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"quick" R&L
Patricia Ruggiero
Jan. 28, 2005, 1:33 a.m. (Message 40440)
Here's something that had me talking to myself for longer than I care to admit. Since I can't print the diagram here, I'll add my comments in [ ] . Wilson 1815, p. 55, Right and Left: N.B. In this figure the top Lady and the second Gentleman must always pass first. The Lady at "A" [this is the first woman] moves from "d" to "c", while the Gentleman at B [this is the second man] moves from "b" to "a". [what's happening here is that these two dancers are changing places, on the diagonal, passing L shoulders] Now to continue with Wilson: In performing this Figure the top Lady and second Gentleman pass each other on the left, and continue on the left to places, looking at each other with a slight inclination of the head over the left shoulder, the top Gentleman and the second Lady pass each other on the right with their heads inclined over the right shoulder. The Lady "A" [the diagram shows this is the second woman] moves from "a" to "b", while the Gentleman at "B" [first man] moves from "c" to "d". [that is, W2 and M1 change places passing R shoulders] The Gentlemen having now changed places with the Ladies, which is half the Figure. N.B. This Figure may be performed by the second and third couples [don't ask me] *In the performance of this Figure, the second couple should move towards the top, and the top couple towards the bottom. N.B. This Figure is very different from the "Quadrille Right and Left" [I'll say!], which is the "Chain Figure of four." See the "Diagram and Quadrille Panorama," a work by the same author. [I *think* this chain figure, the one done in the quadrilles, is what we know as good ol' plain Rights and Lefts] Pat here again: to do the second half of the figure, dancers returned to original places, beginning with W1 and M2 passing L shoulders; then W2 and M1 passing R shoulders. Wilson finishes: N.B. In this Figure, the Lady in her movement must always face the Gentleman's line, and the Gentleman the Lady's line. [ a diagram then shows the complete figure] The top Lady and bottom Gentleman must pass before the bottom Lady and top Gentleman attempts to move, else they would liable to come in contact. Pat here again: Ok, so this looks like four dancers changing places on the diagonal and back again: left diagonal first, then right, then left back, then right back. You're thinking 2 bars for each change, what could be weird about that. It's apparently a 4-bar figure. Pat
Greetings! The description quoted by Pat together with the diagrams can be seen at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/musdi.168 click on the page image and then select p.56 in the box. I agree with Pat that, based on Wilson's statement, _our_ rights and lefts comes from the quadrille tradition rather than the country dance one. Warning - opening Wilson's book, even electronically, can seriously impair time management of the rest of the day. Jim Healy Perth, Scotland
Jim wrote: > The description quoted by Pat together with the diagrams can > be seen at > > http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/musdi.168 > > click on the page image and then select p.56 in the box. I don't have my folder in front of me, but I recollect that the figure starts on p. 55 and continues for two or three thereafter. > Warning - opening Wilson's book, even electronically, can > seriously impair > time management of the rest of the day. Amen to that!!!!! Pat
If one checks the original editions of the RSCDS books one will find that our figure was not immediately fixed in the present form. For rights and lefts in one dance, it says in a footnote that hands are optional. In other words our present form is an amalgam of two earlier forms - chain of 4 and a circular hey. Who knows but these might have earlier been one without hands until someone decided to add the hands. On the other hand, in MacKenzie, the illustration for reels of 3 and 4 shows the dancers taking hands in passing?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿?¿