Turn Single
Bars: 2.
A turn single is turning in a small circle (about the size of a pizza) by yourself. You end up where you started. A turn single left means that you start the small circle by turning over your left shoulder. A turn single right involves turning over your right shoulder.
A turn single up means that you start turning up the set, while a turn single down means you start turning down.
A turn single cloverleaf means turning in such a way as to trace the pattern of a four leaf clover. You start by turning away from the center of the minor set. The way you turn will depend on where you are in dance and what direction you are facing. When facing your partner, the top couple will turn up and the bottom couple will turn down. The example on the right shows a cloverleaf turn.
Often no direction will be specified. Turn which ever way feels natural (given the flow of the dance).
Sometimes you will be expected to travel at the same time as turning, this will be explained in the choreography and you may find you simply spin as you move.
History
This figure is commonly used in the Lovelace Manuscript (1620~1649) as well as in Playford's Dancing Master, but it became less common over the 18th century, and the last use I've found so far is in Thompson's The Spaniard. of 1777.
Some dances which (probably) use this figure
- Dances for which I have animations
- Dances in (R)SCDS Books
Note: This list may be incorrect or incomplete.
See Also
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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.