Sides

Inspired by the "16-Hand Reel Question" on the TCRG Voy, I wanted to see how many different movements come under the name of "Sides". The answer's ten!

1) Eight-Hand Reel, Cross Reel
Technically this is Extended Sides but I'll include it anyway. Partners exchange places with sidestep and threes, then continue on the same direction. Gent takes right hands with the lady on his right and they turn in place before chaining back to meet own partner in original place (16).

2) Morris Reel
Partners take both hands - right in right, left in left. Tops dance sidestep and threes to the right and back, while sides dance to the left and back. Tops then dance sidestep and threes to the left and back, while sides dance to the right and back (16).

3) High Cauled Cap
Partners take inside hands. Tops dance sidestep and threes to the right, sides to the left. Continue in the same direction back to place (16).

4) Sixteen-Hand Reel
Partners exchange places with sidestep and threes, then back to place (8).

5) Humours of Bandon, Eight-Hand Jig and St Patrick's Day
Partners exchange places with sidestep and rising step, then back to place (8).

6) Siege of Ennis
Partners take inside hands and exchange places with the other couple in their set of four, with sidestep and rising step, then back to place (8).

7) Harvest-time Jig
Each trio moves to the right with sidestep and rising step, then back to place. On the repeat, they move to the left and back to place in the same way (8).

8) The Three Tunes
All hold hands in a ring and sidestep/threes to the left and back, then to the right and back (16).

9) St Patrick's Day
Another Extended Sides, done in the same way as the Eight-Hand Reel but with the rising step in the place of the two short threes.

10) The Duke Reel
Partners exchange places with sidestep and threes, then return to place. Gents then exchange places with lady on their left in the same way, and back to place (16).

Thank goodness for consistency, right?! I think my favourite method is the Morris Reel, just because of the crossed hands.

Review

A good friend sent me written instructions for the Blackbird. I feel a bit better about it now. It was clearly just a poor frame of mind on my part. Here's a ceili review:

Walls of Limerick
Advance and retire - half right and left - dance with opposite - dance around

Rakes of Mallow
Advance and retire - swing with opposite lady - swing with lady on right - link arms in centre - swing around

Siege of Ennis
Advance and retire - sides - hands across - advance, retire and pass through

Walls and Rakes both reels, Siege is a jig. Walls is for any even number of couples, Rakes is for any even number of trios (one gent and two ladies), and Siege is for any even number of couples. Rakes is danced to a tune of the same name.

Learning another ceili tomorrow night, finishing Blackbird on Saturday, learning another ceili at some point over the weekend.

I'm also going to start writing out the ones I know, it's about time. Revising music I will have to leave until a) my laptop is working and b) I have the correct CLRG set dance CD. Must buy Olive ceili music CD as well.

That is all.

Siege of Ennis

Last night I decided which ceili dances I'm going to tackle next. I used the remarkably unscientific method of reading through the entire book, noting down which ones looked short (in terms of number of movements) and easy (in that I kind of understood most of them already), and wrote myself a little list. Then I put them in order from shortest to longest. Here it is:

The Walls of Limerick - 4 parts - done
The Rakes of Mallow - 5 - done
Siege of Ennis - 4
The Bridge of Athlone - 4
The Siege of Carrick - 4
An Rince Mor - 5
Haymaker's Jig - 5
Rince Fada - 6 (or 4 depending on how you're counting)
Glencar Reel - 7
Harvest-time Jig - 7
Haste to the Wedding - 8 (or 5)
Antrim Reel - 8 (or 7)
The Fairy Reel - 8
Bonfire Dance 9 (or 7)

Hence it's the Siege of Ennis tonight.

I actually remember doing this one many years ago, for a school play during 'Irish Week' called "Larry and Kathleen's Wedding". I had a line, too! My very own line; "Come on lads, play the Siege of Ennis!" To this day I can't say 'Ennis' in an Irish accent. Got a laugh from the crowd, did that.

Siege of Ennis is my first jig-time ceili, so it's got the amusingly-named Rise and Grind (hop, hop back, hop back 234). Obviously I've been dancing this move in light jigs my entire life but didn't know it had a name.

"Dancers line up in fours, two couples in each line; each set of two couples stands facing another set of two couples, each gentleman on his partner's left."



Advance and retire, sides, hands across, advance retire and pass through. Dead easy. What I don't get, is how to decide which couples make the arches. It says "each set of four facing the music raise hands". Facing the music, wtf? There won't BE any music. I'm probably just going to get the left hand lines (as you look at them) make the arches, same as in the video.

Other plans for the evening - practice St Patrick's Day, do some exercise. I'm not going to pass the dancing part with my current level of fitness. Tomorrow, review the ceilis I know so far, practice St Patrick's Day, and learn the Blackbird. I'm under the impression that one's harder, so maybe only the step. I'll see how I go.

Advance and retire, sides, hands across, advance retire and pass through.