Barbarini's Tambourine | Cockney's Frolic | The Duke of Kent's Waltz
The Fair Quaker of Deal | Prince William | The Spring | Sun Assembly | Trip to Paris
Upcoming Dances | Regency Costumes
The Compleat Country Dancing-Master, Volume the Fourth, Being a Collection of all the Celebrated Country Dances now in Vogue. (London, Walsh, 17??).
Longways for as many as will.
A1 The 1st Man cast off, and, at the same
time, the 2nd Wo. cast up and
then both do a half figure, passing l.sh. with each other
then looping r.sh. around their partner and then finishing progressed and
improper.
A2 The 2d Man and 1st Wo. do the same, M casting up, W down,
passing each other r.sh. then looping l.sh. around same sex opposite.
B1 From progressed improper position with 4 counts fall back
from partner in line and possibly holding hands with sides,
and with 4 counts lead across the set into
their Places, then with 8 counts go back
to back with sides, and with another 8 counts go
back to back with Partners,
B2 then with 16 counts go Right and Left quite round,
4 counts for each of 4 hands, and with 8 counts turn
your Partner.
The fabulous tune to which this dance was set has been thought by some, on stylistic grounds, to have been a Handel composition. It certainly moves with a hypnotic magic… as does the dance. Although some people recommend different passing corners by different shoulders in the A part, and recommend different times in the B part, I feel the above not only works well but makes sense of the original language.
Some, such as the text writers on Virginia Early Musick's Handel English Country Dances CD, have speculated on stylistic and other circumstancial grounds that this fabulous tune is by Handel, and that the dance Barbarini refered to was a London dancing master. The first is possible, but the second is certainly not the case. We know the names of most leading dancing master in London in the early 18th century. The teachers were all having their names recorded as subscribers to each other's work and there is never a Barbarini mentioned. The person in question was undoubtedly the Italian ballet dancer Barbara Campanini, who toured to London, became famous there, especially for her Tambourine dance, and whose nickname was 'La Barbarina'. There is even a painting of her by Nicolas Lancret dancing with a tambourine.
Longways for as many as will
A1
To 8 counts 1s foot it to 2W and to 8 counts 3 person r.h.
star on this corner
A2 To 8 counts 1s foot it to 2M and to 8
counts 3 person l.h. star on this corner
B1 To 8 counts 1s cross, cast and ý figure
of 8 to progressed position on proper side.
B2 To 8 counts do a handles rights and left effectively
1st corners doing a slow 6 count r.sh.
gypsy 2 counts behind the 2nd corner
doing a slow 6 count l.sh. gypsy.
This dance appears in no 18th
century English dance manual to which I have access, but is one of the first
in a collection of over 300 longways dances found in Mus. Ms. 40208, in Biblioteka
Jagiellonska, Krakow. Given that most of
the dances are in a very English style and that
the date is c. 1780, a surpising number of the
dances are not triple minor the form most common in 1780 in
On the first question, Jorgen
Schou-Pedersen refers to a list of country dance steps which
On the second question, Jorgen
Schou-Pederson suggests ‘chain starting R hand to partner. Use 7 pas de bourree
starting R, 2 to each hand and finish with a cadence. The ladies should finish
with a polite turn left’. This is a standard right and left chain, but I don’t
think it is what is intended. The diagram does not show a right and left chain
using the type of line pattern found, for example, in the diagrams for ‘Princesse
Amillia’ from the 1755 Dutch dance manual. The
diagram seems to show corners (1M2W, 1W2M) gypsying
each other. This may indeed represent a kind of ‘Rights and Left’, but not
the one the editor describes, but one
‘In performing this Figure the top Lady and second Gentleman pass each other on the left, and continue on the left to places, looking at each other with a slight inclination of the head over the left shoulder, the top Gentleman and the second Lady pass each other on the right, with their heads inclined over the right shoulder.’
That these gypsies were performed not in turn, but almost simultaneously, is clear from a footnote on the p.49 of The Analysis of Country Dancing:
‘The top Lady and bottom Gentlemen must pass before the bottom Lady and top Gentleman attempts to move, else they would be liable to come in contact.’
