The Merifest Central Square

The Merifest Central Square is an English Country Dance. It was devised by Kimberley Smith in 1985 and published in Dances with a Difference, Vol. 4. It is a dance for 12 people. It is a multipart dance. The dance lasts 176 bars. The music is a medley. Someone thought this dance was Intermediate.

This uses an unusual grand square figure. The outsides do a normal grand square, but the two couples in the middle make arches and back up over the heads as they advance. Then they face and separate, turn and go toward the side position. They again make arches and go in as the sides duck back.

In contradiction to this Colin later says Those falling back always arch; those leading in go under.

I think it makes more sense for those people going forward to make the arch, because they can see whether there is anyone they need to arch over. But just so your group behaves consistently it doesn't matter.

No one is very clear about what happens on the edges of the square where two dancers might collide, but I presume that the Colin's dictum should be amended to: "Those backing up get out of the way". Again, I think it would be better to have those moving forward get out of the way, but it isn't my dance.

The tune was composed by Colin Hume. It was performed by Masquerade (Stephan Thomas, Graham Knibbs and Daphne Baker). The music is used with permission from Colin Hume.

The animation plays at 116 counts per minute normally, but the first time through the set the dance will often be slowed down so people can learn the moves more readily (no music plays during this slow set). Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color, however the border of each dancer indicates what role they currently play so the border color may change each time through the minor set.

The dance contains the following figures: hand turn (allemande), set, circle, hands across, hey, rights and lefts, grand square, siding, grand chain (and probably others).

If you find what you believe to be a mistake in this animation, please leave a comment on youtube explaining what you believe to be wrong. If I agree with you I shall do my best to fix it.

If you wish to link to this animation please see my comments on the perils of youtube. You may freely link to this page, of course, and that should have no problems, but use one of my redirects when linking to the youtube video itself:
https://www.upadouble.info/redirect.php?id=TheMerifestCentralSquare