The Sunday Class
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Taught/practised on: 2012 May 27 th
A TRIP TO BAVARIA (R4x32) James MacGregor-Brown  Collins Pocket Ref  1- 4 1s & 4s cross RH while 2s+3s dance ½ RH across, 1s+3s & 2s+4s change places LH on sides  5-16 3s & 2s cross RH while 1s+4s dance ½ RH across, & repeat until back in original places 17-24 1s set to 2s, cross over to face 3s, set & cross to face 4s 25-32 1s set to 4s & cross over to 4 th  place on opposite sides, all Adv+Ret 2 steps 1s changing places 2H to retire to own sides
The source text for this dance appears in Collins with a copyright date of 1960. It was devised following a Glasgow group trip to Munich. James also wrote a tune (of the same name or more accurately ‘Eine Reise nach Bayern’ as he actually called it) to go with the dance. He produced a short film of the dance, to this tune and the second tune ‘Dyster Laddie’, which he sent to their Munich hosts. There is also controversy over the last 4 bars of the dance and this is what James had to say: (April 7 th  2011): The directions in the Collins Reference Book are indeed what I had in mind. This tiny section of four bars, i.e. 29 - 32, will take longer to describe than to dance: For “tidyness” and “covering” (the importance of these having been drilled into us as dancers with an RSCDS touring demonstration team) this end part looks more pleasing, perhaps even impressive FOR AUDIENCES - which are not in the least necessary for us to enjoy our dancing! THE THREE COUPLES advance in a straight, well-covered line, hands joined, and then... the first couple, in fourth position, on the “wrong side”, as you know... DEFTLY, even “discretely”, DROP HANDS at the end of BAR 30, then... taking ONE HAND – the RIGHT, which for the lady is already ”free”, TURN, thus changing sides, close enough to the other two couples to... REJOIN the other two couples BEFORE THEY START TO RETIRE, together once again... ON BARS 31 AND 32 .................... "in two beautifully tidy and beautifully covered lines” ................................ (Well! It’s the thought that counts!) To think that all this is over in a flash and one has to be ready to start all over again, so that a new couple can “STAR”! CODA: You must feel free, for you are, to do it in whatever way you like! What’s wrong with small changes that don't confuse others? Amusing perhaps? Not so very long ago, I was at an RSCDS dance, and A Trip to Bavaria happened to be on the programme. I was “told off” by a fellow from Australia, who told me I had done that end part the wrong way. I of course said nothing, being just rather pleased to think that people in Australia are enjoying this little dance, which does have, I suppose, an amusing, entirely new movement. The tune which is always associated with this dance, Remmerts of Herford (or Hamish’s tune) is therefore not the original recommendation and in fact the deviser has stated that he doesn’t like it! The Remmerts of Herford (often spelled “Remots”) is usually credited to Hamish Menzies, it bears an uncanny resemblance to a German song, Die Fischerin vom Bodensee (The Lake Constance Fisherwoman), which was written by Franz Winkler in 1947 and used in 1956 as part of the soundtrack of a (cheesy) eponymous film. Hamish Menzies was a Scottish fiddle player and dance band leader; some of his recordings, including a version of The Dashing White Sergeant with the Remmerts of Herford tune as an alternative, have recently been re-issued on a compilation CD (”Scottish Sounds of Yesteryear, Volume 2”, from Beracah Music). Herford is a town in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Remmert is a German family name, and indeed the Herford local telephone book includes 20 entries for people or businesses named Remmert. We have no information about the connection between any of those people and Hamish Menzies. The alternative title, Hamish's Tune, is said to go back to Andrew Rankine, who when recording the dance on his album, “Barn Yard Party”, couldn't remember the original title, only the composer's name. The devisor moved to Canada (Toronto area) and allegedly is known there as “The Duke of Ireland” because he always wears emerald green!