Well, ok, this is not really about dry stone walls, it's about a dance - but a dance inspired by dry stone walling and song writing, the two creative features of Dave's working life.
The tune was commissioned as a gift for Dave for his 65th birthday and the dance project grew organically from that very first idea through to four dances, a booklet and cd with video clips.
The whole project refers to the world of the Dry Stone Walling Association while the main dance, a strathspey for four couples, is based on the shapes, styles and techniques found in dry stone work linked with the skills of the song writer and composer. The dancers are moving, weaving and linking at all times, as the craftsman would construct his wall or the musician his lyrics and scores.
The booklet also contains an interesting example of music notation and a new piece of writing by Dave on the age-old legends of dancers being turned to stone. We even have two Stone Dancers, built dry of course, as our logo for the project. For details of how to obtain your own copy of the booklet please visit our Books and other items page.
And about dry stone walls... well Dave, the Master Craftsman, does know a fair bit about them so please contact him with any queries you may have. The Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, established over 40 years ago, is a charity which works to support the craft. Whatever your enquiry they too will be happy to help. www.dswa.org.uk