It is clear that 1st corners start to cross r.sh. just after 2nd corners have begun to cross. If done exactly as such, it is also clear that the figure is not unrelated to the standard hand-giving rights and left, for in doing the simultaneous opposite shoulder gypsies, you will find you could if you want briefly give r.h. across the set to partner, l.h. in line to neighbour, r.h. again to partner across set, and l.h. again to neighbour in line. Given that Wilson calls his figure ‘Right and left’ it seems likely that his simultaneous gypsy figure evolved out of the standard hand-giving rights and lefts, first by simply dropping the giving of hands and doing the rights and lefts as a short circular hey, then by taking the eye focus off partner and neighbour and putting it on corner.
Triple minor longways. W. M. Cahusac's Annual Collection 1801
A1 With 8 travelling waltz steps Right hands across
A2 With 8 travelling waltz steps left hands back
Long B1 With 4 waltz steps 1s Lead down the middle
in low promenade hold, with 4 waltz steps turn about, lead back up
again and take the place of the 2s who move up with 2 side-sliding
steps, then with 8 waltz steps 1s Allemand in the middle
of set between 2s and 3s by turning each other face-to-face on crossed hands
with 4 waltz steps and/or wheel M back W forward and/or, relinquishing l.hs,
do-si-doing each other with 4 waltz steps while holding raised r.h.s,
& then
Long B2 With 8 travelling waltz steps Swing
Corners by taking 2 waltz steps to 1/2 r.h. turn your parnter, taking
4 waltz steps to l.h. turn first corner (1M 3W, 1W 2M), taking 4 waltz steps
to r.h. turn partner, taking 4 waltz steps to l.h. turn second corner r.h.
and taking 2 waltz steps to 1/2 r.h. turn partner to proper side (2 bars)
ready to slide into a r.h. star below.
The Playford Ball presents a 1970 version of this dance by A.Simons. Simons' version is duple minor, involves ignoring the text's repeat signs on the B part of the tune, has lots of hands changed (taking 2 hand to slide down centre after l.h. star, doing a r.h. balance and twirl followed by a l.h. balance and twirl for the allemande, and then going to corner with r.h. back to partner with l.h. for the corners, which means you need to change hands to do next r.h. star), takes a caste off at the end of A2 as implied and has you only swing one corner, not corners plural. Although duple minor does make for more dancing, although playing the tune AAB is less tedious then AABB, although the balancing hand changing figure is very charming, and although a progression did need to be taken as implied at somepoint in the dance, the Simons version has almost certainly drifted a long way from the text writer's original intent. Firstly, most longways dances in this period were triple minor, and although that can be tedious for modern day dancers, it does give give everyone a better view of the 1s as they lead down and back and does make for easier swinging of corners. Secondly, the text clearly has the B part of the tune repeated, and clearly groups the lead down and back with Allemand in the same 16 bar phrase. Thirdly, the Allemande can be interpreted in so many different ways, but no contempory source describes the Simons' figure, as pleasant as they are. Fourthly, 'swing corners' in contemporary sources (as in modern day ones) invariably means the 1s couple should each swing both their corners, not just one each.
If we are to try to be more faithful to the text and to conventions of the day, we might want to make the dance triple minor and play the tune AABB. 3 questions, however, remain. How do we progress, how do we dance the Allemande and how do we swing corners? We might take these 3 questions in turn.
On the first question, there are several choices. You could consider the progression happens part of a modern Scottish country dance style Allemande (see discussion below). You could consider the progression happens as a result of an implied caste off after the lead down and back, just as Simons suggested, but as half-way through the B1 (if we are going for the AABB version). Most compelling of all, however, is to consider it as happening as a result of the 1s not return all the way to the top of the set, but to just below the 2s (the 2s having moved up). This is the interpetation offered by Peggy Dixon in the triple minor AABB version she offeres in vol VIIa of her Nonsuch: Early Dance (London, 1993) (and I'm indebted to Peggy's book for crystalising my thinking on this dance after several years of pondering options), and there she is able to point out that such an interpretation fits exactly with the usage in two of Thomas Wilson's works. In both Wilson's 1811 Analysis of Country Dancing, p. 7, and in his 1816 Companion to the Ballroom pp.29-30 after going down the set 'The Lady and Gentleman at A, lead up to B, and take the situations of the Lady and Gentleman at C D [2s original place], who move up to E F [1s original place]'. A footnote in the latter adds, 'in this as in all other progressive figures, as soon as the top couple has passed, the second couple move up into their places.'
