Amaryllis

Amaryllis is an English Country Dance. It was published by John Playford (website) in 1670 in The Dancing Master, 4th ed., London. It was interpreted by Cecil Sharp (website) in 1911 and published in The Country Dance Book (Part 2). Found in The Playford Ball. It is a proper Duple Minor dance. It is a multipart dance. The minor set lasts 224 bars. It is in the key: G major.

The one video I saw of this dance removed the twirl from the intro/closer and replaced it with the women setting and falling back (complementary to what the men did previously).

Playford writes:
Lead up, and back, that again Then set to your own wo. fall back, and turn her about
Cross over with your own wo. into the 2. place, the 2. cu. leading up between, the 2. cu. doing as much The 1. man cross over with the 2. wo. the 1. wo. cross over with the 2. man, then take all hand and go quite round Do this to the last.
The 2. cu. lead up and slide out from your own, fall back and slide in The 1. man takes his wo. by the right hand and leads her into the 2. place, then cast off into their own places and meet, then cass off into the 2. place. Do this to the last

The tune was published with the dance. It was performed by Bare Necessities (Earl Gaddis, Mary Lea, Peter Barnes, and Jacqueline Schwab) on the album Favorites of the Boston Centre. The music is used with permission from the Country Dance Society, Boston Centre, Inc.

The animation plays at 113 counts per minute normally, but the first time through the set the dance will often be slowed down so people can learn the moves more readily (no music plays during this slow set). Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color, however the border of each dancer indicates what role they currently play so the border color may change each time through the minor set.

Introduction
 
A1-4Up a double and fall back
5-8That again
B1-4Men set forward to partner and fall back (women do not set)
5-8Men take partners right hand turn her under clockwise twice
Figure - Part 1
 
I.A1-41s cross and cast (2s move up)
5-82s cross and cast (1s move up, all improper)
I.B1-2M1+W2 change
3-42nd corner people cross
5-8Circle four
Figure - Part 2
 
II.A1-42s lead up, (still facing up) four slip steps out (men left, women right)
5-82s back up, slip step into place
II.B1-41s lead down and cast back home
5-81s long cast down as 2s lead up
Figure - Part 1
Figure - Part 2
Figure - Part 1
Figure - Part 2
Figure - Part 1
Figure - Part 2
Figure - Part 1
Figure - Part 2
Figure - Part 1
Figure - Part 2
Introduction

If you find what you believe to be a mistake in this animation, please leave a comment on youtube explaining what you believe to be wrong. If I agree with you I shall do my best to fix it.

If you wish to link to this animation please see my comments on the perils of youtube. You may freely link to this page, of course, and that should have no problems, but use one of my redirects when linking to the youtube video itself:
https://www.upadouble.info/redirect.php?id=Amaryllis

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The dance itself is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. The interpretation is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2019 by George W. Williams V and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

This website is copyright © 2021,2022,2023,2024 by George W. Williams V
Creative Commons License My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.