Lady Round the Lady - Page

Figure Eight ~ Kentucky Square Dances Figure Eight ~ The Running Set Him and Her ~ Shaw Lady Round the Lady - Ford Lady Round the Lady - Hume Lady Round the Lady - Page

Ralph Page writes:

Any introduction you like that uses 16 measures of music:

Couple 1 - Out to the right and ----

Lady round the lady, the gent walk round the gent
The Gent go round the lady, lady round the gent
Half right & left six, go right across the set
Leading couple to the middle and lead on to the next;
Where it's lady round the lady, gent go round the gent
Gent go round the lady and the lady round the gent
Half lady's chain then swing the one you've got
Swing her in the center and you take her to the last
And it's lady round the lady, gent around the gent
Gent go round the lady, lady round the gent
Half right and left six, til you all get home again
Swing your partner once or twice and listen to the call!

Use a break figure for 16 measures of music

Then repeat figure for other couples in turn - then:

The two head couples to the right and ----

The ladies round the lady; gents go round the gent
The gents around the lady; the ladies round the gent
All right and left eight across the set and back

When you're all back home again you swing your partners all.
Take your lady with you and promenade the hall.

Repeat for two side couples

Use any ending figure you wish and end dance ----

All join hands and circle left, circle once around
You all are going wrong so back the other way
Bow to your partners one and all
And that's the end of the call.

Colin Hume has translated this into descriptive English, and fit it to the music.

This is an unusual dance: the visiting couple splits up, the man is active the whole time, while his partner is only active half the time, and then the man takes up with his opposite woman and finishes with her. After two iterations everyone is with their opposite, and after four everyone is back home again.

This uses an old Quadrille figure "right and left six" which was also used in early squares (I assume this is different from Johnson's "Right and Left 6 round" in Lord Anson for ever (Vol. 8, ~1756)). It is described, but not very well, in Henry Ford/Benjamin Lovett's Good Morning (1925). Colin describes it as a double pass through without hands with a courtesy turn at the ends. It continues until everyone is back where they started.

Only in this dance only half the figure is done (leaving the active couple where they started, and the two side couples reversed (They'll get sorted out when before the actives finish).

In the later half of the dance there is a "right and left eight" which is the same idea with more people involved. (and that time everyone does end where they started.

The tune was published by Ralph Page in Horthern Junket with the dance. Colin Hume's software synthesized the music.

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