Farandole
Lines of 8 or more people (partner not needed)Difficulty: 1
Style: English
| The line (of 8+ dancers) is led by the dancer at the left of the line around the room, turn and crossing other lines if desired. | |
| This figure is used to space out the following figures. | |
| Serpent. Leader takes the line into a spiral, the spiral will tighten; once the spiral is very tight he/she ducks down and moves out of the spiral leading the rest of the line out of the spiral. | |
| Arches. The line continues to hold hands throughout this figure. Everyone raises there arms to form a series of arches. The leader ducks under the arches and leads the line through the arches. | |
| Progression. The leader goes to the other end of the line in an "interesting" fashion! Leapfrogs or other athletic figures would be excellent but a simpler progression is for the leader to weave in and out of the other dancers to the bottom or to join the line into a circle which breaks into a new line with a new leader. The length of each figure is entirely at the leader's discretion. |
This description is by Brian Scowcroft, describing the version he uses at ceilidhs. The video links may be more like the traditional form ...
Music: Jigs, or something medieval - e.g. this 14th century ductia
Thumbnail: Lines of people weave, cross, spiral at whim.