On the second question, the term 'Allemande' seems to have been used in many different ways in the late 18th and early 19th century. Is it as Peggy Dixon suggestes in her triple minor version, the curved-do-si-do Allemande described by Thomas Wilson in his 1811 Analysis of Country Dancing, as a curved do-si-do: 'the Lady at A and Gentleman at B move round each other's situation, back to back 'forming complete circles round each other'. Is it the gypsy-like allemande Wilson implies when calling dancers to 'Waltz Whole Allemande' in 'The Equestrian'? Is it the prezel-like intertwining of arms behind the back (r.h. in l.h., l.h. in r.h. while r.sh. to r.sh. or l.sh. to l.sh. facing opposite ways) which was so popular in Baroque dance and which Wilson himself seems to be prescribing for the Allemand in his 1818 The Quadrille and Cotillion Panorama (but getting it wrong, for as Peggy Dixon points out in her 1993, Nonsuch: Early Dance Vol.VII Glossary, Wilson describes dancers as holding r.h. in r.h., l.h. in l.h. and facing the opposite way (it has to be either same hand facing the same way, or opposite hands and facing the opposite way). Is it the r.h. in r.h. facing the same way hold (either over the W's shoulders or down in front) which Thompson implies in 'Pleasures of the Town' with the instruction to 'go round with the Allemand till they come in their place again the 2.d and 3.rd Cu. follows' (see Pride and Prejudice dances)? Is it the figure which is used in modern Scottish country dance and involves 2 couples going with such an Allemande hold around but then ending in each other's place to cause a progression? Is it the free style interlacing of arms coules dance, potential figures of which are described in such detail by Guillaume in his Positions et Attitude de l'Allemande (Paris, 1768?) and Dubois, Principes d'Allemande (Paris, undated)? My own feeling is that it is neither a handless do-si-do or gypsy, as Wilson seems to be describing as appropriate for country dances, and that it is not a progressive figure, such as in the modern Scottish country dance figure. The definining characteristic of an 'allemande' would seem to be the taking of hands and interlacing arms, whether done on the spot or used to travel. Of all the possible hand holding figures, however, it is almost impossible to decide which one the author of this 1801 dance might have been intending. It could have been the 'prezel hold' turn, a low or high promenade hold wheel or promenade, or an invitation to do non-regle cross-hand couples dance. Also intented could also have been the do-si-do or gypsy allemande which Wilson descibes, but with hands! Perhaps this was even what Wilson intented, assuming people would know to hold hands for an Allemande. It is certainly possible to do both with hands. The wide curved do-si-do can be done while holding raised r.h. in r.h. and the wide curved gypsy can be done while holding r.h. in r.h. and l.h. in l.h. For my reconstruction above, I have suggested filling out the 8 bar phrase with a combination of your choising of a cross-hand 'wheel' or 'swing' (both flow well out of the promenade back up set) and a r.h. do-si-do (flows so perfectly into the swing of corners) - but if you are using small steps you might only need to do one of these figures in the 8 bars.
On the 3rd question, I favour, as Peggy Dixon does in her triple minor version, seeing the 'swing corners' to be effectively the same figure as Thomas Wilson describes 'Swing corners' in An Analysis of Country Dancing (London, 1811), and if you take the formation to be triple minor and enable the 1s to finish the allemand r.h. in r.h. then you can flow so easily into turning partner r.h. between swinging both corners l.h.- and I would even go further, and suggest the 1s finish with a 1/2 r.h. turn.
Thus, my reconstruction of the dance becomes similar in structure to the one Peggy Dixon published back in 1993 (unknown to me untill recently), but I recommend a few things which I think make for better flow from one figure to the next - going down the middle with crossed hands, an Allemande that involves a cross-hand then r.h. hold, and, after the swing of corners, a final 1/2 r.h. turn with partner. Indeed, the result is a dance which flows almost faultlessly - from the coming back on l.h. start, into the cross hand promenade down and back, into the cross-hand turning of partner, into the r.h. do-si-do of partner, into the pull past partner on r.h. and giving l.h. to first corner, r.h. back to partner, l.h. to next corner, r.h. back to partner and turning into r.h. star with new couple below.
