Study Notes Copyright © William Lynch 2007
| First Figure - Crossover (Reels) | 112 bars |
| 1 | Lead around: With crossed hand hold, couples dance round anti-clockwise to place, ladies turning under R arm on the last 2 bars to face gents and drop hands. | 8 bars |
| 2 | Set and swing: All dance R to R past partners and into each other’s position and ˝ turn clockwise to face partners (4 bars), take waltz hold and swing (4 bars). | 8 bars |
| 3 | Top couples:
Crossover: ladies change places, R to R, followed by gents, L to L, and all turn inwards to face centre (4 bars). The movement is repeated back to place. |
8 bars |
| Ladies chain: R hands in the centre, L elbow to turn the opposite gents, R hands again in the centre and back to face partners. | 8 bars | |
| Set and swing. | 8 bars | |
| Crossover. | 8 bars | |
| 4 | Set and swing. | 8 bars |
| 5 | Side couples now dance 3. | 32 bars |
| 6 | Set and swing. | 8 bars |
| 7 | House around. | 8 bars |
| Second Figure - Advance and Retire (Jigs) | 104 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Set and swing. |
16 bars |
| 2 | Top couples advance, retire, and dance across, with R hands held, gents behind their ladies and the ladies turn 1˝ turns clockwise under arm as they dance into the opposite place. The movement is repeated back to place. | 16 bars |
| 3 | Side couples advance, retire, and dance across. | 16 bars |
| 4 | Top couples advance, retire, and dance across. | 16 bars |
| 5 | Side couples advance, retire, and dance across. | 16 bars |
| 6 | Set and swing.
House around. |
16 bars |
| Third Figure - The Line (Reels) | 176 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Set and swing. |
16 bars |
| 2 | Top couples dance the line:
1st gent and 2nd lady dance past each other, R to R, turn in (4 bars) and swing (4 bars), to finish facing their own places, hands still held. |
8 bars |
| Dance back and lead around: with lady's R hand still in gent's L, they dance clockwise around each other (2 bars) and fall back into their own positions (2 bars) each taking their partner's inside hand with their own free hand to form the 'line' (more a letter 'C' than a straight line). The dancing gent's partner leads the line anti-clockwise (2 bars); the couples then separate, partners' hands still held, and dance into the opposite place (2 bars) and drop hands. | 8 bars | |
| Advance and retire: the dancing pair leave their partners to advance towards each other and retire twice, bowing as they advance the second time. | 8 bars | |
| Both couples advance, retire, with waltz hold, and house back to place. | 8 bars | |
| 2nd gent and 1st lady now lead the movement. | 24 bars | |
| Both couples advance, retire, and house back to place. | 8 bars | |
| 3 | Set and swing. | 8 bars |
| 4 | Side couples now dance the line (1st sides L of 1st tops). | 64 bars |
| 5 | Set and swing.
House around. |
16 bars |
| Fourth Figure - Three and One (Jigs) | 240 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Set and swing. |
16 bars |
| 2 | Top couples:
Ladies chain. Set and swing. |
16 bars |
| 1st couple house within, the gent placing his lady to the L of the 2nd gent on the 8th bar and dropping hands. 2nd gent takes both ladies outside hands in front, R in R and L in L. | 8 bars | |
| Advance and retire: The formation advances across the centre of the set (2 bars) where 1st gent remains and dances in place. The line of three retires and advances across the centre of the set again (4 bars) where the ladies turn clockwise under the gent's L arm and anti-clockwise under his R arm, to fall in beside 1st gent who takes their outside hands in front (2 bars). | 8 bars | |
| Advance and retire: On the last 2 bars the ladies turn as before under 1st gent's raised arms and all form a little christmas in the centre of the set. | 8 bars | |
| Swing four, without falling back to place. | 8 bars | |
| Ladies chain, with the gents falling back to
place.
Set and swing. |
16 bars | |
| 2nd couple house within,
to form the three-and-one.
Advance and retire. Advance and retire. Swing four, falling back to place on the last 2 bars. |
32 bars | |
| 3 | Set and swing. | 8 bars |
| 4 | Side couples now dance 2., 1st sides leading. | 96 bars |
| 5 | Set and swing.
House around. |
16 bars |
| Fifth Figure - Double Slide with Ladies Chain (Reels) | 208 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Set and swing. |
|
| 2 | Top couples:
Advance, retire, and dance at home. |
8 bars |
| Advance, retire, and house across to opposite place. | 8 bars | |
| Advance, retire, and dance in place. | 8 bars | |
| Advance, retire, and house back home. | ||
| Ladies chain.
Set and swing. |
16 bars | |
| Advance, retire, and dance at home.
Advance, retire, and house across to opposite place. Advance, retire, and dance in place. Advance, retire, and house back home. |
32 bars | |
| 3 | Set and swing. | 8 bars |
| 4 | Side couples now dance 2. | 80 bars |
| 5 | Set and swing.
House around. |
16 bars |
| Sixth Figure - The Polka | 208 bars |
| 1 | Circle: all join hands in a circle and advance and retire twice. | 8 bars |
| 2 | Swing partners. | 8 bars |
| 3 | Quarterhouse: Taking waltz hold, couples dance 2 bars in place then house 2 bars on to the next place on their R. They repeat this 4 bar movement into each place and back home. | 16 bars |
| 4 | House around. | 8 bars |
| 5 | Circle, and ladies dance on to the next gent on the R.
Swing. Quarterhouse. House around. |
40 bars |
| 6 | Circle, and ladies dance on to the next gent on the R.
Swing. Quarterhouse. House around. |
40 bars |
| 7 | Circle, and ladies dance on to the next gent on the R.
Swing. Quarterhouse. House around. |
40 bars |
| 8 | Circle, and ladies dance on to the next gent on the R.
Swing. Quarterhouse. House around. |
40 bars |
| Sixth Figure - The Polka: ORIGINAL VERSION | 208 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Set and swing. |
16 bars |
| 2 | Quarterhouse.
House. |
24 bars |
| 3 | Circle: all join hands in a circle and advance and retire twice,
and gents face the lady on the L while the ladies face the gent on the R.
Set and swing, facing couples. Quarterhouse, new couples. House. |
40 bars |
| 4 | Repeat 3. to set and swing own partners.
Quarterhouse. House. |
120 bars |
| STEPS The jig figures in this set are danced to the ‘down’ jig step. |
| SOURCES Pat Moroney taught the set at Cecil Sharp House, London, in November '94. The ‘Set and Swing’ movement and the ‘Original’ Sixth Figure I have taken from Eileen O’Doherty’s book “The Walking Polka” in which she describes the inaccuracies which have appeared in this set, including a slight variation in the Second Figure, and their correction by the two original sources, Mary Keane and Joe Keirse of Corofin. The event at which the set was corrected took place in the same month that Pat came to London so he would not have been aware of it, and the book, with these corrections, was not published until the following year. |