Figures

Glide-symmetrical Reels

There are four possible pairs of reels of three on a particular axis:

Parallel (e.g. pass RSh at the top on both sides): New Year Jig

Mirror (e.g. 1s in and down): Sands of Morar

Anti-parallel (e.g. leading couple go to their right for a LSh reel across; LSh to 1st corner for a reel on opp side): Duke of Perth and many more

are already in use. However, I don't know of any dances with

Glide-symmetric (e.g. it was meant to be parallel, but someone went the wrong way)

Imagine you're dancing Catch the Wind. Once you've done the first part of the chase, the leading lady would do a RSh reel with the 3s, while the leading gentleman does a RSh reel with the 2s (i.e. in parallel). Now instead of a RSh reel, have the lady give LSh to 3rd lady, while the gent still gives RSh to 2nd gent (he's just been curving round, so the RSh reel has better flow; the lady has just come straight down the set, so going either way is about equally easy).

This is glide symmetry - the pattern is mirrored and shifted along. It's the same symmetry as in footprints - if the first print is a right foot, the next is a left foot a bit further forward.

Three-couple two-couple Chain Progression

In the two couple Chain Progression, 1s & 2s turn RH 3/4 into a line up and down, then the end people chase round CW half way while the middle people turn LH 1.1/2, then 2s & 1s turn RH 3/4 to own side in progressed places. I really like this figure - you can reform the line every bar from 3 to 6, as chasing 1/8 CW lines the ends up with (the other end of) the line in the middle that's turned 3/8 ACW.

I think this figure extends logically in the same way as the Bourrel - you just have more middle people. So in my 3C Chain Progression:

1-2 1s & 2s & 3s turn partner RH 3/4 to a line of 6 up and down.

3-6 1L & 3M chase CW to far end of line, while 1M+2L & 2M+3L turn 1.1/2 LH to swap places.

7-8 All turn RH 3/4 with the person to your right, to end:

3M 2L

1M 3L

2M 1L

Which is the same progression as the 3C Bourrel. If you want to end with your partner, in your own place, you begin

2M 3L

3M 1L

1M 2L

Like the Bourrel, the 2C one works as a standard progression because sending the bottom man to the top and moving the others down a place, and sending the top lady to the bottom and moving the others up a place happens to have the same effect as swapping the two couples : p.

So I am a bit disappointed that the RSCDS have chosen to call the Chaperoned [Escorted &c.] Chain Progression in The Countess of Dunmore's Reel a 3C Chain Progression. I really like the figure (probably more than my 3C extension, which only has a line of six on bars 2 and 6), but it is a DIFFERENT modification, as though they decided that they would call a reel of 3 with 1s in promenade hold a reel of 4 - that means something else!

Mammals' Chain as in Kalan i Manul

Any number of couples greater than 2 can dance the pattern of a ladies' chain (or its mirror image, the men's chain) *up and down* the set. I'll explain in for the setup we had when I thought of it: 1s in 2nd place on opposite sides, having turned left hand.

1L is doing a ladies' chain at the bottom of the set while 1M dances the lady's part of a ladies' chain at the top of the set.

1-2 1L + 3L turn RH about 3/4 while 3M crosses the set WHILE

1M + 2M turn RH about 3/4 while 2L crosses the set.

3-4 All turn LH half way with the person you meet (2L+1M, 3L+2M, 1L+3M).

5-8 Repeat back to original place (meeting partner for the LH turn).

However many couples are involved, you only have two end people casting/dancing across - everyone else starts by changing with someone RH up and down. And if you have every other couple improper, the RH changes are with someone of the same sex and the LH changes are with opposite sex.

There isn't really a concise way of describing this 3C chain figure, so I declare it to have a cutesy animal name like the Dolphin Reels in Pelorus Jack - the Mammals' Chain (maybe the mirror image LH one is a Lizards' Chain?).

The Hurtle

b1

I think The Spurtle could be a really nice figure, but the official definition has the supporting couples giving up on the reel after two bars and casting up the side. For the lady ending on the men's side, this is indistinguishable from finishing the half reel as normal but drifting up a place in the last two bars. For the man ending on the ladies' side, this spoils the track of the reel by being a left-shoulder loop, and means that he nearly crashes into the leading man, who is trying to come in through the side in about second place.

b3-4: collision!

Like 2L ending in top place at the end of the reel across in City of Belfast, I think the supporting men should pass the leading man right shoulder, moving up a place, then pull RSh back to face in. The supporting couple only approximately cover with each other, but this is to be expected as they are doing a rotationally symmetrical figure while trying to drift up the set. It's possible to make this modification without affecting anyone else.

b3-4 improved: 4M completes half reel by coming up middle and pulling RSh back

My other idea comes from the fact that the leading man spends bars 3&4 (also 7&8 and possibly 11&12, depending on where you end) going virtually nowhere (he starts the turn slightly below 2nd place, just centre-ward of the ladies' side, and ends just above 3rd place, which is actually about the same spot), while the leading lady swoops around him. If the 1s did a left rather than right hand turn, they could end in the same places as normal (and continue the left-in-the-middle pattern of the reel), but it will feel swoopy for both of them. This involves doing about one turn in about a bar and a half, so i) it's not necessarily a good modification for beginners, and ii) I declare it to be called The Hurtle.

b3-4 Hurtle: 1s turn LEFT hand. Whoosh!