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Stave Dance Workshop
The idea of this workshop was to introduce a group of social dancers to a style of dance intended for public performance. Opinions differ on the subject, but I consider that most, if not all, stave dance choreographies are basically social dances put into a performance context and using props. I was therefore glad to be asked to run the workshop since I was being presented with a willing audience who were happy for me to try out new ideas. I consider that a workshop, as opposed to an instructional, should be a two-way process and I normally expect to learn a reasonable amount myself. This occasion was no exception and although the process of teaching the dances was in the most part an instructional, I gained some extremely valuable feedback regarding the process of turning social dance into performance dance, from the point of view of social dancers themselves, as opposed to performance dancers or choreographers. I enjoyed the evening and I'd like to thank those who attended for inviting me. I believe the group got a fair amount out of the experience as well. One of the committee said "it was something entirely new to us, but you enabled us to reach a satisfying standard in an enjoyable way". I hope that was really true; if it was, then my notations succeeded in their original aim. Before I start, I'd point out that none of the material I presented is strictly "traditional", nor was any of it directly copied from contemporary choreographies. There are several reasons for my choice of this approach, but the main one is that of ownership of material. The original choreographies from Wiltshire and Somerset were unearthed by Roy Dommett. Whilst I'm honoured to count him as a friend and whilst he would certainly have agreed to my using them, I feel that in some way they belong to Roy and to the sides with which he has directly shared them. In the same way, given the small number of sides which actually perform stave dancing, the contemporary developments belong to their originators. Again, I could have asked but I felt that it would be unfair to pick my "favourites".
So instead, I constructed material especially for the workshop. The two six-person dances were based on three-couple country dances, and the basic shapes of the two eight-person dances were derived from garland dance notations available from the Morris Federation. It's certainly possible that someone else has developed either identical or similar notations, in which case let me know. Either I'll credit you and leave the material up, or I'll remove it and replace it with new choreographies; your choice. The titles were also concocted especially for the workshop. They were influenced by the fact that I'd come back from Perth the previous evening, so once again it's more than possible that the titles are in use for similar material. Once again, let me know and I'll change them. What are Staves, The simple answer, firstly, is that a stave is simply a stick. The term was in use in the early 1900s for anything from a morris stick maybe eighteen inches (45cm) in length, to the longest poles I've found in old photographs of processions, which may be up to eight feet (2.4m) tall. The staves used for what is nowadays referred to as "Stave Dancing" are normally between five and six feet (1.5 to 1.8m) long (there are a couple of pictures of a contemporary side here), but old references to people who "danced with staves" can also be describing what would nowadays be called morris "stick" dances. This can, of course, cause some confusion in interpretation. The notations originally uncovered by Roy Dommett refer to dancing with the officers' staves from friendly societies in the Wiltshire and Somerset area of the United Kingdom. These are similar to ecclesiastical staves, perhaps five and a half feet long, with a metal finial which was often richly decorated. Photographs of staves used for processions (though not necessarily for dancing) elsewhere show poles which may be as short as four and a half feet in length (Coltishall, Lincs) to eight feet (unidentified location, Yeovil area). Sometimes the tops have finials, some support ribbons, and some have what appear to be simple turned wooden tops. It was also traditional to attach banners and/or posies of flowers to the poles used for processions. Why dance with them - well, why not? Social dancing was an integral part of celebrations such as friendly society walks, village fairs and feasts, beating the bounds, bannering and so on. Where staves were also an integral part of the festivities, it seems to me perfectly natural that in some places, the two would be combined. Certainly, although opinions may differ as to precisely how many choreographies there are, some Wiltshire and Somerset friendly societies dances with staves on at least some occasions. There is a clear reference to a similar occurrence near Stourport in Worcestershire (unless the informant was making it up to please the collector, in which case I would have expected him to fabricate something more conventional). There may also be some material from the Lincolnshire area but I am still in the very early stages of interpreting this. It seems at least plausible to me that the dearth of information may be due to the fact that no-one has been looking very hard, and that other references will eventually be found. But enough of this history stuff - let's just try a dance with the staves to get the feel of it. See the choreography of The Fair Maid Stepping I am unaware of any place where a distinct style of stepping for stave dancing is recorded. Varieties of stepping are discussed at length elsewhere on this web site, so I'll just summarise the three styles I taught for this workshop. The step which I've seen in use most often by contemporary sides is a fairly fast, low, double-step (step-step-step-hop) with the body-weight kept slightly forward to provide slightly more impetus. This results in a very even, flowing style which I feel looks particularly good when danced with shorter, lighter-weight staves. In order to point out the contrast which can be introduced by changing the stepping, I also used a single-step (step-hop, step-hop). When danced with staves this normally results in the body-weight being held more directly over the feet. The step normally covers less ground, resulting in a tighter set,and is more amenable to variations in the rate at which the dancers cover the ground, allowing surges and more precise stepping on the spot. If you want to try using very large staves (our largest are almost eight feet long and three inches in diameter), this style of stepping may be more to your taste. I also taught the step which Red Stags use for the processional "Iron Drayman". This was collected from two or three informants about Welsh Border Morris, by Roy Dommett. It's an exaggerated version of the step which social dancers from the west country used to use, a double-step again, with the three 'steps' being made close to the ground and the 'hop' being accompanied with a lift of the free leg so that the thigh is amost horizontal. This provides a definite pause and emphasis in the stepping: some dances will need to be adjusted to fit, if you decide to use this step.
