Bellingham English Country Dance

How To

Dance Steps for select dances (MS WORD doc file. Left click to open, right click to download.)
(Thanks to Ernie and Muriel Thieleker for doing this guide.)

Which way do I go? Figure 8s and Heys explained with Flash animations.

The following explanations of terms, figures and steps were selected from The Playford Ball. 103 Early English Country Dances 1651-1820. As Interpreted by Cecil Sharp and His Followers by Kate Van Winkle and Genevieve Keller. Less common figures and steps are not copied here. A more complete version is available on Dianna Shipman's web site: BASIC INFORMATION FOR MODERN ENGLISH COUNTRY DANCE.

Explanations of some Terms, Figures and Steps

Active, inactive: Active dancers are in motion according to the instructions of the dance. Inactive dancers remain in their places on the side of the set until included in the figures of the dance. Inactives may occasionally find it necessary to move to one side or the other to allow active dancers to pass between or around them.

Arm right, left: Dancers link right arms at elbow, turn once around clockwise, and fall back to places. Arm left is counter-clockwise. The arms should be firmly linked, dancers giving each other support in the turn.

Back to back: Dancers face and move forward to pass right shoulders, step to the right behind each other, and move backwards to place passing left shoulders.

Balance forward and back: To balance forward, step forward onto the right foot, bring the left forward to close beside the right, then step backward on the left. To balance back, step backward onto the left foot, bring the right to close beside the left, then step forward onto the left. This is a simple forward and back body movement, as used in waltzes such as ‘The Northdown Waltz” in Al: 1-4.

Balance back and move forward: This movement differs from those above in that there is a definite change of weight. Step back on the right foot, bring the left back beside it, then step forward on the right foot. Stepping forward in this case usually leads right into a travelling figure such as the change places in “Spring Garden,” Part I, Bi: 5-8.

Cast: Partners turn away from each other and move outside the set to a new position, the other dancers usually moving up or down as indicated on the last four beats. To cast down in a progressive longways dance, the 1st (or active) couple face up, separate, and move down outside one place. To cast up, 1st couple face down, separate and move up outside one place.

Change places: Dancers exchange places by moving across the set passing right shoulders unless otherwise directed, turn around to the right and end facing each other as before. This movement uses an entire phrase. In some triple time dances such as “The Hole in the Wall” and “Well Hall” as noted, the first part of the change is danced like a half-gipsy, the dancers backing into new places on the last three steps.

Circle three-hands, four-hands, &c: Dancers form a ring by joining hands, a little above waist level, and circle to the left once around. Three-hands involves 3 dancers(actually six hands); four-hands is for 4 dancers, six- hands for six, and so on. If the directions specify “and back,” dancers then circle an equal number of steps to the right, back to places.

Circular hey: see Hey

Corner: In duple minor formation, first corners are the 1st man and 2nd woman. Second corners are the 1st woman and 2nd man. In a square or round, the corner is on the man’s left or woman’s right.

Cross: The actives simply go directly across the set to the other side, passing right shoulders unless otherwise directed. This is usually followed by a movement down the outside, or a hey on the opposite side.

Double: Three steps and close in duple time; two steps and close in triple time.

Fall back: Move backward as directed.

Figure-eight: In a longways progressive dance, the active dancer pass between the couple below (or above), around the dancer on the opposite side of the set, pass between the same couple, around the other dancer and return to place. This figure is frequently danced by a couple simultaneously, the woman moving ahead of her partner. If a half figure-eight is directed, the active couple will end in partner’s place in the set.

Forward a double, fall hack a double: Starting with right foot, take three steps forward and close (no weight); to fall back, start with the left, take three steps backward and close. In triple time, take two steps and close.

Gipsy: Dancers face each other and move clockwise (keeping to the left) completely around one another, facing inward. The movement may be compared to a two-hand turn without hands. This figure sometimes leads to exaggeration! Avoid eyeball to eyeball contact or “airplane” arms.

HEYS
Hey: A weaving figure for 3, 4, 6, or 8 dancers without hands unless otherwise specified.

Hey for three: This figure is danced up and down, or across the set. The dancers, moving simultaneously, describe a figure-eight. No. I faces Nos. 2 and 3; moving slightly to the left, No. 1 passes No. 2 by the right shoulder, then No. 3 by the left shoulder. Turning left, No. 1 re-enters the set to complete the figure-eight with the other dancers. This weaving figure is best performed when the figure-eight is made as wide as possible.

Half-hey: Here only half the figure is danced, the ends will have changed places, the middle dancer will dance through an end position and back to the middle.

Hey on opposite side, hey on own side: In this variation of the hey for three, the 1st couple hey on the opposite side while the 2nd and 3rd couples hey on their own: 1st woman cross down center to pass 3rd man by the left, 1st man cross down center to pass 3rd woman by the right. 1st couple finish the hey in top place, improper. To hey on own side they cross again down the center to their own side while 2nd and 3rd couples do as they did in the first part. Note that for the 2nd and 3rd couples, the pattern of the hey is a continuous meeting and separating from partner as in mirror hey below.