If, however, you want to try such a lengthy triple minor dance with modern dancers you might want to make sure of at last two things. Firstly, you might want to recommend people do not use too expansive a waltz travelling step or they will overshoot each figure. Perhaps indeed, as the dance was written before couples waltzing become a craze in England and when waltzing even on the continent was still more like an Austrian Landler, the waltz step is meant to be almost in place - so in each bar you travel no further than you might if you were walking 1 step to a bar. Perhaps indeed, the Duke of Kent and his contemporaries didn't even 'waltz' the dance, but just walked it thus as if it were a slow country dance. Secondly, you might want to make sure the sets are not too long... or might want to overlap the triple minor form on a duple minor set, so that without changing any figures ever second couple, starting with the top, gets to dance as 1s, and the 2s have to have their wits about them to respond to 1s coming from both sides on the 'swing corners'. Its not how they would have done it in 1801, when people were used to one dance taking longer and more used to being 'inactive', but the figures can remain the same.
Whatever permutation of the above possibilities you choose, you will be delighted and carried along by a beautiful tune. According to the editors of The Playford Ball the dance and tune were found in a coverless book a the British Library which Jacqueline Schwab identified as W.M.Cahusac's Annual Collection, 1801. This was a time when waltz tunes and travelling steps began to be used for dances in traditional English longways formation. This particular 'waltz country dance' (as they called such hybrids) would seem to be a dedication to Edward Augustus, 1767-1820, the fourth son of George III and father of Queen Victoria. As the PB editors observe, he was made Duke of Kent in 1799 and was commander-in-chief of the forces in British America in 1799-1800.
Walsh, Twenty Four New Country Dances, 1712 Longways for as many as will.
A1 The 1st man and 2d wo Set,
turn S., the 1st cu cast off,
A2 the 2d man and 1st wo Set, turn S. the 2d cu cast off.
B1 The 1st man and 2d wo meet back to
back, the 2d man and the 1st wo do the same, with
4 steps all four hands half round backward
then with another 4 steps roll over own r.sh. around back of own partner,
so as to finish facing out of set on proper side, the 1st cu being in the
2d cu place, lead to the wall, turn around and
lead back again, the 1st cu lead up through
the 2d cu and cast off.
Deal was the seaside Kentish town, and the 'Fair Quaker of Deal' was the name of a comedy by Charles Shadwell which was staged in London in 1709/10. The editors of The Playford Ball may be right to suspect that this dance composition was not, however, so much an homage to this play, as to the actress who played the lead character of Dorcas Zeal in the London production. This actress, Hester Santlow, had already been well known as an outstanding stage dancer, and received glowing praise for this debut acting role. It seems in the intermission she also performed as a dancer in a Harlequin costume and was honoured with another country dance in her name 'Miss Santlow's Frolic'.
There has been some debate over whether in the A part of this dance it is couples who should cast or the corners who have just greeted who should cast (e.g. The Playford Ball follows A. Simons in having the 1st corners greeting, the 1M cast down, 2W cast up, and the others move up or down out of the way). This debate is curious for several reasons. Firstly, the instructions clearly say 1st couple cast and then after 2nd corners greet, 2nd couple cast, and this fits perfectly well with expectations of the words 1st, 2nd, couple and cast. Secondly, the most problematic feature of the dance instructions as originally presented is not in the A part, but in the B part. The modern versions based on Simon's interpretion introduce three movements that are not represented in the text (and this text was printed in 3 different editions of Walsh's book). Firstly, everyone setting in place before go around in the back ring. Secondly, the 1s crossing as they perform the final lead up (thus effectively doing a 1/2 figure 8) and thirdly, the 2s crossing as the 1s cast off. Though the setting is a pretty innocent (indeed fun) way to fill out an 8 bar phrase when the circling of the backring is clearly only going to take 4 counts), there are more problems with the second and third above mentioned figures beyond the fact that they are not specified (not being specified is not always a big problem in itself - sometimes a cast off after a 'lead back' or a 'cross' is not specified as it is implied). Firstly, when dance writers wanted crossing side as you lead up, they could use expressions such as 'figure through and cast' (as in 'Mr Beveridge's Maggot' when the dancers need to go from improper back to proper) and when they didn't want crossing they might used 'lead through and cast' (as in Mr Isaac's Maggot when the 1s are already proper and stay proper and the exact phrase used here). When they want the 2s to cross they will also invariably say just that. Secondly, it seems a bit tight having the 1s do a figure up and cast with just 8 steps (the same number allowed in the A part for the initial simple casts from 1st position to 2nd position). Thirdly, it also seems a bit strange and tight to have 2 crossing figures happening almost at the same time in the same space. Fourthly, if the 2s wait for the 1s to have crossed through before they themselves cross, they only have 4 steps at the most to change places, and if they cross by the r.sh. or r.h. (as would be the normal instinct) then the 2W will on her 4th step be facing away form the new oncoming 1M with whom she has to meet in the next piece of music and have no time to turn around to face him.
