. Then compare it with what you are currently being offered, and decide which you prefer ! And if you like what you see, tell all your friends !
Don Hetherington said
I have a copy of the Waltz Marie script which states at the top of the first page of the man’s description as follows:
A modern sequence waltz which over the years has been very popular especially in the Midlands. As described here the dance has been brought up to date with the correct alignments consistent with modern techmique.
Arranged originally by Mr Senior, Stretford, Manchester. Commence man facing, lady backing LOD, normal Ballroom Waltz Hold. Please note that the repetitive position of the first step, when dancing, diagonally to centre, not down LOD.
My script does not show the writer / authors name
sequenceblogger (admin) said
Sounds like a Holland Brockbank/Michael Gwynne script (as they frequently used the expression: popular in the Midlands: lots of dances seemed to be popular in the Midlands). I have a script of Waltz Marie, which states com facing LOD, with no alignment given for the first step per se, but with the implication that it was facing LOD. Not in accord with current ballroom technique, but then, very few sequence dances from that era seem to be. The problem with a lot of these dances is that they weren’t scripted by the inventors, they were scripted by others who simply described what they saw being danced in their own local area, or, at least, what they thought they saw. I am not sure whether the “deviant” technique goes back to the origins of the dances (and, without original scripts or seeing how the dances were originally performed, we can’t know), or whether it comes from (dubious ?) script-writing second-hand and years later. Trying to rewrite old scripts according to modern technique is a nice idea, but it isn’t always obvious how they should translate. Often there are several possible translations – how are we to know which of these the originators would have preferred. And, in many cases, there has to be some deviation or another just to make everything fit.
edwin singleton said
I DISAGREE WITH YOUR COMMENT ON ANY TOM DICK OR HARRY INVENTED THE DANCES IN THE EARLY YEARS .THERE WERE M.C ASSOCIATIONS IN MOST AREAS THAT MET AND DISCUSSED THIER NEW DANCES.
THE DANCES INVENTED TODAY EXPECT YOU TO BE COMPETITION DANCERS WITH SOME OF THE VARIATIONS THEY WANT YOU TO DO.THE MAJORITY OF SEQUENCE DANCERS TODAY ARE 60YEARS OLD AND
PLUS,AND GO TO A DANCE AS A SOCIAL OCCASION, NOT TO BE BOMBADED WITH TOO MANY NEW DANCES
EVERY MONTH,THE TEACHING ASSOCIATIONS MADE A MESS OF THE WALTZ MARIE BY CHANGING THE SCRIPT,MY WIFE AND I WILL NO LONGER DANCE IT SEQUENCE DANCERS FOR 50 YRS.
THE TEACHING ASSOCIATIONS LOOKED DOWN ON SEQUENCE DANCERS WHEN BALLROOM DANCING BEGAN TO
FADE,THEY STARTED INTERFERING WITH SEQUENCE AND TO MY MIND HAVE GONE OVERBOARD,IT HAS
BECOME HARD WORK INSTEAD OF ENJOYMENT
YOURS E.SINGLETON
sequenceblogger (admin) said
With regards the local dances you refer to, there may well have been meetings and discussion, but these were obviously not well informed as the outcome was on the whole pretty poor, and, generally little to do with dance either. On the issue of the “interference”, thank heavens they did, because, without it, sequence would never have evolved to a form that might hold at least a modicum of appeal to people today – I just wish they had gone further and held onto the reins, as it might then have had even more appeal.
Re: Waltz Marie. As far as I know, there was the original script as appeared in the Manchester Evening Press, then a later rewrite, although the latter was produced by Bill & May Botham and sent out by the Manchester Area MC’s club – not a BDC-recognised teaching association. I assume this is the version that has jarred on you. The one I have is, I think (?), based on the original, as it carries the name J. Senior. I don’t have the Botham version. But I would be interested to know exactly how many versions there are, and what exctly has been changed over the years, so if anyone has any information on the history of this, please write in.