I'll just add to Rich Hart's meticulous description that during the final part of A1, the cast-off, the active couples each walk forward as the inactive pivots them around.
It's a lovely dance, and can be a significant challenge for folks accustomed to the current spate of duple improper and Becket dances. Fully three quarters of the dance (A1, A2, and B1) have pieces that are not part of the contemporary norm. A1: As Rich notes, actives-- and yes, this is a dance where the terms "actives" and "inactives" are really relevant-- go straight across the set, not diagonally. Duke Miller, famed called in upstate New York and the Monadnock region of NH, used to call this as "Cross... down the outside, then cross... up the middle." In A2, it's just the active couples who form the long wave. Inactives simply watching. With the proliferation of dances these days with "Rory O'More balances," dancers are more accustomed to the balance and slide motion, but newbies will need to be reminded to face the same wall during this figure. For example, the active gent is facing the wall behind the women's line. He forms the wave, balances right and left, slides to his right, reforms the line, all still facing that same wall. Similarly for the active woman. B1 Contra corners: Again, depending on your local customs, dances may have encountered this already (Chorus Jig is the best-known classic contra with the figure, though some people encounter it in a more modern dance such as Alternating Corners.) Since you've already introduced contra corners to your regular dancers, this will go more smoothly. Finally, a key point, at the end of the active balance and swing in B2, they must finish facing UP the set, on their proper set. Most dancers today are accustomed to finishing a swing improper, and that will leave them on the incorrect side. I've seen many hot-shot dancers familiar only with modern choreography get through the dance fine until that final end of swing, and then they're on the wrong side for all else that follows. Not a pretty sight... Have fun with it. David Millstone
