Chris Stratton
New Member
After reading some of the great online technique debates (and trying my hand in participating in a few), it occurs to me that these are a great means for getting into the nitty-gritty details of dance technique. Not only do they help the participants refine their own understanding, if done in written form they are also a great tool for other readers years later.
Given what I've learned from debates between 'average' competitors and teachers, I wonder what could be learned from a debate between the masters.
Who would you like to see?
For the straight CBM English style I'd probably suggest either Stephen Hillier or Peter Eggleton. Bill Irvine would be a good choice for the opposite English perspective. But those differences can be fairly subtle: for larger issues, put any of them against a continental European. Depending on availability, a number of strong but less easily categorized participants (Andrew Sinkinson, either of the Hiltons, etc) would probably result in some interesting discussions, too. I do think it might be best to use only those retired from active competition - not only can extensive teaching and judging bring additional insight, but active competitors might feel less free to speak their minds.
While live (at the Blackpool congress?) could be fun and would permit the insertion of demonstrations, I really think a written format would be best. Not only for posterity, but also because people of that level have so much respect for each other that a lot of disagreements would be phrased in fairly nuanced ways. Those of us without years of familiarity with discussing the subject matter might only pick out the thrust of some of these arguments if we had time to read and re-read them at length.
Given what I've learned from debates between 'average' competitors and teachers, I wonder what could be learned from a debate between the masters.
Who would you like to see?
For the straight CBM English style I'd probably suggest either Stephen Hillier or Peter Eggleton. Bill Irvine would be a good choice for the opposite English perspective. But those differences can be fairly subtle: for larger issues, put any of them against a continental European. Depending on availability, a number of strong but less easily categorized participants (Andrew Sinkinson, either of the Hiltons, etc) would probably result in some interesting discussions, too. I do think it might be best to use only those retired from active competition - not only can extensive teaching and judging bring additional insight, but active competitors might feel less free to speak their minds.
While live (at the Blackpool congress?) could be fun and would permit the insertion of demonstrations, I really think a written format would be best. Not only for posterity, but also because people of that level have so much respect for each other that a lot of disagreements would be phrased in fairly nuanced ways. Those of us without years of familiarity with discussing the subject matter might only pick out the thrust of some of these arguments if we had time to read and re-read them at length.