The above led me to think that the couples must be proper before they lead to the wall, and indeed, the text seems to be saying as much: 'the 1st cu being in the 2d cu place, lead to the wall' - i.e. the 1s are to be exactly where the 2s started the dance, not only progressed but proper. How do you get to be in such a position after the figures that come before- without changing any of the instructions? The solution is simple. Rather than using 4 counts to set in place then 4 counts to backring halfway, start with a 4 count backring, then with the remaining 4 counts pull r.sh. back (rolling around own partner's back) and go directly to progressed proper position. Its such a slight, discrete figure that it hardly warrants a name. If you are backringing to the right, you are already almost part way into a turn off that will get you to your own side - your turn doesn't even constitute 1/2 a gypsy. It is a bit like that which I believe is implied by the term 'Turn off' in the dance 'Spring Garden' (when the couples are back to back and need to roll back over their r.sh. into their partners place) but the turn off here is less than the 180 degree turn required in that dance. With no obvious word for the movement, the writer seems to have thought best to simply state where you are meant to be for the next figure, and thus the fact that the next expression is 'the 1st cu being in the 2d cu place, lead to the wall'.
So if you are happy to take a
3/4 right shoulder pull back out of the back ring as implied, you don't
need to add or subtract a thing to the original instructions to have a simple
straight forward and (hopefully) still fun dance.
Longways for as many as will
A1 The 1st Man Heys
with the 2d and 3d Wo. by crossing set to give r.sh. to 3W and so start hey, his Partner
at the same Time Heys with the 2d and 3d Men by
crossing set just ahead of her partner to give l.sh. to 3M and so start hey,
both continuing hey till 1s arrive back in top place, though improper.
A2 Then Hey on your own Sides, starting 1s crossing set again, 1W going down to give r.sh. to 3W
ahead of 1M going down to give l.sh. to 3M.
B1 The 1st cu. cross over,
cast off around 2s while 2s move up, and turn each
other 1 and 1/2 to finish proper in progressed position.
B2 2d Cu. does the same,
crossing over, casting off and 2h turning partner 1 and 1/2 to finish proper
in original second position.
A1 1s cast off (2s swing or lead up) into
second position from where The 1st Man turns the 3d Wo. with
his Right Hand, his Partner does the same with the 2d Man at the same Time
and then 1s 2h cw
turn your Partners in the middle 1 and 1/4 and pull past r.sh. towards other corner.
A2 Do the same at the other Corner, 1M giving r.h. to 2W, 1W r.h. to 3M, then 2h cw turning partner in
middle a little less than once about to finish opening out, W on M's r.side
holding inside hs facing W side of dance.
B1 First Cu. leads through the 2d and 3d wo,
cast individually (1M around 2W, 1W around 3W to
come back into the middle from the top and bottom respectively) and
2h cw turn 1 and 1/4 in the 2d Cu. Place finishing
facing M's side of dance.
B2 Then lead through the 2d and 3d Men, cast off individually (so M comes back into centre from bottom, W
from top) and 2h cw turn 1 & 1/4 again to finish.
This original instructions for this dance appeared in the 1731 edition of Walsh's Compleat Country Dancing Master. Shimmer and Keller noted in The Playford Ball, that a two couple dance 'Prince William, A New Dance for his Majesty's Birthday' had been composed by L'Abbe in 1721, and that it was probably in honour of William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, the infant son of George II, then Prince of Wales. This prince (1721 to 1765) later became known as 'the butcher' for his treatment of the Scottish Jacobites at the end of their rebellion of 1745-1746.
My version above varies from Pat Shaw 1960 reconstruction (the version most commonly danced today) in two main respects - and in both my hope is that I might be recapturing some of the choreographer's originally intended flow.
