[Callers] Contras which feature a "Dublin Bay" figure

Jonathan Sivier via Callers callers at lists.sharedweight.net
Mon Jan 16 16:34:32 PST 2017


    We probably need someone with more knowledge to weigh in on this, 
but my understanding is that the dance known as Dublin Bay was published 
in Playford in the early 1700's and the Gay Gordon's dance is more 
likely from the late 1800's.  So if these dances are related at all it 
would be the Scottish dance that evolved from the English dance. 
However, they could easily be independent inventions.

Jonathan

On 1/16/2017 5:58 PM, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:
> Note that the Scottish “Gay Gordons” dance, which has been a standard
> there for I don’t know how long, features a promenade where couples walk
> forward then turn and continue backward, then come back forward and turn
> and continue backing up again. Doing four instead of two in line would
> seem a likely evolution.
> Martha
>
>> On Jan 16, 2017, at 2:20 PM, Tavi Merrill via Callers
>> <callers at lists.sharedweight.net
>> <mailto:callers at lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
>>
>>
>> Dance genealogy question: The figure first appearing in "Dublin Bay"
>> (aka "We'll Wed and We'll Bed," its title in Playford) morphed in
>> contra into a modified "lines of four down the hall."
>>
>> I know a version of it from Sue Rosen's dance "Handsome Young Maids,"
>> where dancers facing down take four steps forwards, turn alone, and
>> continue down the hall with four backward steps, then repeat the
>> figure to return up the hall.
>>
>> I'm curious how many other contras this figure, or a version of it,
>> appears in. Does anyone know of other dances? And any astute dance
>> historians out there know what the first contra to use this figure is?
>>
>> Tavi



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