Great dancing by Bill Robinson. However I understand that when they made films with tap dancing in, the sound of the taps was actually (re)recorded by someone dancing on a sound board off-stage.

I'm reminded of that priceless step dancing (flat footin?) that the American lass did at Johnny Collins 'do' on Saturday. Great syncopated rythm to the music, and every beat in time. She didn't falter, and there was a wonderful element of flirtation in her style. Wonderful.

Back to the topic. The way I've seen English 'dancers' perform Playford dancing is somewhat similar to that sharpsichord machine that the Lottery and EFDSS has sponsored. That is unemotional, mechanical, going through the motions. I have danced with wonderful English Country dancers from America and they put into their folk dancing everything that we don't - eye contact, lilt, emotion, evocative body movement, relating to their partner of the moment - in other words they dance. It has been opined that we English only 'Playford plod.'

And similarly comparing the sharpsichord with traditional music. Sure it plays the tune - exactly the same way in strict time, over and over again, never varying. Whereas any traditional musician will play with emotion, with soul, with an individual style and every repeat is subtly (or maybe not so subtly) different.

Give me dancers who can dance any day - like the clip of Swayze and wife - even if they're not dancing folk dance. And give me traditional musicians over any mechanical contraption even if the latter did cost 25,000 GBP.