Beyond the Pale Ale (The 2007 California Morris Ale) Hosted by Berkeley Morris

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Mass Dances and Workshop Notes

Here are the mass dances for the Ale, which we will be teaching on Friday night (see also the Ale Info Packet):

Balance the Straw: The “A” figures are foot-up & -down with galleys, half gyp, back to back, and rounds. Each is followed by a chorus of sticking, half-hey, sticking, half-hey. The sticking is: dib (stick butt) to right behind, dib in front, clash forehand then backhand. Repeat the dibs, then clash forehand 3 times (clash, pause, clash, clash.) The hey is a sidestep mirror hey (2 sidesteps, 2 hopbacks, foot-together-jump)

Simon’s Fancy: The “A” figures are foot-up & -down, half gyp, whole gyp, rounds. Usual left foot lead throughout. (These are done with 4 single steps, 2 back steps, step-&-caper) For each chorus, first corners sidestep left then right to end back to back, then go to corner’s place (with swaggers the 1st & 4th choruses, 2 fore capers the 2nd & 3rd ones), then with 2 sidesteps (a left one & a right one), two single steps and a step-&-caper, travel counter-clockwise back to home place, passing behind the standing second corners. Then second corners do all that. Then all 4 do all that again together. At end of last chorus, step-&-caper into a tight circle facing in.

Ducklington Lollipop Man: “Once-to-yourself” singing the song, come in with a fore caper (the famous Ducklington snatch caper), then foot-up & -down, chorus, rounds, chorus, rounds, chorus, & end with whole hey. The foot-up is 2 double steps, 2 snatch capers to face down; 2 double steps down, 2 snatch capers to face across. The rounds are with steps as above, turning outwards halfway through, starting clockwise then returning counter-clockwise. The whole hey (a mirror morris hey) uses the same steps except it ends with 4 plain capers (up and down hands) facing up. The set is inverted for the hey, so middles start down the set.

The chorus involves corner crossings (by 1st, 2nd & 3rd corners in order) thus: open side steps left then right, looping out & back to place, then a snatch caper in place, a second with a big leap to land face-to-face with corner in center of set (feet together, hands out). A short pause, then 2 double steps to corner’s place (passing right shoulders) & 2 snatch capers turning left to face your corner. Next corners join in on the last snatch caper to begin. Everyone joins the 3rd corners on their last caper to lead into next figure.

Vandals of Hammerwich: Figures are: swagger round, heading up, heading down, back to back, Lichfield hey. Each is followed by the chorus.
Swagger round: #1 leads #3,5,&7 around the set clockwise; #2 leads #4,6,&8 counterclockwise. (#1 goes outside at top, inside at bottom) Get back home in time for the caper-caper-clash.

Heading up: #3 & 4 move up outside # 1 & 2 to form line of 4. (7 & 8 do likewise with 5 & 6) Get there in one double step, do 3 more in place, then huckleback to place for the capers.
 
Heading down: as above, but 1 & 2 and 5 & 6 do the moving out to form line of 4.

Back to back: 2 double steps passing partner’s right shoulder & closely looping around them & just back past them before doing 4 hucklebacks to place. Then 2 double steps passing left shoulders, getting all the way around (important!) , caper-caper-clash.

Lichfield hey: With one double step for each movement, first corners cross, second corners cross, pause, cross along sides or ends of set. (Diagonal crosses are right shoulder, along sides or ends are left shoulder.) Do all that a total of 4 times, noting that 1st corners means places not faces, so it alternates which dancers cross first. However, the 4th time, after the 2 corner crosses there is NO PAUSE, and you caper home (caper-caper-clash) passing left shoulders (instead of a double step.)

The Chorus: Clash (2-handed) right diagonal forehand, left diagonal forehand, then partner forehand-backhand-forehand, then 2 side steps to (your own) right, 2 side steps left, caper-caper-show (holding stick over head with hands near ends). Repeat all that, but end 2nd time with caper-caper-clash. (On very last chorus, end facing up with a show.)

Need more info?  Visit us here at  http://TheCaliforniaAle.info/2007 or http://berkeley-morris.org/ale