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The Corporation
Country Dances, Ancient and Modern

Table of Contents

A B C F H J L M O T W

A

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
The Ape's DanceJohn Playford 1675
Colin Hume 2025
Colin HumeDuple Minor
As You WereRenée Camus 2020Colin Hume3 Couple Longways

B

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
Bransle in the BarnMelanie Axel-Lute 2015Odd Sundays Garage BandDuple Minor

C

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
ChangelingSharon Green 2020Odd Sundays Garage BandDuple Minor

F

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
FoxfireSteve Sargent 2008Frank HoppeDuple Minor

H

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
Hart's Tempẽte Dance
Hart's Tempẽte DanceJoseph Binns Hart ~1819
George Williams 2024
Colin HumeFour Face Four

J

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
Jonathan and Lynn's WaltzSharon Green 2020Odd Sundays Garage BandDuple Minor

L

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
Leslie's ValentineScott Higgs 2001Robert Winokur, and Susan McNeilDuple Minor
The Lissome LassSharon Green 2016Odd Sundays Garage BandDuple Minor

M

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
Mad Robin ~ KitchHenry Playford 1695
Jim Kitch ~1993
Bare NecessitiesDuple Minor
Mr. Millstone's InaugurationJoseph Pimentel 2012GoldcrestDuple Minor

O

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
The OperaJohn Playford 1675
Colin Hume 2025
Colin HumeDuple Minor

T

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
Hart's Tempẽte Dance
Hart's Tempẽte DanceJoseph Binns Hart ~1819
George Williams 2024
Colin HumeFour Face Four
Tunbridge Beauties ~ BeerJohn Young 1710
Jenny Beer ~2018
Odd Sundays Garage BandDuple Minor

W

Dance TitleTypeDeviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date,
Interpreter
Music
Performers
Formation
WhiskeyjackChristine Robb 2017Odd Sundays Garage BandDuple Minor
Number
of dances
Number
of versions
Number
with music
131313

Warning: The figures for each dance is generated programmatically by regular expression matching and may be in error. Also, for old dances, they reflect the figures used by the interpreter which may not match those of the deviser.


Mad Robin

Bars: 4.

Mad Robin A mad robin is like a neighbor back-to-back except that instead of facing your neighbor you face your partner (and gaze into his/her lovely eyes).

Sometimes one couple does the figure around an other, who are stationary, and sometimes both couples do it (this used to be called a double mad robin).

History

The modern version of Mad Robin, at least as used in Contra Dancing, has the two partners staring into each other's eyes. So they are always facing their partners. But that's not what Playford says:
The 1. wo. cast up above the 2. man and slip down the middle, the 1. man go up between, and then cast off below and turn hands
When someone casts, they turn to face out of the set. If you look at Sharp's interpretation of the dance:
B11-4First woman moves up the middle and casts down to the second place; while the first man casts up and moves down the middle into the second place.

Again someone is casting (Sharp has reversed to order with the man casting and the woman moving up, don't know why), so again partners are not facing.

The movement of the modern figure is described in "The Saucy Sailor", from Maggot Pie, 1932; but they don't name it "Mad Robin", nor do they suggest staring into your opposite's eyes.

Jim Kitch, in his dance "The Lover's Knot", 1993 describes the figure and in a note says which is similar to the end of Mad Robin. This wording suggests that he might be inventing the modern figure there.

This website is copyright © 2021-2026 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.