Out on the plains

A

All set right

the brolgas are dancing,

and left.

Lifting their feet
like war horses prancing.

With 2 travelling steps r.h. turn 1/2; way to finish in new wave (M facing in, W out).

Up to the sun

B

All set right

the woodlarks go winging,

and left.

Faint in the dawn light
echoes their singing

L.h. turn neighbour 1/2; way, finishing reaching out to put r.arm around front waist of next in line, r.sh. to r.sh., l.h. in the air.

Orana! Orana!

C

Joining l.hs above, swing in window hold.

Orana! To Christmas Day.

Finish swing M on inside facing out, spin W out over r.sh. under M's raised l.h. to face in, l.h. in l.h., and turn 1/4; acw to give r.h. to next to make new wave.

This Australian carol was written by John Wheeler, born in Colac, Victoria. Wheeler was a staff writer with the Australian Broadcasting Commission in Sydney, author of some highly-successful verse plays and penner of many songs. He is quoted as saying 'Just as the carols of the old world owe so much to the local colour of the countries which produced them, so it was felt that the new land of Australia - where Christmas is celebrated in high summer - should have its own carols with their distinctive background'. The tune for this carol, as for many other carols by Wheeler, was composed by William James, born in Ballarat, Victoria. After a career as a concert pianist (which began with a London Promenade Concert in 1915) James became the Australian Broadcasting Commission's first Federal Director of Music, a post he held until his retirement in 1957. Of all Wheeler and James carols this is perhaps the best known. The lyric, by reference to daily activity of half a dozen different Australian birds in their native habitat and by use of an Aboriginal word for 'welcome', offers an evocative panorama of a Christmas landscape very different to that implicit in so many wintry shepherd, king, angel or manger-centred northern hemisphere carols.

Cock your head, spread your wings and be ready to leap and strut your way through this feathered dance, ending each time through in a dizzy beak-to-beak swing with a new partner, one wing from each touching romantically overhead. In order that the man finish facing out and the woman in right on time at the end of the twirl out of this 'window' or 'lover's' hold, the man needs to anticipate the end of the action and start unwinding his partner before he facing fully out.

Sun gleams bright, hearts are light,

A1

Take 2 schottische steps forward to draw level (r.shs near) with opposite couple, W in front of her partner.

Merry, merry Christmas.

Retaining partner's l.h. but releasing partner's r.h. greet opposites (same sex opposite then their partner) with r.hs (with each 1 beat to take hs, 1 beat to shake)

Bells ring out, children shout

A2

Release these opposites, resume high promenade with partner, and take 2 schottishe steps on in original direction to greet new opposites in same fashion.

Merry, merry, merry Christmas.

Again release partner's r.h. and shake hs with opposites.

Sheep in fold, shine like gold,

B

Retain l.hs with partner r.hs with new opposite (M with W) in a squashed circular chain (W back-to-back in centre) and with M leaning out and with 2 schottische steps, wheel cw as close as possible to once around.

As the day is dawning.

Release l.hs, and r.h. turn opposite once around.

Riding by, stockmen cry

Retaining opposite's r.h. resume l.h. hold with partner and wheel the line-of-4 again.

'Welcome, Christmas morning.'

Again release l.hs, and r.h.turn opposite once around, finishing releasing opposite and resuming high promenade hold with partner facing original direction.

Here is another Australian carol by writer John Wheeler and composer William James. Though not as well-known as 'Carol of the Birds', and though focussing more on people than landscape, this tune is equally evocative. To match the carol's interest in the social side to Christmas, here is a dance which has couples greeting other couples and with every exclamation of 'Merry, merry Christmas' couples shake hands - first men with men women with women, then men with women and vice-versa.

The dance features in its B part a figure used in the German folk dance 'Kreuzkönig'. Though this German dance is in a triple-time ländler rhythm (waltz-like step), this dance is done with a schottische step. To get the most of the wheeling in line it is recommended that M lean out and raise their l.elbow to make a straight line with their l.forearm and partners' l.arm (their joined l.hs just below his chin) and the W lean back a little against the joined r.arms behind them. To avoid colliding with the other pair when two-hand turning opposite, pull a little away from the others, and to make sure you get completely around with just 4 steps take each other's l.elbow in your l.h.or twist vertical r.forearms around the opposites vertical r.forearm - or both.

Variant: A simple alternate figure for the B part is a 4 hand chain, 4 steps for each hand, always giving hand to person of opposite sex, r.h. to opposite, l.h. to partner, r.h. to opposite then l.h. to partner and into high promenade hold ready to travel on to new opposites.