So How is This Different from Social Dancing? Well, by now you'll have seen that there isn't a big difference. Although, as we've seen, if you don't give hands there's really not much difference between stars and rounds, what happens there is that you just change the choreography a little, and there you have a dance with staves, hence "a stave dance" Then, in the second dance, we actually used the tips of the staves to make arches, and the fact that you want to make the staves stay together at the top dictates the way you have to turn. But, my feeling is that this is the sort of thing which most traditional groups did. What we've taken are elements of social dance, adapted for use with the staves, and which a group of dancers could work up to an acceptable performance standard in an evening or two, and then probably not do it again until the next year. This may of course be completely wrong, and we may find new material which indicates that these dances were very tightly choreographed, intensely practiced and performed regularly. However, my examination of the material which is currently available suggests this wasn't the case. The stave makes a good 'prop', giving the audience something to look at even when the dancers are standing still or performing very simple movements: I find that the good old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle can work fairly well for the choreographies, as I hope we've all just seen. At this point I showed the Stags stave processional Iron Drayman. There were just enough staves to go round, so I showed them the figures and the way that number one telegraphs the moves rather than calling, and let them go - the aim being to last for a few minutes whilst the musicians played whatever came into their heads and the sets tried to keep out of each others' ways. It worked. Whilst that was happening someone got me a beer, which was much appreciated. I'm not detracting from the beautiful choreographies which have been developed by some contemporary sides, many of which are extremely complex and which I find very good to watch, I'm merely pointing out that it doesn't have to be so. However, having addressed the idea of the stave as a 'prop', let's look at another couple of things which you can do with it. See the choreography of The Merry Glover How do present-day sides differ from the traditional ones? Since we know so little about the people who were involved, it's hard to say, really, but we can look at a few decisions which a modern-day side, should you decide to form one, has to make that a side at the turn of the century probably wouldn't have had to worry about, as well as some that they probably did. They didn't really have to worry too much about the size of their repertoire. It's disputable how many dances are actually recorded in Roy's material, but certainly no more than a half-dozen in any one place. That would have been plenty: in the same period, most sides in the Welsh Borders made do with just one, and got away with it. But, if I came every week and made you practice the same dance, say that last one, I'd be booed off stage by week three. One difference is that they almost certainly didn't practice every week. So, if you have to assemble a repertoire, you need enough variety to satisfy a modern group of dancers: sufficiently coherent that it looks like a style, but sufficiently varied to be challenging. Another difference is that as a spectacle, the dance or dances didn't have to compete with World Cup Soccer on Big-Screen TV in the pub, nor with Steven Spielberg. If an outing to the music-hall once a month or so is for the rich folk, and you're competing with a Cribbage match for the majority of the audience, and the occasion itself is special, it's easier to get people to watch. Anyone here play Crib? I wonder if there are some cards behind the bar? What they did worry about were the turnout, the smartness, the occasion. They were on display, as part of an occasion. In this, it's much more akin to Cotswold Morris than to most Border Morris. Now, they wore bowler hats, or flat caps, "Sunday Best". I haven't found any photographs that I can positively peg as women with staves, but there's a lovely one of a union procession in the Eastleigh museum, with banners, similar occasion and in fact the friendly societies were leading lights of the carnival movement here. In that picture, The women are wearing their best dresses. So what might we wear? I don't know abut most of the rest of you here, but for me, a suit, which is the equivalent of the jacket and hat the men wore, is work clothes. A DJ is more formal, with the cummerbund and everything, sort of equivalent to the things the Mayor or Mayoress might wear: the women would perhaps wear dresses. Long ones were in fashion at the start of the century and I see a lot of long dresses again now, the sort of thing you'd keep for "special". Except that to go with a DJ, it would have to be cocktail frocks, really, and those staves would hurt So, maybe, long, soft skirts and blouses, and for the men perhaps dark slacks and either those posh rugby or polo shirts with an embroidered logo, or the bright, bold, patterned waistcoats which seem in vogue in the city and at some of the dances I play for. Notice that I'm not proposing a unisex kit. It's a matter of personal taste amongst the team, but one advantage that I see of different kits is that you're not limited to smocks or trousers. I have male friends who aren't flattered by a smock, and I'm aware that some womes feel uncomfortable in trousers. Mind you, I also know women who wouldn't be seen dead in a skirt, so you pays your money and takes your choice. And you'd have difficulty doing the dip and dive in a long skirt. What shows in the pictures is that they were wearing the same sort of clothing, and it was special, without being twee or "historical" - you see "contemporary" clothing. Feel free to ignore it, but for what it's worth, that's what I see when I look at the pictures. Having said which, let's do another dance which would hopefully work in any costume. I've tried to present material which has variety, different shapes, open and closed sets, audience contact, that sort of thing. And different speeds. This one's theme is fast. See the choreography of Sweet William, a nice flowing, challenging dance to finish with. Well, that's all there is. I hope it's been useful and that you've enjoyed it. Don't forget to let me know if you decide to actually form a group or use any of this stuff in public: I'll be interested to see how you get on. 
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