Core Dances 2018-2019

This year we are again using a core repertoire of dances. However we are trying a different approach this year. Each of the core dances will be repeated for 5 weeks to ensure we get familiar with it and most callers will get a chance to call it.

Below is a list of the dances in the current core, with the dates when they will be called. If you would like a copy of the notation, please ask Malcolm or one of the other committee members. Please talk to Malcolm if anything is not clear in the instructions; he has taken them from the original source where he can.

The dances have been chosen to allow the callers to teach particular figures, styles and formations. Some of the dances are a bit of a challenge, so we won't get them right until we've done some practising. Others have been chosen because they are often dances at public dances, and some more practice will help us to enjoy them more.

We are still experimenting with the best way to approach core dances so please keep passing on feedback to any member of the committee.

Where possible, links to the notation for the dance have been included. No guarantees as to the content of other sites can be given! Note that we may be teaching a slight variant of what is published on the external web site. See also our links page for web sites which provide hints on dance (and calling) technique.

We might even become good enough to publish our own videos as a reference for others!

But, most important of all : Happy Dancing!

From	To	Dance Name	Formation	Source	Music
4-Sep-18	2-Oct-18	Felicity YouTube Video One of the dancers in the video is Orly Krasner, who has called at our club.	4 couple longways	Colin Hume	Felicity by Dave Brown CD: Connections
9-Oct-18	6-Nov-18	Picking Up Sticks YouTube Video	3 couple longways	Dancing Master 1651, 1st edition	Own tune CD: English Dancing Master Disk 2 Track 9
13-Nov-18	11-Dec-18	Fluid Drive	Square - 4 couples	Ted Sanella	7 x 32bar American square
8-Jan-19	5-Feb-19	Father's Day	4 couple longways	Gary Roodman	Own tune
12-Feb-19	12-Mar-19	Buffalo Stampede YouTube video! Note that this video show it danced in a circle, which eliminates the strange end-effects. We intend to do this in a longways set but this is an interesting variation.	Longways, becket formation, even number of couples	Tom Hinds	32bar American Reel
TBA	TBA	The Lonely Dandelion	4 couple longways	Neil Stewart An English Assortment	The Lonely Dandelion (32b waltz) by Richard Stapledon
TBA	TBA	Charlene's Celebration YouTube Video	4 couple longways	Gary Roodman	Own Tune Elizabethan Tango Man CD: Band of Friends, Track 11
TBA	TBA	O, A True Aphrodisiac		John Daglish Eight Times Six of the Best	Own tune CD: 10 Tunes for 8 Times 6 Of The Best, Track 1

Core dance pages from previous years

Hints and Tips on Notation

Unless otherwise marked, each phrase (e.g. A1, B2) is 8 bars long.
In a reel or jig there are 2 steps to a bar; in a waltz or triple time tune there are 3 steps to a bar.
A semi-colon marks the end of a 2-bar phrase; a full stop marks the end of 4 bars. If a described movement takes the full phrase of music there is (probably) no full stop at the end of it. If a movement takes an unexpected or unusual length of music it will tell you in brackets.
Hints for individual dances are in italic with that dance.
M stands for men or man (e.g. M1 is 1st man); W stands for women or woman (e.g. W1 is 1st woman).
R stands for right; L for left.
sh stands for shoulder.
Turn single is R-shoulder back unless it says otherwise.
At the end of a R-hand turn you are facing that person; at the end of an allemande R you are facing the person who was behind you.

R & L through is R with opposite; L courtesy turn with partner beside you.
A courtesy turn means you both give L hands and face in the same direction as you wheel around anti-clockwise (M does not have his arm around W's waist except in a ladies chain).
A double is 3 steps and close your feet together.
A single is 1 step and close your feet together.
A double step or skip-change step is a travelling danced step. Hop on L to step forward on R, catch-up with L, step forward on R, hop on R and bring L through to repeat starting L. The hop is before the beat and the rhythm should be hop-long-short-long; hop-long-short-long.
A single skip is as you learnt in the playground! Step and hop in one move (as opposed to a hornpipe where the step and hop come on consecutive beats).
Gates means both of you face the same direction and hold inside hands; rotate a full turn (usually) with your joined hands as the pivot point. If mixed couple, M reverses and W forward unless otherwise marked. If same sex couple instructions will say (e.g. 1s gate up means 1s move up and then out in mirror gates).
Hole-in-the-Wall crossing (in triple time) is facing partner, starting with right foot, move towards him / her until face-to-face and close; on 3rd step (R foot) rotate half way (c/w) with each other staying close; from 4th step (L foot) fall back into partner's place. There should be a feeling of rising up to the middle of the move, pausing or hovering and then sinking as you fall away.