Swirly Siding

Also known as: Sharp Siding, Banana Siding.

An online definition may be found here.

Bars: 4.

The best description I know of for swirly siding comes from Chris Page who says (something like):

Face your partner and left hand turn half, face them again and right hand turn half back to your original places. Now do it without hands.

History

This form of siding is an invention of Cecil Sharp, who did not know what siding was when he first encountered it. He defines it:

This is performed by two dancers, usually partners, but not necessarily so. They face each other, and move forward a double obliquely to the right, i.e., passing by the left. On the third step they make a half-turn counter-clockwise, completing the turn on the fourth step as they face one another (two bars). This completes the first half of the movement, and it is called side to the right. In the second half of the movement, side to the left, the dancers retrace their steps along the same tracks, moving obliquely to the left (passing by the right), turn clockwise, and face each other on the fourth step. The whole movement occupies four bars of the music.

The dancers must remember to face each other at the beginning and close of each movement, to pass close to each other, shoulder to shoulder, and always to face in the direction in which they are moving.

Later he decided he was wrong and suggested using shoulder siding instead, but by then his original mistake had become a new figure in its own right.

Swirly Siding

Variants

History

Some dances which (probably) use this figure

See Also