The Wild Goose Chase ~ The Running Set

Chase the Goose ~ Kentucky Square Dances The Wild Goose Chase ~ The Running Set Newport Quadrille ~ Ford Grapevine Twist ~ Standard

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:

• Circle left
• Partner two hand turn
• Corner two hand turn
• Promenade home
• Heads circle four
• and do-si
• Left hand turn and promenade home
• Sides circle four
• and do-si
• Left hand turn and promenade home

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. Then they do a do-si with that couple and promenade home.

Most of the time the "Little Promenade" comes between repetions of the figure.

Then the 2nd couple repeats the whole thing, starting with the 3rd couple.

Another "Little Promenade"

Then the 3rd couple.

Another "Little Promenade"

And finally the last couple.

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

Sharp adds a paragraph at the end of Appendix B where he mentions that in one dance he watched the progression was slightly different: the second couple would start as soon as the 1st couple reached the fourth (rather than waiting until the 1st couple had finished with the fourth and were home). This is exactly the progression that Ida Levin describes in her Kentucky Square Dances book (and is topologically the same as the progression used in longways duple minor sets from 1650 to 1850).

Sharp writes that the "Little Promenade" consists of:

Men turn their partners half-way round (four steps), turn their contraries half-way round (four steps), rejoin their partners, cross hands, and move once round the circle, with them, counter-clockwise to places, men on the inside (i.e. on the left of their partners).

The main figure for this dance is:

First man, taking his partner's left hand in his right and leading her behind him, passes between second man and second woman, turns to his left and moves, counter-clockwise, round the second woman.

First man, still leading his partner behind him, moves in front of, and a step or two beyond, second man, casts back, making a half-turn to his right, passes between second man and second woman, turns to his right clockwise, round second man, and then goes hands-four with the second couple; while the second man, as the 1st couple passes by him, breaks away, moves clockwise round his partner to his place, timing his movements so that he shall reach his station just as the four-ring is being formed.

Releasing his left hand, first man breaks away from second woman and, followed by bis partner and the second couple, passes between third man and third woman and repeats the same movements with the third couple that he had previously done with the second (the third man doing as the second man did), concluding with hands-six with the third couple.

Releasing his left hand, first man breaks away from third woman, and followed by his partner and second and third couples, passes between fourth man and fourth woman and once again repeats the same movements concluding with hands-eight with the fourth couple.

Upon the conclusion of the hands-eight, the first man, breaking away from the fourth woman, casts back, making half a turn to his left, and, leading the other seven dancers behind him, moves round in a circle (back to centre), counter-clockwise to his place.

First man casts back, making half a turn to his right, and leads the other dancers round in a circle (faces to centre), counter-clockwise to places.

During the performance of this figure each dancer must be careful to follow exactly in the track of the dancer in front.

Lovett in Good Morning calls this figure a "Grapevine Twist" and uses it in Newport Quadrille. Lloyd Shaw also calls it "Grapevine Twist" and uses it in Grapevine Twist.

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