strathspey@strathspey.org:11319

REBECCA SAGER

Re: A dance looking for dancers

March 21, 1998, 5:14 p.m. (Message 11319, in reply to message 11237)

Eric T. Ferguson wrote:
> 
> Hello Becky,
> 
> I read your
> >    A STORMY RUSH-HOUR
> on _strathspey_, and found it said
> > 3-8:      1st, 2nd and 3rd men, with 2nd, 3rd and 4th women,
> >           dance rights and lefts for three couples on the
> >           diagonal, as in *"Monday Madness", one bar per hand.
> >           2nd woman and 3rd man finish facing out, 1st man
> >           facing 2nd man, 3rd woman facing 4th woman.
> adding
> > *"Monday Madness" is a 4x40 Reel by Ted Blaschke of Atlanta. It
> > is published in the collection "Gretchen's Fancy".
> 
> Could you kindly post the detailed description of this formation on
> _strathspey_, I am sure there are others too who do not know the figure and
> do not have the reference.
> 
> Thanks
> 
> Eric


Eric, et al - here is the description of Diagonal rights and lefts for 
three couples (or more correctly, I guess, for six people). I'm 
describing it as it appears in my experimental "Stormy Rush-Hour", as in 
the source, "Monday Madness", the 1st couple is in 2nd place to begin. 
Ted wrote this dance back in 1986 for a devisers' competition in the 
Branch 10th Anniversary year. The figure was inspired by "Johnnie's 
Welcome Hame", Ted thinking that squashing the figure to shorten the 
distance you have to travel for the extra left hand crossing would be an 
improvement.

1st 8 bars of "A Stormy Rush-Hour":  (4 couple Strathspey)

1-2:	All set

3:	1M & 2W, 2M & 3W, 3M & 4W cross RH

4:	1M & 4W cross LH, 2M & 3M change LH, 2W & 3W change LH

5-8:	Repeat pattern of 3: and 4: back to place -or:

5:	3W &4W, 2W & 3M, 1M & 2M cross RH

6:	3W & 2M cross LH, 2W & 1M change LH, 4W & 3M change LH

7:	3M & 2M, 4W & 1M, 3W & 2W cross RH

8:	3M & 2W cross LH and face out, 1M & 2M change LH and face each
	other, 3W & 4W change LH and face each other

Obviously you need a compact set, slow music and loooong steps - hey, 
it's an experiment. I hope it's equally obvious that in Ted's reel time 
dance, this is a 12 bar figure.

I have enjoyed corresponding with Alan Paterson and Malcolm Brown about 
their attempts to teach this. I'm glad that some hilarity was provoked!

Becky




-- 
Becky Sager,
Marietta GA USA
http://www.mindspring.com/~atlbrnch