...
And I believe that some of the confusion might be caused by interchanging the phrase “Dixie Twirl” with a different move: right hand high/left hand low. …
Like Linda, I would reserve the name "Dixie Twirl" for an action
that reverses the order of a line of four dancers, and I'd refer
to the somewhat similar action involving three dancers as "Right
Hand High/Left Hand Low".
Eric Black wrote, re Robert Cromartie's dance "Dixie Gal":
... I have scanned images of my cards so I can check before I go home.
..., the dance as I have it from Robert Cromartie is called “Dixie Gal”.
The note about the Dixie Twirl move is:
Dixit Twirl: don’t let go! Left-most leads under arch made by right-most pair to other side, right-most
sweeps across to other side. Inverts the line, left-most down is left-most up.
I have a comment about that, but first I need to make a brief
digression about the history of "Dixie Twirl".
Until today, I had been under the impression that "Dixie Twirl"
was a recent coinage, perhaps by Robert Cromartie. However,
when I started searching, I found that the 2007 Ralph Page Dance
Legacy Weekend syllabus contains a dance titled "Jane's Contra"
by Ken Bonner with a Dixie Twirl. The syllabus lists the source
as _Ken's Contras_ (published in the late 1980s, I think) and
it includes this note:
The figures, “flutterwheel” and “Dixie twirl” are both
from Modern Western Square Dancing. Although the
dixie twirl has become obsolete the flutterwheel is
still in common use.
Consulting Clark Baker's database of square dance calls, I find
that Clark says the call "Dixie Twirl" was introduced by one Roy
Watkins in 1959 and that it's call number 59 in Bill Burleson's
_The Square Dancing Encyclopedia_.
Now to get to my comment. The note Eric quoted from his card
says that the rightmost pair make the arch. But I've usually
heard callers instruct that the *center* pair make the arch.
The description that Linda Leslie quoted from _Give-and-Take_
says the center pair make the arch. The description of "Jane's
Contra" in the 2007 RPDLW syllabus says that the centers make
the arch. And so does the description in my copy of Burleson.
However, RPDLW 2007 (presumably following Bonner) and Burleson
both say that it's the couple on the *right* who go under the
arch, which, I'll note, would make the whole action be like
California Twirl for couples.
I personally think the sort of action described by Eric--with
either the rightmost pair or the leftmost pair making the
arch--offers a smoother flow than having the center pair make
the arch. To achieve this smooth flow, however, it is important
that whichever end dancer helps make the arch also takes the
initiative to start moving across the set without waiting to
be dragged by the other arching dancer. Often dancers who make
an arch are inclined to stand with feet planted, waiting for
someone to duck under it. The point about arching dancers
needing to move (or equivalently about both end dancers
crossing the set at the same time) may need some emphasis
during the walk-through, preferably as an integral part of
teaching the figure and at a time when dancers are paying
attention and reacting to the caller's instructions. A mere
verbal remark made while dancers are lined up waiting for the
music, with feet still and mouths moving, is not likely to
be very effective.
--Jim
The Dixie Gal by Robert Cromartie (verified in Give & Take), is quite a different dance from that shared by Vicki Herndon. Here it is:
The Dixie Gal
by Robert Cromartie
A1 -----------
(8) Long lines, forward and back
(8) Men allemande Left 1-1/2
A2 -----------
(16) Partner balance and swing
B1 -----------
(16) Down the hall four in line Dixie Twirl* and return
B2 -----------
(8) Circle Left 3/4
(8) Neighbor swing
* Dixie Twirl: Without anyone releasing hands, the left-most pair, led by the end dancer, go under an arch made by the central pair to become the left-most pair in a line of four facing up. Simulataneously, the right-most pair sweep across the set to become the right-most pair in the inverted line.
And I believe that some of the confusion might be caused by interchanging the phrase “Dixie Twirl” with a different move: right hand high/left hand low. The dance above is, as the title indicates, using a Dixie Twirl, with all four dancers changing position. There are a number of dances that have a different move: right hand high/left hand low, or an arch and duck under movement for three dancers. Chip Hedler mentions one of the first dances with this move: The Nova Scotian, by Maurice Hennigar. For this move, two dancers change position relative to each other, but the other two maintain their positions in the line (an end dancer turns alone; another turns under his/her own arm after the arch/duck movement has happened).
So the dance, as written down by Vicki does work. I have not seen it before; don’t know a title; and did not find it in Michael Dyck’s comprehensive dance listing. It seems like a good dance, so knowing a title would be great! Here’s another, similar dance by Bob Isaacs:
Love at First Swing by Bob Isaacs
A1 -(8) Balance the ring and twirl to the right (petronella)
(8) Balance the ring and twirl to the right (petronella)
A2 -----------
(4) Balance the Ring
California Twirl
New Neighbor swing
B1 -----------
(8) Circle Left 3/4
(8) Partner swing
B2 -----------
(16) Down the hall, four in line
Gent #2 Right hand high, left low, gent 1 TA
Return*
(start dance again with these same N”s)
Linda Leslie
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