Box the Gnat ~ Quicksand

Box the Gnat ~ Quicksand Box the Gnat ~ The Running Set

Box the Gnat ~ Quicksand is an Appalachian Circle Dance. It was published by Cecil Sharp & Maud Karpeles in 1918 in The Country Dance Book (Part 5). It is a Square dance. It is a multipart dance. The minor set lasts 240 bars.

The Kentucky Running Set is the name Sharp gave to a style of dancing he found in the Southern Appalachians when he visited in 1917. The locals called the dances square dances even though they were often danced in large circles. Sharp, however, describes squares, and this is an attempt to follow his description.

Sharp mentions that these dances are always called: Normally, the caller recites certain prescribed verbal phrases, a mixture of prose and doggerel rhyme that, in the course of time, has become stereotyped. Sharp provides an appendix with the calls used at one of the dances he saw. Sadly I don't understand the calls he gives.

This style of dance begins with a common introduction:

Each time a new figure is called, it begins with a "Grand Promenade." Sharp defines this as: partner two hand turn, corner two hand turn, promenade with partner half round, reverse direction (turn inward, without releasing hands), promenade back, partner two hand turn, corner two hand turn, partner promenade all the way around.

Then starts the first figure: the first couple moves right to the 2nd couple and does some figure with them. Then they move on to the next couple (3s) and do the same figure. Then on to the last couple and do the same figure. In most figures the 1st+4th couples then do a do-si, but this one seems not to do that.

At this point they would do the grand promenade again, and the 1st couple would start with a new figure, and so forth.

The animation plays at 120 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. 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.

Intro
 
1-6Introduction: Circle left
7-8Partner two hand turn
9-10Corner two hand turn
11-16Promenade partner home
17-20Heads forward and back
21-24Heads change with opposite
25-28Heads forward and back
29-32Heads change with opposite
33-36Sides forward and back
37-40Sides change with opposite
41-44Sides forward and back
45-48Sides change with opposite
Grand Promenade
 
1-4Grand Promenade: Partner two hand turn
5-8Corner two hand turn
9-12Promenade half round
13-16Turn inward to face back and promenade home
17-20Partner two hand turn
21-24Corner two hand turn
25-32Promenade once around
Figure
 
1-4$1 couple right turn into the middle of the set and face $2 couple
5-8Actives left turn opposite sex neighbor
9-12Actives right turn partner to face next couple
13-16Actives left turn opposite sex neighbor
17-20Actives right turn partner to face next couple
21-24Actives left turn opposite sex neighbor
25-28Actives right turn partner home
Little Promenade
 
1-4Little Promenade: Partner two hand turn
5-8Corner two hand turn
9-16Promenade once around
Figure
Little Promenade
Figure
Little Promenade
Figure

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=BoxTheGnat-Quicksand

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The dance is out of copyright in the US, but I'm not sure of other jurisdictions. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2023 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.