Dandies' Hornpipe
Duple proper (The Cracking Chestnuts column version)

A1	Long lines forward and back Actives turn by the left 1-1/2 and go down the outside one place, couple two moving up as they do so
A2	Ladies chain, over and back
B1	Left-hand star with the next neighbor couple Right-hand star with the original neighbor couple
B2	Actives swing in the center, end facing up Hand cast

Dandies' Hornpipe, like British Sorrow, was an early American dance that had fallen from use and was not danced for many years until Ralph Page rediscovered it in an early nineteenth century dance manual. Page found Dandies' in an old, undated manuscript housed at the Essex Institute in Salem, Massachusetts. He estimated the book's age as "early 1820s." It may be a fanciful notion, but we like to think that the dance's title refers to a "Yankee Doodle" Dandy. Those of us who love chestnuts become enthusiastic when we hear about someone reviving a fine old dance like this one. It is exciting to us to imagine how much more of this gold there is, waiting to be mined. Dandies' was one of the dances used at the original "Cracking Chestnuts" callers gathering in March of 2004. It has some intriguing characteristics, and we would recommend it for a fairly experienced group of dancers that would appreciate its challenges.

After rediscovering it, Page published Dandies' Hornpipe twice: in his magazine, Northern Junket, and in the Ralph Page Book of Contras, published by the English Folk Dance and Song Society. In both cases he presented the dance in its original, triple minor, form, but suggested that he preferred it danced as a duple. At the callers gathering we took Ralph's advice and danced it in duple formation, and we enjoyed this version greatly. However, for reference, here is the triple minor version as presented in Northern Junket (1968):

Couples 1 - 4 - 7 etc. active. Don't cross over
(Counts in parentheses)

Active couples forward and back (8)
Turn by the right hand once and a half around (8)
Go below one couple and the opposite ladies chain (8+8)
Left hand star with the couple below (8)
Right-hand star with the couple above (8)
Active couples swing in the center (stop facing UP) (8)
Up the center and cast off one couple (8)

Aficionados of Ted Sannella's triplets may recognize Dandies' as virtually identical to Ted's Triplet #9. At the bottom of the prompting card for his dance, Ted typed, "This was believed by Ted to have been written by him but was later discovered as Dandies' Hornpipe, a contra from the early 1800s." Ted's Triplet #9 includes some alterations to the triple minor version. First, rather than lead up the center for the cast back into second place, the active couple casts from their progressed place into third place, so that all three couples will have the opportunity to be active. Also, Ted's Triplet #9 also begins with both the first and second couple going forward and back (rather than just the active couple), which suggested the idea of long lines for our duple version of Dandies' Hornpipe.

Notice that Ralph placed the cast at the beginning of A2, stealing time for it from the chain. In Ted's Triplet #9, Ted opted for a different sort of timing, making the hand turn very tight and squeezing in the cast at the end of A1. This allows the chain to start at the beginning of the part. Our duple proper version above follows Ted's lead regarding the timing, and makes two other small changes in A1. First, inspired by Ted's inclusion of couple two, we opted to have all go forward and back in line, rather than just the actives. There are many "advance and retire" moments in traditional dances, but "long lines forward and back," so common in today's choreography, is not a figure that tends to appear in New England chestnuts. Nevertheless, we believe this whole set movement to be very much in the spirit of many older dances, which often have a focus on working together as a large group. Ted Sannella himself made a similar modification to Christmas Hornpipe (CDSS News, November/December, 2005). Our other change to Dandies' was to have the active couples turn by the left hand, rather than the right, in order to cross the set in A1. This adjusts to the tightness of Ted's timing by allowing the ladies to move more efficiently into the chain. Meanwhile the active gent can loop over his right shoulder into his progressed place during the four counts he has free before needing to meet his partner for the courtesy turn.

The second lady in particular is quite independent in beginning this chain. No gent assists her into the figure, nor does any gent have the potential to impede her entrance. A potential problem spot arrives at the end of the chain. Normally, a courtesy turn leaves dancers facing into the center of the set, which would create no difficulty for the gents here, as they could simply continue the counterclockwise movement of the courtesy turn and move into the star. The ladies, however, are then required to reverse direction, and if they have any trouble disentangling from the courtesy turn this can feel clumsy. A helpful trick is for the gents to slow down the courtesy turn, and end it before turning all the way in order to send the lady along to the next. From there the gent will find it easy to continue a bit more around to his left and go directly into the star with his partner. This transforms what might have been an awkward moment into a very smooth transition.

The active couple will find moving from the right-hand star into their swing irresistible. However, they may also find it challenging to end the swing in time in the middle of B2. Fortunately, many New England tunes have very clear eight-count phrases, which can help dancers here.[1] The hand cast after the swing takes six or eight counts. We like to think of the timing as: eight counts to swing, two to get "grounded" (facing up and proper), and six for the cast. The original cast was probably unassisted. Our recommendation of a hand cast is intended to lead nicely into the forward and back in line.

Despite (or in some ways because of) its challenges, Dandies' Hornpipe has much to offer. Interaction opportunities abound, and the figures fit together in a satisfying way. What an intriguing find! Anyone up for another visit to the Essex Institute?