A lively and straightforward pre-Restoration dance in a square set.
| Part 1 | |
|---|---|
| A1 (8) | All join hands and go into the middle a double (left foot recommended) and out again, then let go and face your partner (4) Left set and turn single (4) |
| A1 (8) | All join hands and go into the middle a double (right foot recommended) and out again, then let go and face your partner (4) Right set and turn single (4) |
| B1 (8) | Men go forwards a double (2) Men go back a double as women go forwards a double (2) Women go back a double and stand in place as men take hands in a circle of four and slip left all the way around¹ (4) |
| B2 (8) | As B1, men and women swapping roles |
| Part 2 | |
| A1 (8) | Face partner: side right (4) Left set and turn single (4) |
| A2 (8) | Side left (4) Right set and turn single (4) |
| B1 (8) | Couples hold closest hands: Head couples go forwards a double (2) Heads go back a double as sides go forwards a double (2) Sides go back a double and stand in place as heads take hands in a circle of four and slip left all the way around¹ (4) |
| B2 (8) | As B1, heads and sides swapping roles |
| Part 3 | |
| A1 (8) | Face partner: arm right (4) Left set and turn single (4) |
| A2 (8) | Arm left (4) Right set and turn single (4) |
| B1 (8) | Men: A double into the centre and face out, with their backs to the other men (2) Wait in the middle (4) Out a double again back to place (2) While women: Dance round the outside of the set, starting passing their partner (to the left), back to place (8) |
| B2 (8) | Women: A double into the centre and face out, with their backs to the other women (2) Wait in the middle (4) Out a double again back to place (2) While men: Dance round the outside of the set, starting passing their partner (to the right), back to place (8) |
¹ There is no time for a separate meet and then slip left – start moving left immediately.
T:Fine Companion, The
M:6/8
L:1/8
H:1651.
Z:Transacription: Chris Partington <www.cpartington.plus>. Chords: Andrew Swaine.
K:Dm
"Dm"d2 f dda|"Am"c>de "Dm"f>ed|"F"a2 g aag|"C"a e2-e2 d|
"Am"eee e2 d|c>de A2 e|"Dm"f2 d "Am"cde|1 "Dm"d3 f3:|2 "Dm"d3 f2||
|:d| "Am"cAA e2 d|cAB A2 e|"Dm"fde fde | f3 "C"g3|
"F"aaa c>de| "Dm"ffe fda| "Am"ccd ecA|1 "Dm"d3 f2:|2 "Dm"d3 f3|]
This dance is in what we would now call a square set, although it's originally described as a round for eight. They're not always quite the same thing – a few dances are described as squares and number the other way around the set − but the difference is not important in this dance.
The first introduction has a minor sylistic decision to be made – after going into the middle and back, should you set still facing the centre of the set, or your partner? Conventionally we do it to our partner, so in the absence of a good reason I'll do so too, but both can be nice!
I'm assuming the circles are slipped – it's a long way to go around with doubles! I'm also assuming that, prior to the final part, all circles are to the left – as well as being an easier convention, keeping the second circle to the left flows better into siding and arming.
A calling note: having taken a double to go forward, and a double to go back, it's intuitive to have a double to go forward again before circling left. You don't have that time – you need to start moving to the left pretty much immediately.
In the final part, Sharp's interpretation has the men circle while the women dance around them. That's tight, and not what the instructions say – Men meet, turne back to back is a direction for the men to meet and literally turn their backs to one another (see "Turn back to back"). I have the women go left around the men for the first repeat, and the men go right around the women for the second repeat, because as well as the symmetry, that gives the maximum time for people to come out of the middle to their places, and finishes with partners coming towards each other. It also feels right to me to go past your partner first when going around the circle.
If calling gender free, you can call it entirely positionally, but I normally prefer to use role names so that I can refer to who is going into the middle at speed when the dance is going – most commonly I use 1s for the men and 2s for the women due to the order in which they do things, but I know some experienced dancers find that confusing as they are used to numbers referring to specific couples. Feel free to use other role names such as suns and moons if you think that's clearer!