We probably need someone with more knowledge to weigh in on this,
but my understanding is that the dance known as Dublin Bay was published
in Playford in the early 1700's and the Gay Gordon's dance is more
likely from the late 1800's. So if these dances are related at all it
would be the Scottish dance that evolved from the English dance.
However, they could easily be independent inventions.
Jonathan
On 1/16/2017 5:58 PM, Martha Wild via Callers wrote:
Note that the Scottish “Gay Gordons” dance, which has been a standard
there for I don’t know how long, features a promenade where couples walk
forward then turn and continue backward, then come back forward and turn
and continue backing up again. Doing four instead of two in line would
seem a likely evolution.
Martha
On Jan 16, 2017, at 2:20 PM, Tavi Merrill via Callers
<callers@lists.sharedweight.net
<mailto:callers@lists.sharedweight.net>> wrote:
Dance genealogy question: The figure first appearing in "Dublin Bay"
(aka "We'll Wed and We'll Bed," its title in Playford) morphed in
contra into a modified "lines of four down the hall."
I know a version of it from Sue Rosen's dance "Handsome Young Maids,"
where dancers facing down take four steps forwards, turn alone, and
continue down the hall with four backward steps, then repeat the
figure to return up the hall.
I'm curious how many other contras this figure, or a version of it,
appears in. Does anyone know of other dances? And any astute dance
historians out there know what the first contra to use this figure is?
Tavi
