Summer Storms

(CW1222)  (27 JUN '12)

Dance 2 in "Simonet's Suite"*.    4-Couple Becket.    Change-partner, change-gender (because everyone moves one-eighth clockwise in each Round).    After 4 rounds all are halfway round the set, but then dance another A phrase (men helping partners in) to convert the Becket set into a circle of eight, ready for "The Queen of Tarts" (the third dance in this suite of five).


Round 1

N.B. Partners have left hands joined from end of previous dance ("An(ne)t(te')s in her Pants")*.

      A:1-4

Men help partners into:-  middle ladies each cross out through their nearer end and loop in tightly right to face own partner across the set, WHILE end ladies loop left-shoulders around each other to face their own partner along the set (i.e. they've moved 2 places along their own line and are now facing the end they came from).

          5-8

Partners set (4), then ends gypsy right-shoulders, halfway, as middles pass own partner, left-shoulders, along (4), all flowing into…
All have moved one (-eighth) place clockwise around the set.

    B1:1-4

Staying in fours at each end, all right-hand star once around and face this neighbour for…

          5-8

Along each side, and passing right shoulders to start, half a straight-hey-for-four. N.B. Anticipation** is needed if you are all to flow smoothly into B2.

    B2:1-4

Staying in fours at each end, all left-hand star once around and face this neighbour (again) for…

          5-8

Along each side, but passing left shoulders to start, half a straight-hey-for-four, and neighbours (approaching in fours) join left hands for the start of the next Round.
As at the end of A2, all are one (-eighth) place from home, so men are now in ladies' places (and assume their duties in Round 2) and vice-versa.

Round 2

      A:1-4

Ladies help partners into:-  middle men each cross out through their nearer end and loop in tightly right to face own partner across the set, WHILE end men loop left-shoulders around each other to face their own partner along the set (i.e. they've moved 2 places along their own line).

The rest of this Round is non-gender specific and can be called using the relevant Round 1 instructions.

Men are now in men's places and ladies likewise, albeit a quarter clockwise round the set. So Round 3 is a repeat of Round 1 (including its A1:1-4) and Round 4 a repeat of Round 2 with its A1:1-4.

Round 3

      A:1-4

Men help partners into:-  etc.

Round 4

      A:1-4

Ladies help partners into:-  etc.

The set has progressed halfway round, clockwise, but the dance is not finished yet!  So, starting another Round 1:-

Coda

      A:1-8

Men help partners into:-  etc. but, in bars 7-8, the middles turn the left-shoulder pass along into a left-shoulder gypsy, halfway, moving out (as they gypsy) to face this one in the side place of a square set, ready for "The Queen of Tarts" *.

**Anticipation:-  the second corners in the middle (i.e. middle ladies in Rounds 1 and 3, middle men in Rounds 2 and 4) need to use the fourth change of this hey to pass each other, right-shoulders (along the left diagonal) onto the centre-line of the set, putting their left hands into the (further) B2 star. The end ladies (in Rounds 1 and 3, so end men in Rounds 2 and 4) should use that last change to curl in tightly clockwise at the (other) end to put their left hand into that star. So, all four ladies need anticipation in Rounds 1 and 3, and all four men likewise in Rounds 2 and 4.



Music: "L'Été"(ABB x 4, + A) by Simonet (c.1820), as played by Spare Parts for the second figure, "No.2  L'Hipparchia", of the "Fashionable Parisian Quadrille" suite on their 2007 CD "The Regency Ballroom" (Track 7).



* The non-stop sequence of five inter-connected dances that I've written to fit tracks 6-10 of the above CD (preferably without repetition, hesitation or deviation!) is called "Simonet's Suite" and consists of: "An(ne)t(te')s in her Pants" (4-couple longways), "Summer Storms" (4-couple Becket), "The Queen of Tarts" (4-couple Round), "The Pretty Parisian" (Square) and "The Last Syllable" (4-couple longways again).


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