On Sat, Mar 15, 2008 at 11:46 PM, Liz and Bill <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi, > On various web pages I've also found this version > which I thought might be a bit easier as the > dancers stay connected. It has A2: 4 in line down > the hall, turn alone and come back, cast off. > This doesn't seem right to me
If you end the swing where it started (as was done with traditional contras -- ending the swing with the man on the left, woman on the right is a modern thing), then this works with turn alone. In the original Lady Walpole's Reel, the swing didn't progress you, the cast did. (Ladies chain could also be a progressive figure, and it often started with the man above the woman, requiring adjustment from the dancers.) So nowadays when dancers do it, they can go too far with the lead down, and need to rush up to finish the cast on time. In a modern interpertation with a down-the-hall-in-a- line-of-four, you would need the turn as couples to compensate, as you did. Anyone know the cut-off time for ending the swing with the woman on the right? (I'd guess somewhere between 1930-1950??) -Chris Page San Diego