Mirror hey: When both sides hey together, the figure is often in mirror image: 1st and 2nd men pass right shoulders, 1st and 2nd women pass left shoulders to start. In this case the 1st couple begins the hey leading down the middle, the 2nd couple facing up and separating outside 1st couple, the 3rd leading up the center, the 1st couple separating around them. This figure became known as the “Grunstock” hey because of Sharp’s use of it in that early dance.

Straight hey for four: Nos. I and 2 face, Nos. 3 and 4 face. All begin by passing right shoulders, reversing direction at both ends of the hey, turning right and passing right on reentering the figure.

Circular hey for four: This is danced like a right-and-left, except that the dancers do not take hands to pass and they weave in a circular track rather than a square.

Circular hey for six: In this weaving figure, the 1st coupic face each other, the 2nd couple face the 3rd who face up. All begin by passing right shoulders and continue all around the set to places.

Progressive hey: In this variation, the movement is initiated by two dancers as directed, who face each other, take right hands, pass by, give left hands to the next, right to the next, and so on, eventually bringing all dancers into the hey which is continued until all dancers reach their ending places.

Sheepskin Hey: This is not a true hey, but rather a weaving track figure around standing dancers and occurs only in “Picking up Sticks.” Using a skip step, 1st man, followed by 2nd and 3rd men, crosses above the 1st woman and begins to weave around the standing women. 1st man passes 2nd woman left and 3rd woman right, 2nd and 3rd men following. When the 3rd man (who is at the end of the line) has passed the 2nd woman, he reverses direction by going completely around her and weaves back, leading the hey up the line, followed by the 1st and 2nd man. When the 2nd man (now at the end of the line) reaches the 2nd woman, he does the same, dancing completely around her and reversing the direction of the hey, followed by the 3rd and the 1st man. When the 1st man becomes the end of the line and reaches the 2nd woman, he does the same, weaves back up to the top and leads the line in a cast off to his right, around behind the women, across the bottom of the set and up to original place. Then the women do the mirror image.

Honor: A courtesy movement. A man bows, simply dropping the torso with the arms relaxed at the sides; a woman brings one foot behind and bends and straightens her knees in a simple curtscy. Theatrical flourishes and held-out skirts are inappropriate.

Improper: see Proper, improper

Lead: Partners or actives take hands, the man or lower number dancer offering palms up, and they move together. Current practice is to take inside hands rather than right-to-right as Sharp originally indicated. Both are acceptable, remembering that all movements begin and end in place at the side of the set.

Neighbor: In a longways dance, the neighbor is the person beside the active dancer.

Poussette: Men take both hands with partners, arms straight and nearly shoulder high. 1st man take four steps obliquely forward, pushing partner out of set, then fall back four steps pulling partner into other couple’s place. Simultaneously, 2nd man fall back four steps, pulling partner, then forward into 1st man’s place. For a haif-poussette, stop here. For a full poussette, continue the movement until all are in original places.

Presence: Top of the room, usually where the music is.

Proper, Improper: When all are on their own side, they are proper. If the woman is standing on the men’s side, or a man on the women’s side, they are improper.

Right-and-left: This figure is usually danced by two couples. Begin by giving right hand to partner, pass by and turn towards neighbor, give left hand to neighbor and pass by (*), right hand to partner, pass, left hand to neighbor and pass. Each dancer will pass through the places of each of the other dancers in turn. Move directly from place to place without extra loops or turns. This figure is usually phrased with four beats for each pass but can occasionally be in three, and less frequently, a quick two. Each pass is called a “change.” Half right- and-left is the same up to the *, Grand right-and-left is the same, but involves a larger number of dancers.

Right hands-across, left hands-across: Diagonally opposite dancers join right or left hands in a shake- hands position, two pairs making a star. Giving some support, the dancers then move around in the direction they are facing, usually for eight steps.

SET
Set: Setting steps are done either in place or advancing toward or retiring from another person. One “set” is to the right and the left and usually takes two bars. Dancer springs lightly onto right foot, usually to the side, steps Onto the Left briefly and back onto the right, with a quick change of weight. The movement is then repeated with a spring onto the left foot.

Slow set: A step to the right or left and a close, taking one bar. Slow set and honor right (or left) is a step to the right (or left) followed by an honor.

Siding: As defined by Sharp in 1911, siding is danced thus: Partners face and change places, each moving slightly to the right diagonally, starting with the right (outside) foot and passing left shoulders. Take two steps forward, turn counter-clockwise to face on the third, bringing the feet together on the fourth step. Returning, start with the left foot, take two steps to pass, turn clockwise to face, and bring feet together. If partners look at each other while dancing the figure, it is almost impossible to turn the wrong way.

Single: A single is a step and a close, from weight on One foot to weight on two feet. Turn: Two dancers join right, left, or both hands as indicated, and, giving a little weight, move around one- another, usually clockwise in a two-hand turn.

Turn single: A solo turn for one person, usually clockwise. This takes four walking steps, and should trace a small circle on the floor, and not be a pivot in place.

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