Genre(s)
Set formation
Difficulty
Music
32J/R
Written
In each threesome:
- The people on the left are larks
- The people on the right are robins
- The people in the middle are magpies
| A1 | Ends balance and swing your opposite (each lark with their opposite robin) while magpies right hand balance, box the gnat, left hand balance, and squat the flea (box the gnat with the left hand) (8) |
| A2 | Magpies go to their original right for a “3 birds chain”: pull by right hands with a robin as if for a robins' chain, then larks curtesy turn a magpie while the robins allemande left 1½ in the middle to face the other end (4) Another 3 birds chain with magpies and robins doing the other role (4) |
| B1 | Magpies and robins pass right shoulders: magpies swing with their own lark (magpie taking the right-hand role in the swing) while robins do a symmetric hold swing in the middle, finishing in the middle of a line of three in the line the started the dance (8) |
| B2 | Take hands in a ring of 6: balance the ring and petronella right one place (4) Balance the ring again and pass through up and down to a new line (4) |
I wrote this at about the same time (I think just before) I wrote Swing Both Ways.
When you choose a role you stick with it (unless you choose to swap with someone else in your line!) The lark role is a bit easier than the robin or magpie roles.
I find it's worth demonstrating the “3 birds chain” bit. At the ends it's the same as a robins' chain (ladies' chain in gendered calling), with the addition of an extra two people in the middle.
When the robins swing each other, a good option is to use a swing hold with two “blunt” ends in place of a normal ballroom swing hold. They finish in the middle of the line they started in, between their magpie and the other line's lark.