Firstly, instead of having1M having to cut in front of his own partner in order to turn the 3W in the same time it take his partner to turn the 2M, when dance language of the day would normally have W go first in any crossing, I would suggest that the ones need to be between the 2s and 3s before they start the contra corner figure. This is not only what you expect in any such figure from Regency time to today, it also means the 1W and 2M can start the contra corners with their easiest hand, their r.h. To achieve this progression into the middle position, I think you need to assume the 2s, after their 2h turn, move back up to top place. They can achieve this either by going up the outside while the 1s lead down, as effectively happens in the second part of 'Trip to Paris', or leading up the middle, while the 1s caste off. In either case it is likely to take an extra 4 counts of music for this progression. In 'Trip to Paris' there is exactly this number of extra counts built into the tune at that point. In this dance, although there is no extra music you will discover there is sufficient music in the B part to incorporate such an opening progression. Although 'Trip to Paris' offers the nice precident of having the 2s return to the top by going up the outside, I have favoured for my reconstruction above, having the 2s move up the middle, as this can flow nicely out of their 2h turn (indeed, they can use the 2h turn to achieve this if they like), and the 1s, by casting into the middle, gain a good trajectory for their first corner.
Secondly, my reconstruction has interpreted the turn with partner between turning corners not as a l.h. turn but a 2h open turns. Although this does not give the alternation of right and left hand that we might be used to today in a Scottish or Contra corners figure, it does flow very well not only for the cornering itself but into and out of the lead through figures. All turns in the dance end up being beautifully full (all but one 1 and 1/4 or 1 and & 1/2;) and all the leading can start holding inside hand W on r. of M. I think this offers the dance greater integrity than that offered in the Pat Shaw version (as pleasant as the alternation is up to the point where you have to go into the leading figure) where you end up having to make some turns l.h. some long 2h, and enter the first lead through holding same hand crossed and enter the second lead through figure holding inside hand. Indeed, a similar decision to interpret all turn figures as 2h open turns in my reconstruction of 'St.Margaret's Hill', a from this same period, helped solve lots of problems for that dance.
In one respect, however, I am happy to depart from the original choreographer's clear intention. Although I do not normally go for chopping longways triple minors into short 3 couple long sets (as is common practise in Modern English Country dance treatment of 18th century dances), this dance sequence is so long (64 bars) that it could be tedious in a modern social situation playing the music enough times for everyone in a long longways set to have a turn at being 1s (and even more tedious if you don't play it enough times) and it may be better to go for short 3 couple sets, as Pat Shaw recommended, and have the 1s turn to the bottom of the set at the end of the second B2 (just as I have the 2s turn each other back (or lead each other) back up to the begining of the first B1. If, however, your dancers are prepared to dance the sequence for a while, and your columns are not too long, the longways for as many as will formation will give you the full 18th century character... and is not any harder to teach/lead, if you have the less experienced dancers in the bottom half of the column, with lots of time to learn as they move up.
Country Dances: being A Composition Entirely New, Published
by Walsh 1699, dances by Thomas Bray. Longways for as many as will.
A1 The first and second Man move up two or three steps, and
with a second double or pas de bourree turn back to the left to their
own places again;
A2 With 4 steps, double or pas de bourree Each Man changing places
with his Wo. with the right Hand, Men with their Faces down, We. with theirs
up, then with next 4 steps, double or pas de bourree all turn
single to the left hand away from each other,
to finish in each others place; Men being Improper:
B1 First Man and second Wo. cross the set and go(es) acw
half round their own Partners on the outside (passing partner
l.sh. and finishing in corner’s place, and, twisting
tack on one’s route just as a clock spring does, turn right
Hands round, the first Man ends below facing up towards original
partner, the second Wo. above facing down towards original
partner;
B2 The first Wo. and second Man do the same after them, 1W
facing down, 2M facing up, pass original partner by l.sh. and go acw around
outside to other corners place then double back on the inside with a complete
r.h. turn to finish in progressed position, 1W facing down, 2M facing up:
And by repeating all the above each time with new opposites
so to the end.
This is a beautifully neat dance. It is not the season spring which is probably
being referred to in the title but the clock mechanism - timekeeping going
through some very significant evolution at that time. Some people, however,
lose the clock spring image by imagining the r.h. turn after the acw cast
around the outside in B1 must be a mistake, when it is a very good representation
of the way a clock spring spiral incorporates a reversal of direction. Some
people also miss the perfect flow in the dance by reading B2 as meaning the
1W and 2M should do the same but in reverse direction, seems they are on the
reverse side of the set to that which 1M and 2W where when they started B1,
when this is certainly not what was intended. 1W and 2M should do exactly
as same as the other corners, except their figure will be off-set by 90 degrees
as their partners are not across the set. ‘half round their own partners
on the outside’ still, however, takes them in an acw direction and their
final turn is also a r.h. with each other. By this clever combination of instructions
all not only arrive back on their side, but M arrive facing up, W down, ready
for the start of the dance without the need for any extra twists.
