16 Dec
2015
16 Dec
'15
7:56 a.m.
On Wed, 16 Dec 2015 06:20:58 +0000 (UTC), Michael Fuerst via Callers
wrote:
"Mad Robin" became part of contra in the
last ten years or so.
Unless someone comes up with more succinct and descriptive words,
we are probably stuck with "Mad Robin"
I use the word "shuttle" (though in the walkthrough I say that some
people call it "Mad Robin" or "Sliding Doors"). Three reasons:
Shuttle is very descriptive whereas Mad Robin is just jargon.
Very few dancers in England have danced the Playford dance "Mad Robin"
(whereas "English" dancers in the States dance it regularly).
It's nothing like the original move in "Mad Robin". There it is done
by one couple only, and there's none of this "locking eyes" stuff that
many Americans love. Cecil Sharp's description (starting with the
ones below the twos and both couples proper) is:
"First man moves up the middle and casts down to the same place; while
his partner casts up and moves down the middle to her place."
"Cast" starts with turning away from your partner, not doing a crab
movement.
Colin Hume
Email colin(a)colinhume.com Web site http://colinhume.com