Table of Contents

A

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Alliara petiolata		Jan Dale ~2000		Duple Minor
Another Nancy's Fancy		Pat Shaw 1976	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
Any Which Way Any Which Way Alice M. Allen ~2016 4 Couple Longways permutation: 2413 Any Which Way ~ 3 Couple Alice M. Allen ~2016 3 Couple Longways permutation: 231
As You Were		Renée Camus 2020	Colin Hume	3 Couple Longways
The Astonished Archaeologist		Philippe Callens 1992	Bare Necessities	3 Couple Longways permutation: 231
The Astonished Archeologist		Philippe Callens 1992	Bare Necessities	3 Couple Longways permutation: 231

B

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Bar-a-Bar		John Young 1710 Fried de Metz Herman 1986 Playford Assembly	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
Barbarini's Tambourine		Walsh 1745 Jacqueline Schwab 1987 Playford Assembly	Colin Hume	Duple Minor
Barr a Barr		John Young 1710 Fried de Metz Herman 1986 Playford Assembly	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor

C

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
California Sunshine		Gary Roodman 2018	Cilantrio	Duple Minor
Le Carillon D'Oxfort Le Carillon D'Oxfort Feuillet 1706 Pat Shaw ~1964 Duple Minor

D

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Dancing Across the Atlantic		Loretta Holz 2005		Duple Minor
Dandelion in the Green		Jenna Simpson 2024		Duple Minor
The Dream Catcher		Eileen Orr 2001		Square

E

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Elizabeth		Colin Hume 1991	Masquerade	Duple Minor
Emma Turns Three		Gary Roodman 2003	MGM, Reunion	Three Face Three

F

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The Female Saylor The Female Saylor Feuillet 1706 Pat Shaw 1960 Playford Ball Bare Necessities Duple Minor The Female Saylor ~ Roe Feuillet 1706 Peggy Roe Bare Necessities Duple Minor
Foxfire		Steve Sargent 2008	Frank Hoppe	Duple Minor
From Bud to Bloom		Brooke Friendly/Chris Sackett 2024		Duple Minor

H

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Halsway Manners		Mary Devlin 2001	Frank Hoppe	3 Couple Longways permutation: 231
Hamburger Special Hamburger Special Pat Shaw 1974 Marjorie Fennessy 1983 Duple Minor Hamburger Special ~ Verbil Pat Shaw 1974 Lindsay Verbil 1983 Duple Minor
Heartland		Orly Krasner 1999		Duple Minor
Henry's Hornpipe Henry's Hornpipe ~ revised Gary Roodman 2003 MGM and Reunion Duple Minor Henry's Other Hornpipe Gary Roodman 2003 MGM and Reunion Duple Minor

J

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Jack by the Hedge		Jan Dale ~2000		Duple Minor
Jack's Health Jack's Health ~ Bolton John Playford 1679 Charles Bolton ~2004 Duple Minor Jack's Health ~ Hume John Playford 1679 Colin Hume 2024 Colin Hume Duple Minor Jack's Health ~ Morrison John Young 1721 James Morrison 1973 Playford Assembly Duple Minor Jack's Health ~ Neal John Young 1721 John & William Neal 1726 Duple Minor Jack's Health ~ Pat Shaw John Young 1721 Pat Shaw ~1965 Duple Minor
Joan Transported		Pat Shaw 1976	Bare Necessities	Triple Minor

K

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
King's Maggot		John Young 1718 Andrew Shaw 2017	Dave Bartley, Ruthie Dornfeld and Terry Wergeland	3 Couple Longways permutation: 231

L

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The Lang Staff		Pat Shaw 1976	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
The Leading Man		Loretta Holz 2005		Duple Minor
Levi Jackson Rag		Pat Shaw 1974		Custom
The Lissome Lass		Sharon Green 2016	Odd Sundays Garage Band	Duple Minor
Little Grey Cat		Renée Camus 2023	Choreograffiti Shira Kammen, Chip Prince, Christopher Jacoby, and Del Eckels	Duple Minor
Love's Triumph Love's Triumph ~ Bentley John Young 1710 Bernard Bentley 1962 Playford Ball Colin Hume 3 Couple Longways permutation: 231 Love's Triumph ~ Callens John Young 1710 Philippe Callens 2004 Colin Hume 3 Couple Longways permutation: 231 Love's Triumph ~ Fried John Young 1710 Fried de Metz Herman ~1999 Colin Hume Triple Minor Love's Triumph ~ Higgs John Young 1710 Scott Higgs 2019 Colin Hume 3 Couple Longways permutation: 231 Love's Triumph ~ Hume John Young 1710 Colin Hume 2007 Colin Hume 3 Couple Longways permutation: 231 Love's Triumph ~ Triple John Young 1710 Colin Hume 2007 Colin Hume Triple Minor