A With 8 counts First and 2.d Cu.s right hands all 4 across half round and with next 8 counts left hands across back again.
With 12 counts 1s Cross over go one below and half figure up through and around the (2s) above (W crossing in front of M), finishing proper in progressed place and with remaining 4 counts 1s foot it to each other perhaps in form of rigadoon step and turn on last jump of rigadoon to face couple below
B With 8 counts 1st cu. hands round with the 3d Cu, 1s finishing on last step letting go of hands and pulling r.sh. back to look up set and then with next 8 counts 1s circle left (cw) with the 2d.
With 8 counts 1s Lead thro’ the 2d. Cu. and cast off and then with final 8 counts 1s 2h turn your Partner.
This dance is from Thompson’s Complete Collection, Vol. 1 (1757).
The version published in The Playford
Ball is the 1982
Longways for as many as will Walsh, New Country-Dancing Master, 3rd book, 1711
A1 The 1st. and 2d cus. set
left and right across into the middle of the minor set and turn
all four round single with 3 steps (a l.f. double - left, right, left,
pause) to 1/4 of the way around the set to the left (cw- 1M in 1W's place,
1W in 2W's place, 2W in 2M's place, 2M in 1M's place) - or change place
using a standard contemporary French bourree action
A2 then set again into the middle of the minor set, this time right
and left, and turn to your own places with a r.f.
double - or change back using the standard contemporary French bourree
action.
Long B Then 1s cross the set, go below the 2d cu.,
2h turn partner once, pull past by r.sh. and come up again to your
own places, the 1st man change place with the 2d wo. and the 1st.
wo. with the 2d man, then hands half round for everyone to arrive back
in original proper position and 1s cast off while 2s lead up.
The above interpretation differs in two respects from the version offered in A Playford Ball, based on the interpretation by Douglas and Helen Kennedy, 1929.
Firstly, in the A part I do not feel compelled by the wording to have couples completely cross the set, but if you want to make turn all four round single mean something more than turn single back to place after setting forward, and if you are prepared to adopt an alternating foot work then you could use the turn single to move each dancer 1/4 of the way cw around the set, where they then set to the right and left, and then use a r.f. turn single to turn back home. Such a shuttling cw then acw (as opposed to going all the way around cw) is also a possible interpretation of another Walsh dance (1718), 'Softly Good Tumas' (albeit in this instance with enough music to go half way cw, then half way acw). In that dance the expression is 'the 1st and 2d cu. dance half round without turning, turn all single and give one clap- the same back again'. Another possible interpretation of this lively figure is that it was meant to offer an impression of French bourrees -thus the very bourree-ish tune and thus the dance title 'Trip to Paris'. This line of thinking does not, however, solve all our problems as there are lots of way of doing a French folk bourree and, although we know the dance, which evolved out of an Auvergne branle, started to be known to upper class people in the French capital at the end of th 17th century as the Bourree (see Madame de Sevigne's letter of 1676), we don't know what it looked like in 1718. One contemporary way of doing a bourree in two facing lines does, however, fit with the Walsh description - dancers, with hands in the air, come forward on a right diagonal with a left,r,l, swing to face with a right,l,r and then turn single over r.sh. to opposite place with a l,r,l.. Dancers then repeat back to place. A fun option!
Secondly, in the B part I have not seen the need to add a turn single, as in the Kennedy (and modern ECD) version. It is certainly the case that it is preferable to hold off doing the diagonal crosses till you reach the identical 6th and 7th bars and then to use just one bar to circle half way around and one bar for 1s to cast off and 2s to lead up, but cross below the 2d cu., and up again to your own places was probably not meant to be the quick 4 bar loop around the 2s, leaving one bar with nothing to do, but rather a five bar figure which includes a turning of partner when below. Turning partner after crossing and go below was an exceedingly common figure in the early 18th century (its in dozens of extant dances - see for example, 'Prince William' and 'Draw Cupid Draw'). The only difference here is that the music provides an extra 4 counts for the 1s to come back up their own side to original place. In this situation you might think of the turn as not being once and a half, but once with a r.sh. crossing of the set directing the 1s back out of the set up towards home. This produces a nicely balanced dance, and one more likely to be the product of a clever, dance sensitive, early 18th century mind. The 1s in the B part, instead of having to repeat something they've already done in the A part, turn single, get to enjoy some physical interaction cum intimacy (the 2h turn) that is otherwise missing from the dance.
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