Study Notes Copyright © William Lynch 2007
CORNERS AND CORNER COUPLES
(X = gent O = lady)
1st corner |
X |
O |
2nd corner |
|
couple |
O |
X |
couple |
|
1st corner |
2nd corner |
|||
X O |
||||
Home place |
||||
| First Figure - Back-to-back (Reels) | 128 bars |
| 1 | Lead around with crossed hand hold, the ladies turning under both raised arms on the last 2 bars. | 8 bars |
| 2 | Swing, with waltz hold. | 8 bars |
| 3 | Top couples:
House around each other. |
8 bars |
| Back-to-back and star: both tops face their first corner couples, no hands held, and dance R to R past the opposite gent/lady (1 bar), pass back-to-back without turning (1 bar), fall back to place (1 bar) and dance in to form a R hand star with the same couple (1 bar). They then dance around to place (4 bars). | 8 bars | |
| 4 | Swing. | 8 bars |
| 5 | Side couples now dance 3. | 16 bars |
| 6 | Swing. | 8 bars |
| 7 | Top couples now repeat 3. | 16 bars |
| 8 | Swing. | 8 bars |
| 9 | Side couples now repeat 3. | 16 bars |
| 10 | Swing. | 8 bars |
| 11 | House around. | 8 bars |
| Second Figure - High Gates (Reels) | 160 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Swing. |
16 bars |
| 2 | Top couples:
House around each other. |
8 bars |
| High gates: holding inside hands, both couples advance,
retire and advance (6 bars). 1st couple make an arch which
the 2nd gent, dropping hands, dances through and turns anti-clockwise
into the opposite place while 2nd lady ˝ turns clockwise to end beside
1st gent and take his L hand in her R (2 bars). The trio now dances
a three arches movement, 1st lady passing through the first arch,
the 2nd lady through the second and the 1st lady through
the third, so that the trio ends facing 2nd gent to form a little
christmas ( 8 bars). NOTE: it may take a little practice to get the timing of this movement right. |
16 bars | |
| Swing four (6 bars) and fall back to place (2 bars). | 8 bars | |
| 3 | Side couples now dance 2 (1st couple L of 1st tops). | 32 bars |
| 4 | Top couples repeat 2. with 2nd couple leading. | 32 bars |
| 5 | Side couples repeat 2. with 2nd couple leading. | 32 bars |
| 6 | House around. | 8 bars |
| Third Figure - Sides (Reels) | 144 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Swing. |
16 bars |
| 2 | Top couples:
Ladies chain R hand in the centre, L arm to turn the opposite gent and R hand on the way back into waltz hold. |
8 bars |
| House around each other. | 8 bars | |
| Sides: they face their 1st corner couples, inside hands held, and all advance and retire once (4 bars). Tops raise their arms and facing couples change places, sides passing under the arch, to face the next couple around the set (4 bars). This 8 bar movement is repeated 3 more times back to place. | 32 bars | |
| 3 | Swing. | 8 bars |
| 4 | Side couples now dance 2. | 48 bars |
| 5 | Swing. | 8 bars |
| 6 | House around. | 8 bars |
| Fourth Figure - Change Partners (Jigs) | 104 bars |
| 1 | Lead around.
Swing. House around. |
24 bars |
| 2 | Change partners: gents dance 2x3s into the set and 2x3s back as the ladies dance around to the next gent on the R and turn in to face him and take waltz hold (4 bars) and all half-house around to the opposite place (4 bars). | 8 bars |
| Swing. | 8 bars | |
| 3 | Change partners.
Swing. |
16 bars |
| 4 | Change partners.
Swing. |
16 bars |
| 5 | Change partners.
Swing. |
16 bars |
| 6 | House around. | 8 bars |
| Fifth Figure - The Hornpipe | 152 bars |
| 1 | Circle and change partners:all hold hands in a circle and advance and retire once (4 bars). Partners then take waltz hold and dance ˝ turn clockwise in place to face out of the set (2 bars) and the ladies turns clockwise under the gents’ L arms to meet the next gent on the L as the gents half-turn clockwise into position (2 bars). | 8 bars |
| 2 | Quarterhouse: new couples dance 2 bars in place and double round to the next place on the R (2 bars). This 4 bar movement is repeated back to place. | 16 bars |
| 3 | House around. | 8 bars |
| 4 | Circle and change partners.
Quarterhouse. House around. |
32 bars |
| 5 | Circle and change partners.
Quarterhouse. House around. |
32 bars |
| 6 | Circle and change partners.
Quarterhouse. House around. |
32 bars |
| 7 | Circle and home: all take hands in a circle, advance and retire once then, taking waltz hold, dance at home, turning once. | 8 bars |
| 8 | House around. | 8 bars |
| STEPS The 'down' jig step is used in the jig figure. In the Quarterhouse, the doubled step is danced hop1, hop2, hop3, hop4 making 2 full turns in the 2 bar movement. The word ‘hop’, though generally used to describe this step, is a bit of a misnomer as the movement involves only the heel being raised a little and cracked down sharply, rather than the whole bodyweight being lifted off the floor as in a normal hop. It involves less use of energy and might better be described as a hint of a hop! |
| SOURCE Pat Murphy at his Bristol workshop, April 2000. The set was written by that well-known step-dance teacher and adjudicator, Frankie Roddy of Derry. |
| ENDNOTE : I have called the movement in the Third Figure 2. Sides as it reminds me of a similar movement in the two versions of the Televara which are included in these Study Notes. |