About the dance: This track is the first one on the
CD containing Ivouschki, so I'd got to hear it a few hundred times. It
was a wonderfully danceable piece that I'd bopped around the flat to
over the years but it had quite a complex musical structure and I
hadn't found an 'intuitive' step sequence to match it. After completing
Runaway Train however I felt a bit more confident about faster and more
complex dances, so I decided to put a bit of work into it and see what
developed.
My approach with this dance was to find steps to fit each of the
musical parts without worrying too much about how they joined together.
As the 'bits' worked themselves out I adjusted them to fit with their
neighbours, as with the first section which changed from being a
grapevine followed by two side-touches to being the other way round -
the overall sequence stayed the same but it started at a different
point. The grapevine started with a side and cross behind so that it
ended with a side and cross in front, this led into a curving set of
steps into the centre, which is where I felt the music drawing me.
Having arrived in the centre I had a good idea of what I wanted to do
next, the music built up during the three forward steps so a hopping
lift in front made a good climax to both the musical phrase and the
excitement of the group converging. Side-lifts enabled the dance to
stay dynamic even when everyone was close together, and the three
retreating steps came straight out to contrast with the curving route
in. A final touch close kept the weight on the left foot, as I needed
the right foot free to start the third part.
The next part of the music was a sort of chorus and I'd already found
that a plain grapevine went with it very well, at the end the music
speeds up and I wanted a crossing stamp to keep the group grounded and
give some percussion while this happened. In several traditional dances
I'd seen the pattern of a slow 'winding up' in one direction followed
by a fast 'release' the other way so I wanted the grapevines to go to
the left, which is why I needed to start with the right foot, which is
where the final touch in the previous (second) part came from.
Following the chorus there was a bridge section back to the first part
and this gave me problems, I couldn't find a satisfying transition to
lead into the rightward moving first part. In the end I just danced to
that part alone (standing still for the others) and what emerged was an
old favourite - three steps to the right, lift left, one step to the
left, lift right. This gave an abrupt change of direction but apart
from that it made a good link, halfway between the flowing motion of
the grapevines and the groundedness of the first part. When I tried it
out in the dance it fitted perfectly, the direction change was fun and
there was a bonus at the end - the 6-step sequence didn't exactly fit
the 4-beat music, leaving two beats at the end, but by continuing as if
it was carrying on it led straight into the first part with the
side-touches replacing the side-lifts.
The first time I tried this out with the dance group I made a big
mistake, finding out that I hadn't brought the CD I saw there was
another version on another Bratsch CD I had with me, so I decided to
use it. The tune was the same but it was a live version, slightly
muddier sound and, sadly, about twice the speed. We made it through
(somehow) but it wasn't the best launching of a new choreography, I
almost had to force myself to try again next week with the right music.
Music: 'Opa Tsupa' by Bratsch from 'Sans
Domicile Fixe' (Griffe GRI 19012-2 CB 811).
The fast live version is on 'Bratsch: Gypsy Music from the Heart of
Europe' (World Network / Gema LC6759).
Formation: Circle, with arms in a 'W' hold.
Steps: This is fairly fast, but the steps are all the same length and on the beat. Apart from some body turning to let the hips move dancers remain facing centre throughout. Each part has a different musical part, so it should be easy to confirm that you are still in the correct sequence.
The introduction consists of the music for the fourth part, the dance begins with the singing.
On the third time through the sequence the music speeds up, and the third part (the grapevine) is continued until the end. The first step (the right crossing in front) can be emphasised with a stamp as this happens.
Later thoughts: Having got the music from France it seems somehow appropriate that it has been very popular over there, where both I and Laura have taught it. Maybe it is always true of the latest creation but this is my favourite of the bunch.