Lesson Plan for April 23 - Beginner Class

No new figures this week. Instead, we will work on conquering Pass+Turn, which we struggled with before.

Dances from the Ann Arbor Ball: The Best Set in the Hall, Lantern of the North

CORNER AFTER CORNER AFTER CORNER (R8x32) 3C (4C set)
J Drewry        Stoneywood Coll
1- 8      1s cross RH, cast 1 place & turn RH 1.1/2 times to face 3rd corners
9-16     1s dance Pass+Turn with 3rd corners, pass RSh &
             dance Pass+Turn with 4th corners & pass RSh to face 1st corners
17-24   1s dance Pass+Turn with 1st corners, pass RSh &
             dance Pass+Turn with 2nd corners & end 2nd place opposite sides
25-32   1s dance reels of 3 on sides (LSh to 1st corner to start) &
             cross RH to 2nd place own sides

THE BEST SET IN THE HALL (32J3C) Bk 46
1‐8        1s set, 1L followed by partner cast off below 3s.
             1L dances across and up behind 3M
             while 1M dances up the middle to face 1st corners.
9‐16      1s set to 1st corners.
             Corners dance into the middle and turn to face their original position
             while 1s cast over their right shoulder into partner’s 1st corner’s place.
             Set to partner’s 1st corner.
             1s dance into the middle and turn about to face 2nd corners
             while 1st corners cast over their right shoulder
             into the other 1st corner’s place.
17‐24   1s repeat bars 9‐16 with second corners,
             ending in second place on opposite sides.
25‐32   All chase clockwise halfway around and turn by the right.

Depending on turn-out, we will dance one of the following two strathspeys:

ALBATROSSES & SHEARWATERS (S3x32) 3C set M Veranth
1- 8      1s+2s+3s circle 6H round & back
9-16     2s dance up 1 place, cast & dance down between 3s &
             cast to face 1st corners
17-24   1s dance Pass+Turn with 1st corners, pass RSh to
             dance Pass+Turn with 2nd corners
25-32   1s+2s+3s dance the Knot with 3s+2s dancing 1/2 LH across to end 2 3 1

Dance Information:
Albatrosses and shearwaters are both large-winged seabirds that soar for long distances with a minimum amount of wing movement.

Southern Royal Albatross
Photo by Angus Wilson, from Ross Sea Info

The albatross is among the largest of flying birds, and the great albatrosses have the largest wingspans of any extant birds.  They feature as the main poetic symbol in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1798), which was a seminal work signaling the shift to modern poetry and the beginning of British Romantic Literature.

Great Shearwater
Photo from Wikipedia

With their efficient soaring flight, some shearwater species cover as much as 14,000 km one-way in migration.  They are also extremely long lived. A Manx Shearwater ringed as an adult (at least 5 years old) in July 1953, was retrapped in July 2003, at least 55 years old, making it the oldest known wild bird in the world.

THE FALKIRK LASS (S8x32) 3C (4C set) E Brunken Merse Coll
1- 8       1s turn RH, cast 1 place, cross LH & cast round 2nd corners to
              Man between 2s facing down & Lady between 3s facing up
9-16       All Adv+Ret (1 step), change places with opposite person RH,
              Advance+Retire again & 2s+3s change places RH
              while 1s turn to face 1st crnrs
17-24    1s Pass+Turn with 1st corners & Pass+Turn with 2nd corners
25-32    2s+1s+3s circle 6H round & back

Dance Information:

Falkirk Wheel,
Image from Wikipedia

I do not know the intent of the dance deviser, but the figure pass+turn is in many ways reminiscent of the operation of the Falkirk Wheel boat lift, which allows boats to transfer between the Forth and Clyde Canal to the Union Canal, connecting the two systems using a surprisingly efficient system.  It is considered a landmark of Scottish engineering and uses only 30.2 hp to power the electric motors, which consume just 1.5 kilowatt-hours of energy in the four minutes that constitutes the main part of the rotation, roughly the same as boiling eight kettles of water.

COLWYN'S RUBY REEL (R4x32) 4C set J Rhodes
1- 8       1s dance reflection reels of 3 on opposite sides
9-16      1s lead down for 2 & back, cross to own sides & cast to face 1st corners
17-24    1s dance Pass+Turn with 1st corners & Pass+Turn with 2nd corners
25-32    All circle 6H round & back

THE LANTERN OF THE NORTH (J8x32) 3C (4C set) J Drewry Canadian Bk
1- 8        1s+2s+3s set, cross RH, set & 1/2 turn LH into prom hold
9-16       1s+2s+3s Promenade & end with 1s casting to 2nd place
17-24     1s dance reels of 3 on opposite sides (1s cross RH down to start) &
              1s end facing 2nd corners
25-32     1s dance Pass+Turn with 2nd corners, turn RH &
               repeat with 1st corners, ending in 2nd place