"If you aren't dancing, you're wasting your feet!"

A Few Concepts

Here is a brief list of concepts and figures that dancers will eventually understand as second-nature to English Country Dance. Most of these are more easily demonstrated than described.

Proper: a longways formation with all the men on one side, women on the other. Proper is the default formation for longways sets in English, while Contras use mostly improper dances.

Partner: The one you asked to dance (or who asked you).

Neighbor: The person next to you on your side of the set. Typically you interact with a series of neighbors over the course of the dance.

Ones, Twos: Within groups of four in longways formation, ones are the couple closest to the music, twos are facing the music.

Corners: The diagonal neighbor in a group of four. In proper dances, First Corners are first man and second lady. Second corners are second man and first lady.

Up a Double and Back: Contra's "forward and back." Three steps forward, pause, three steps back.

Set Right: Similar to contra's "Balance" but not as loud. Step on right foot, close with left foot and shift weight, return weight to right foot. Usually coupled with a Set Left: Step on left foot, close with right foot and shift weight, return weight to left foot. (These are more easily demonstrated than described)

Turn Single (to the right): Pretend there is a circular flagstone near your right foot. Walk around it in four steps, ending where you started.
Turn Single (to the left): Same idea, to the left.

Circle (left or right): Take hands with the people beside you and circle.

Right Hands Across (or Left Hands Across): Take right (or left) hands with the corner (diagonal neighbor) and walk. This is called a "star" in contra.

Back to Back: English for Dos-a-Dos (which is literally French for Back to Back).

Cast: Similar to a turn single, but advancing to another spot. For example, Ones cast down one place means ones turn toward the outside of the set and dance to end in their neighbors place. Typically the Twos will move out of the way at the same time.

Footwork: In general, the weight remains on the balls of the feet in English, whereas the weight is more in the heels of contra dancers. This is a point of style, not a major focus of concern for a first-timer.

Siding: Two moves use the same name. In "Shaw Siding," dancers move forward as in Up a Double and Back, moving close enough to nearly touch right (or left) shoulders. In "Sharp Siding," dancers trade places passing left shoulders, but continuing to face, then follow the same path back to place, again continuing to face each other.

Arming: Dancers hook right (or left) elbows and walk around each other.

USA: Some English dances use a chorus-verse structure, and when that happens the chorus is often the sequence known as "USA" for Up a Double & Back, Siding, Arming.

A more complete explanation of these and other figures can be found in Hugh Stewart's article, Elements of English Country Dance.

In his article, Mr. Stewart offers a wonderfully worded caveat:

Firstly a caveat. Students are used to the concept of exams where they have to supply a `right' answer to a given question. Folk dances usually have several `right' answers depending on such things as what sort of music the band play, what sort of people are dancing the dance, your fancy at the time and what the phase of the moon is. My intention here is to provide assorted `right' answers, but if anyone dares to quote these notes at you and claim that you are doing it wrongly because you are doing something different, then agree politely with him (so he goes away happy), but otherwise ignore him.