Hi Meg,

              Or you may have seen the Grand Chain, sorry Grand Right & Left for you Americans, without the Allemande in other dance styles.  English ceilidh dances don’t bother with the Allemande.  And of course it occurred in 1650 dances as well.  The earliest record I know of is in the square dance Murry, from before Playford: http://contrafusion.co.uk/lovelace.htm#Murry:

“They all standing ni their places, they shall goe round apac a kind of hay only of giving of hands, as they goe unto every one, both men and woemen, and when they shall meete with their own again, sthey shall turne quite round both of them together, and meting any other but their owne, they shall turne but halfe round, and soe after this manner, they shall goe round as often as they please, the tune is played akording :4: or 5: goings round”

              That looks like a Grand Right & Left to me, with no Allemande!

            Happy dancing,                         

                   John                                  

John Sweeney, Dancer, England   john@modernjive.com 01233 625 362 & 07802 940 574                         

http://www.modernjive.com for Modern Jive Events & DVDs                               

http://www.contrafusion.co.uk for Dancing in Kent

From: Meg Dedolph [mailto:meg.dedolph@gmail.com]
Sent: 07 February 2017 13:21
To: John Sweeney <john@modernjive.com>; callers@lists.sharedweight.net
Subject: Re: [Callers] ACK! First time calling night of *squares* -- any last minute advice?

Ha! I read that book, but I thought I came up with that trick on my own. Maybe I remembered it long after I read it and thought I'd invented it. :)
Meg