Beneficial Tradition

By Dan Pearl

A1

• Women allemande left, take right hands with to partner to make a wave (4);
• balance the wave and swing partners

A2

• Circle left 3/4; swing neighbors

B1

• Women chain; long lines: forward & back; all are home now.
  • [This is a point of confusion after the dance gets going; many dances feature these moves in the reverse order, namely, long lines then chain, and dancers seem to want to do them in the "usual" order.]

B2

• Change places with neighbor opposite you in the line
  • by pulling by with L hands and facing back into the set,
  • perhaps retaining L hand holds for a moment [see below]
• those who can change places with same-sex individual on R diagonal [end effects!]
  • by pulling by with R hands, moving into that person's spot and turning to face in.
  • again perhaps retaining R hand holds for a moment [see below]
• Repeat: pull by L straight across with opposite individual, and R on R-diagonal.

A1

• starts again with brand new women reaching out on L diagonal with L hand for a left allemande.

Dan notes: "I always loved this zig-zag gimmick when I danced it in Cor Hogendijk's "Pat's Tradition", done by English country dancers. A dance by Steve Schnur that featured it motiviated me to try my own. The dance was written for and first performed at the Dance Musician's Development Fund annual benefit dance. The Fund sprung out of a one-time benefit dance to help Susan Worland, a fine fiddler in Boston, replace her stolen instruments. From that, the Fund formed as a subcommittee of the Folk Arts Center of New England. At the annual DMDF dance (12 hours of varied dancing) funds are raised to benefit research and special projects for Boston-area dance musicians. The title gives a nod to "Pat's Tradition" and the beneficial tradition of the DMDF.

"Little did I know that when the dance started getting around, people would start yelping, hooting, etc. during B2. I think this started in Philadelphia. They have my blessing! Certainly, the "pulls" in B2 should be done with strength, tension, and other good contra-type connection. Foot-stompers have my blessing, too! ;-)"