This is just about my favorite dance-game, but I had never encountered the name “Favor of the Rose” before. I first learned it as “The Rose and the Thorn,” then more recently heard “A Rose Between Two Thorns” (of course, traditionally it’s gendered and typically starts with a lady between two gents). It’s also known as “The Hat Dance” or “The Fan Dance,” depending on the prop used.
By coincidence, just last Saturday I bought a satin rose on plastic stem, to replace one that I had carried in my kit for years and that had recently disappeared. The new one is huge – twice the size and length of the old one; that’s what they had at Jo-Ann’s this time. I wasn’t sure I liked it at first, but I’m warming to it. I got it to use at Saturday night’s gig – a country club’s annual summer party for members & families – but I barely had enough people for a decent Galopede.
Tony Parkes
Billerica, Mass.
New book! Square Dance Calling: An Old Art for a New Century
(available now)