M

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The Maid's Last Wish The Maid's Last Wish ~ Cook Henry Playford 1695 Tom Cook (mod) 1979 Duple Minor The Maid's Last Wish ~ Playford Assembly Henry Playford 1695 Tom Cook (mod) 1979 Playford Assembly Duple Minor
La Matelotte La Matelotte Feuillet 1706 Pat Shaw 1960 Playford Ball Bare Necessities Duple Minor La Matelotte ~ Roe Feuillet 1706 Peggy Roe Bare Necessities Duple Minor
Mignonette		Jan Dale ~2003		Duple Minor
Miss de Jersey's Memorial		Pat Shaw 1971		Duple Minor
The Molly Andrew		Chris Sackett/Brooke Friendly 1998		Duple Minor
Moonflower		Susan Kevra 2017		Duple Minor
Mount Hills Mount Hills Henry Playford 1701 Bernard Bentley 1965 Bare Necessities Duple Minor Mount Hills ~ Playford Assembly Henry Playford 1701 Bernard Bentley (mod) 1965 Playford Assembly Bare Necessities Duple Minor
Mrs. Pomeroy's Pavane		Charles Bolton 1986	Bare Necessities	3 Couple Longways

N

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
New York		John Young 1718 Andrew Shaw 2017	Dave Bartley, Ruthie Dornfeld and Terry Wergeland	3 Couple Longways permutation: 231
A Night to Remember		Jeff Spero 2025		Duple Minor

P

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Le Palindrome		Anonymous ~2022		Circle as many as will
Pluck Me a Fig		Anna Rain 2011		Duple Minor

Q

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Quite Carr-ied Away		Pat Shaw 1976	Bare Necessities	Triple Minor

R

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Reseda odorata		Jan Dale ~2003		Duple Minor
Row Well, Ye Mariners ~ Bolton		John Playford 1651 Charles Bolton 1992 Playford Assembly	Strong Roots Bare Necessities	Circle as many as will
The Royal Navy		Henry Playford 1703 Andrew Shaw 2009		Duple Minor

S

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Summersweet		Gary Roodman 2023	Anna Patton, Eric Martin, Karen Axelrod, and Kate Barnes	Duple Minor
Sweet Cream		Jenna Simpson 2011		Duple Minor

U

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Under the Influence		Jenna Simpson 2013		4 Couple Longways permutation: 3142
The Unknown Buccaneer		Sharon Green 2009		Duple Minor

W

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Whiskey Before Dinner		Gary Roodman 2008	Doug Creighton, Karen Axelrod, lydia ivans, Naomi Morse and Peter Barnes	Duple Minor
White Wheat		Hazel Moir 2005	Bare Necessities	3 Couple Longways permutation: 231

Number of dances	Number of versions	Number with music
46	61	31

Warning: The figures for each dance is generated programmatically by regular expression matching and may be in error. Also, for old dances, they reflect the figures used by the interpreter which may not match those of the deviser.

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Back To Back

Also known as: Do-Si-Do, Dos à Dos.

Bars: 4.

In a back to back you start facing the person you are doing the back to back with and you continue facing that same way throughout the figure. Do not turn around. You walk forward, passing the other person by the right shoulder, go a little further, cross behind their back, and then back up (passing left shoulders this time) until you are back where you started.

Variants

Left back to backs by themselves are rare but do happen. Mirror back to backs also pop up from time to time. In the example the 1s are doing a right back to back and the 2s are mirroring this and doing a left back to back at the same time. The call for this would be something like “Partner mirror back to back women in the middle at start”.

History

In 1651, Playford says in Cuckolds all a Row: goe about the Co. We. not turning your faces, which seems a reasonable description of the figure.

In the Lovelace MS's description of the same dance, things are not quite so clear: each man shall goe round about his owne woeman but it certainly could be describing a back to back. Neither says what the woman does, that's normal for this period. It could be just the man doing the figure, or both.

The first use of "back to back" for this figure may be in Mulberry Garden, Playford, 1670: Go back to back with your own wo. the 2. cu. doing the same.

In 1752, Nicholas Dukes defines back to back with Feuillet diagrams.

When this call was translated into French it became “dos à dos” and when that came back into English it was “do-si-do”.

See Also

• Shoulder Round
• Allemande (disambiguation)
• Face To Face

This website is copyright © 2021-2026 by George W. Williams V
My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.