One issue I've been interested in is how this dance might feel
depending on which part you start with, mostly because Jack had first
experienced it starting with the Hey.
One could possibly move the N Balance & swing to the A1 to avoid a mid-
dance progression, as some do with Becky Hill's Square Affair. I'm
actually disinclined to do that since the "surprise" progression is a
fun point for the dancers. Also, that puts the "challenging" later -
it's sometimes nice to have the challenging parts earlier so the
dancers can rest their brains afterward.
But the dance as written has some challenges getting the dancers into
correct position. It's a slightly unusual configuration that goes
unnoticed if it's buried in the dance, but might create some confusion
for the dancers when starting from scratch.
It is Becket, but you start facing differently than you'd expect. The
ladies could step into the center as you might with a typical wavy
line, but they might feel they are on the "wrong" side, and besides,
they'd be facing the wrong way! The ladies have R hands with their
partners, so they'd need to maybe Allem R with their Partner 3/4 until
the ladies are in the center.
So I can see why Gaye (or whoever first changed it) started the dance
with the Hey to avoid the dancer-wrangling necessary to get into
position for the short wave (depending on how easily confused your
dancers are -- your mileage may vary).
My husband speculates that depending on the crowd you are calling for,
one might start with the Hey or start with the wavy line as written.
Perhaps the Hey start is easier for beginners? It's an interesting
question. I'm hoping to call this dance in a few days, and I still
haven't made up my mind which way to try it. I'm leaning toward the
original, but now that I have a new version in my head, I'm
contemplating the alternatives.
Joy Greenwolfe
Durham, NC
On Aug 14, 2011, at 2:30 PM, Jack Mitchell wrote:
Actually, it seems like that would make it more awkward... The
gents would have to get their right hand out from behind their
neighbor to allemande, plus a gents alle R into a swing (without a
balance) is generally somewhat awkward too (because you have to
catch hands and then get the hands behind the back. Finally, having
some reversals of motion is generally a good thing -- making it an
allemande R would make for a lot of clockwise motion all together,
particularly for the gents.
Jack
On 8/14/2011 2:03 PM, Richard Hart wrote:
Another question:
Might it be a little smoother if A2 in this version were instead:
A2 Gents Alle RIGHT 1 1/2
P Sw
Done this way, there is no, or less, change in direction of motion.
Rich Hart..
Linda Leslie remarked on 8/14/2011 12:20 PM:
I think this is an interesting question! In the same way that an
improper contra can start in short waves, and we don't give it a
new formation name (or long lines at the sides, etc.), the
important piece is that you and your neighbor are on the same side
of the contra set. In this dance, you have your partner in your
right hand (women actually have left in the center, there is a
typo in what is written below), and the both of you are, more or
less, on the same side of the contra set, and so, the dance is
Becket. Formations refer to a dancer's position in relationship to
partner, and neighbors, rather than the first dance movement.
Also interesting is that if the dance were to start with a
neighbor Balance and Swing, then it would be improper formation:
A1 New N B&S
A2 Gents Alle L 1 1/2
P Sw
B1 Full hey (gents start left)
B2 (Form short waves ladies left, partner right)
Balance Wave, P Alle R 1/2; Gents Alle L 1/2, give RH to N
Balance Wave; N Alle R 3/4
Written as Becket formation, and indicated below, there is the
assumption that the couple that stands in the traditional/proper
ladies' line is the number 2 couple, and those couples in the
traditional/proper gents' line are number 1s. When calling Becket
formation dances, I don't usually designate ones or twos; rather I
give hints about how each couple gets into starting position, and
how they will progress to their next neighbors. For this dance,
once couples are in Becket formation, I might say something such
as: "women stand back to back in the center (since this is how it
will feel when they end the hey), give a right hand to your
partner, and a left to the other woman to form a wave". It may be
that the choreographer designated the couples in this way, because
of the right progression......after one time through the dance,
the couples in the traditional ladies' line are out at the top;
those in the traditional gents' line are out at the bottom.
Linda
ps: I wrote this note before seeing Richard's post, and figured I
would send it anyway...
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