Ladies in Center Back to Back ~ Kentucky Square Dances

Ladies in Center Back to Back ~ Kentucky Square Dances Ladies in Center Back to Back ~ The Running Set Four Ladies to the Center ~ Ford

Ida Levin describes an early form of "square dancing" which is actually danced in a large circle. This bears some similarities to the dance which Cecil Sharp called The Running Set 10 years before.

Every "change" of a dance begins win an introduction, first Ida gives the calls for this:

1. Join hands, circle left all the way around.
2. Swing home
3. Corners, too.
4. Don't forget your partner

And then she explains what the calls mean:

1. All couples join hands in a circle and walk to the left completely around.
2. Partners join both hands and swing once around.
3. Each gentleman joins both hands with the lady on his left and swings her once around.
4. Each gentleman joins left hands with his partner and swings her once around

(At this time "Swing" was a generic term which meant roughly: "turn in a circle", it did not mean the modern partner swing.)

This figure is a little unusual for these Kentucky Square Dances in that it does not contain a do-si-do.

Again Ida gives calls for the figure:

1. Ladies in center, back to back.
2. Gents shuffle to left.
3. Pass your partner one, swing, place her back.
4. Go on around.
5. Pass your partner two, swing, place her back.
6. Go on around.
7. Swing home, corners too.

and meaning...

1. All ladies walk to the center of the circle, turn, face their partners and remain in place.
2. All gentlemen walk to the left completely around
3. Each gentleman passes his partner and, stopping before the lady on his partner's right, joins right hands with her and swings her once around.
4. While the ladies remain in place all gentlemen coninuue walking to the left completely around.
5. Each gentleman passes his partner and, stopping before the second lady on his partner's right, joins right hands with her and swings her once around.
6. While the ladies remain in place all the gentlemen coninue walking to the left completely around. They repeat the figure swinging each lady in turn until they again meet their partners.
7. Each gentleman, joining both hands with his partner swings her once around, then joining both hands with the corner, that is, the lady on his left, swings her once around.

I'm not sure if Ida intends for the men to use a slipping step when they circle (that might be what "shuffle" means), or walk single file. I have chosen single file because it flows better with the right hand turns.

Cecil Sharp's version has the men turning their partners to the middle, and then going counter clockwise around the set, and he adds a promenade after each hand turn.

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