Take Hands with your Partner Trivia Quiz

Answer: Take hands four

This instruction is often given at the start of a dance in a longways formation. Couples who want to dance join long lines down the room facing each other. As the caller and musicians (at the top of the room) look down the room the men will be on the right and the women on the left. By taking hands four, the dancers are separated into small groups for the dance. In those groups one couple will have their backs to the top, and is called the first couple; the other will be facing the top, and is called second couple. Often the first couple is asked to swap places with each other, so that the lady stands on the men's side and the man is on the ladies' side. This is the formation used for American contra dances.

Now we're ready to start our dance. With hands taken in a ring of four people, the dancers are going to circle to their left, in a clockwise direction, and then anti-clockwise to the right, back to where they started.

Answer: Left hand star

Four, or more, people join left hands and walk or dance round in an anti-clockwise direction.

Our dance has four people doing the star. We'll follow the left hand star with a right hand star, when the dancers join their right hands in the middle of the set and go round clockwise until they get back to where they started.

Answer: Ladies' chain

Two couples face each other with the men on the left and their partners on their right. The two ladies take right hands with each other and cross to the opposite man, who takes their left hand and turns them round to go back again. The men need to step forward to meet the ladies, and it helps if they put their right arms round the ladies' waists to help turn them round. Usually the movement will be repeated so that the ladies go back to their original partner. That's a whole ladies' chain, the first bit alone is called half a ladies' chain.

For our dance, we need the first couples to face the bottom of the room and the second couples to face the top. Then they're ready to dance a whole ladies' chain, so they end up back where they started again.

Answer: Dos-si-dos

Partners face each other and go past each other by the right shoulder, then they pass back to back, before going backwards, passing left shoulders, till they get back to where they started. The name of the movement comes from the French 'dos à dos', which means back to back. Sometimes it's repeated the other way, starting by partners passing left shoulders.

For our dance we'll just do one dos-si-dos.

Answer: Poussette

Two couples have partners face each other, holding both hands. The men push the ladies backwards, moving diagonally to their left, then fall back diagonally the other way so the couples change places. A poussette is a bit like a dos-si-dos, but done as a couple. If the couples change places with each other it's a half-poussette. For a whole poussette the movement is repeated, and the dancers end up back where they started.

In our dance, we need to do a half-poussette, so that the couples have changed places with each other.

Now all the first couples have moved one place away from the top of the room, and the couple nearest the bottom will find nobody to dance with. The second couples have all moved one place towards the top of the room, and the one nearest the top also has no-one to dance with. These couples will need to stand out for one turn of the dance. Everybody else will have a new couple for the next time through the dance. Then they will move one more place up or down, and the couples who have just had to stand out will be able to join in again. The tricky bit is that they will have changed numbers, so that the first couple who reached the bottom of the set will come back in as a second couple, and the second couple who reached the top of the set will come back in as a first couple. Because our dance is a contra dance, the couples will need to change sides with their partner while they're standing out for a turn.

Meanwhile we've just invented a new contra dance.
Circle left and right
Left hand star and right hand star.
Whole ladies' chain.
Dos-si-dos partners, followed by a half-poussette.

Answer: Promenade

With the man on the left and his partner on his right, facing the same way, they join their right hands together, and their left hands together in front of them and dance or walk around. A promenade can take place in a dance in any formation. For example, in a big circle the dancers will move around the ring, in a longways set, as described earlier, a promenade may be used to move couples to the other side of the set, and in a square set, one or more couples will usually promenade right round the outside of the set.

For our dance we're going to have a square set, so each couple stands on one side of a square, with the man on the left and the lady on the right. The set will be arranged so that one couple will have their backs to the top of the room; they are called the first couple. The second couple are on their right, then the third couple, followed by the fourth couple, who are on the left of the first couple, so they are numbered in an anti-clockwise direction. The first and third couples, who are facing each other, and either facing the top or bottom of the room are also known as head couples. The second and fourth couples, who are facing the sides of the room are known, somewhat unimaginatively, as side couples.

We'll start our dance with the first couple promenading round the outside of the set all the way back to their original place. It helps if the other couples move into the centre of the set as they pass, to make room for them. And it looks nice if both the side couples move in and out together, then the third couple move in, as the side couples move out.

Answer: Dip and dive

Two couples face each other, one makes an arch and they both move forward to change places with each other, then they turn round and the other couple makes the arch as they move forward to get back to where they started.

Sometimes a dip and dive movement can be used for more couples and they keep going alternately over and under till they get to the end of the line when they turn round and go back again. In a Sicilian circle formation, where there is a ring of little sets of four people, everybody starts at once. In a longways set for five couples, for example in Waves of Torey, the movement is started by the couple at the bottom of the set, who face up, while everybody else faces down; the bottom couple go under the couple facing them, then over the next, and under the couple after, until they get to the top, when they turn round and go back again, but as soon as the other dancers reach the bottom of the set, they need to turn round and go back up to the top; everybody keeps going over and under until they are all back where they started.

We'll stick to something simpler for our dance. The head couples in our square will do a dip and dive, starting with the third couple making the arch. When they've finished, the side couples will also do a dip and dive, starting with fourth couple making the arch.

Answer: Allemande right

Many dances involve turning other dancers round by one hand or both hands, usually once around, so they end up back where they started, but it could be a half turn, so they change places, and sometimes one and a half turns, which also results in them changing places.

For our dance we need partners to allemande right once around. This is to be followed by allemande left with corners. Your corner is the person next to you in the set who is not your partner. So, for example, first man's corner is fourth lady, and first lady's corner is second man.

Answer: Grand chain

Cross right hands with your partner, left hands with the next, then right hands, and left hands until you're told to stop. The important thing with a grand chain is to keep going in the same direction that you started, so usually ladies will go clockwise and men go anti-clockwise, and don't turn around unless you are told to do so. In a big circle, you will usually change hands a set number of times, and have a new partner for the next turn of the dance. If you have a little set of two couples the figure is known as a right and left through, or rights and lefts.

In our square set, the dancers need to do eight changes, right to their partner, left to the next, then right, then left, and so on. Partners should now be facing each other again, in their original places, having passed each other on the other side of the set.

Answer: Swing

There are probably as many variations on how to hold your partner in a swing as there are dancers. Many people like a ballroom hold; others prefer to use an elbow grip; some just hold crossed hands. However it's important to put your right foot in the middle and use the left to move round. And even more important not to go any faster than your partner is happy with!

In our dance, partners need to swing each other when they get back home.

So now we've invented a new square dance.
First couple promenade the set.
Head couples dip and dive.
Side couples dip and dive.
Allemande right with your partner and left with your corner.
Grand chain all the way round.
Swing your partner when you get home again.

The dance would usually be repeated four times, with each couple leading in turn. If you don't have live music, and you're using a recording, you may need to be inventive. If I have a recording that plays seven turns of the dance for a square set, I will usually ask both head couples to dance on the fifth turn, both side couples to dance on the sixth turn, and everybody to dance on the last turn. If it gets a bit chaotic, it just adds to the fun.