When calling Sicilian Circles, I have dancers form a large circle. I then actually go out on the floor and ask two couples to face each other. I then progress around the ring, having the couples face as I go. It actually takes very little time to do and avoids confusion surrounding language choices.

On Sep 8, 2010, at 6:03 PM, Alan Winston - SSRL Central Computing wrote:

> Jeff wrote: > > >> Yesterday I called Haste to the Wedding [1] after an influx of new >> dancers and as a recovery from a dance that was a little too hard for >> the group. I expected it to go well, but I was surprised by how >> well, >> actually. With the clapping in time with the music in the B parts >> and >> the extra time for the pass through, a lot of people who'd been >> confused by progression and how this whole thing worked seemed to get >> it in a way that helped for following dances as well. > >> Does anyone have suggestions for other dances that work similarly, >> teaching progression? > > I'll echo others who talk about how great a dance Haste to the > Wedding is. > I use it early on in one-night-stand programs very often, usually as > a Sicilian > Circle. According to John Millar in "Country Dances of Colonial > America", the > tune was used in an operetta called "The Elopement" in the 1760s. > Very similar > dance figures to the version we use can be found in the 1770s, > although with a > two-hand-turn-halfway-and-turn-individually-to-face-new-neighbors > progression, > which Does Not Work for beginners; The Sicilian circle with pass- > through > progression seems to be mid/late 19th-century. Anyway, it's > undifferentiated > enough that it can be your first contra dance, your first English > dance, your > first Regency dance, your first Civil War dance. > > In similar circumstances, if the band knows the tune (and they > usually do, > especially if they're old-timey) I'll pull out "Soldier's Joy", > which I have > from a mid-Victorian dance manual: > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > SOLDIER'S JOY. 80 Steps. > Sicilian Circle ("As for Spanish Dance") > 32-bar reel. > > > A1: 1-4: Forward and back > 5-8: Opposites turn two hands (no progression) > > A2: 1-4: Partners balance > 5-8: Partners turn (could swing if wanted) > > B1: 1-8: Ladies chain over and back > > B2: 1-8: Forward and back, forward and pass through. > > > > Original text: > > All forward and back, swing the opposite-all balance to partners and > turn-ladies chain-forward and back, forward and cross to face the > next couple. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > (You could certainly do this as an improper longways, but you'd need > to space > the minor sets out further than we usually do for contra, since the > ladies > chain is along the set rather than across it.) > > It's sometimes challenging to get first-timer groups into sicilian > circle > formation, since words that work for people with a vague clue > ("couple facing > couple around a circle", "radiate out like spokes of a wheel from > the hub", > etc) often don't for people who don't have practice in seeing the > big picture. > If anybody has ideas about that making that go smoothly all the > time, I'd be > happy to hear them. But in any case, the formation is great for > getting the > progression idea across since it relieves the first-timer of having > to deal > with end effects, role changes, etc, etc. > > -- Alan > > > > > > -- > = > = > = > = > = > = > = > = > = > ====================================================================== > Alan Winston --- WINSTON(a)SSRL.SLAC.STANFORD.EDU > Disclaimer: I speak only for myself, not SLAC or SSRL Phone: > 650/926-3056 > Paper mail to: SSRL -- SLAC BIN 99, 2575 Sand Hill Rd, Menlo Park > CA 94025 > = > = > = > = > = > = > = > = > = > ====================================================================== > > > _______________________________________________ > Callers mailing list > Callers(a)sharedweight.net > http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers