The Spring

Source: Thomas Bray (1699), interpreted by Francis T. Worrell; published in English Dance & Song, July/August 1989 Volume 51 Number 2
Formation: Longways; Proper

Music:
24 bars, own tune.

Notes:
Thomas Bray's wording from 1699:



Pat Shaw's version of The Spring.

Francis is correct in saying that Pat Shaw changed the Turn to a Star; in his book he states, "Note: At end of B1 and B2 try Rh star and Lh star."

Francis's article can basically be summarised as "if you star/turn left first, then the dance flows more smoothly".

You can see it being danced in St Petersburg (Russia), Atlanta (USA) and Denmark. None of them use Pat Shaw's Stars, or Francis's Left-First idea. Apart from that the Russian one follows Pat Shaw's interpretation closely; the American one ignores Pat's instruction "important to get right back to places" on the initial "turn back to the left", doing the right hand turn on the diagonal to make the transition more smooth; the Danish one has a very different interpretation of the A part.

Original page from English Dance & Song, July/August 1989