Table of Contents

0-9

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The 29th of May ~ Sharp		John Playford 1686 Cecil Sharp 1911	Colin Hume	Duple Minor

A

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
All Saints' Day		David Ashworth 1975	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
Another Cure For The Claps		Bob Isaacs (date unknown) Rich Goss		Duple Minor
Apley House Apley House ~ Pat Shaw Henry Playford 1702 Pat Shaw 1960 Brett Larsen Duple Minor Apley House ~ Playford Ball Henry Playford 1702 Kate van Winkle Keller & Genevieve Shimer 1994 Playford Ball Brett Larsen Duple Minor Apley House ~ Sharp Henry Playford 1702 Cecil Sharp 1922 Playford Ball Brett Larsen Duple Minor
Apollo's Hunt		Gary Roodman 2009	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor

B

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Black Jack		John Playford 1670 Cecil Sharp 1911		Duple Minor
Blackbird Pie		Joseph Pimentel 2001	Goldcrest	Duple Minor
Boiling Mud Boiling Mud Greg Bryne (date unknown) Duple Minor Boiling Mud ~ modified Greg Bryne (date unknown) Duple Minor

C

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The Countess of Lovelace		Jenna Simpson 2020		Duple Minor
Cure For The Claps		Bob Isaacs (date unknown)		Duple Minor

D

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The David Circle		Gary Roodman 1987		Lines of Four
David's Good Man David's Good Man David Smukler ~1995 Bare Necessities Duple Minor
Donawert Pass		John Young 1710 Charles Bolton 1992		Duple Minor
Double Chocolate for Renée		Joseph Pimentel 2019		Duple Minor

E

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Equal Opportunity		Jeff Spiro (date unknown)		Duple Minor

F

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Fast Friends		Gary Roodman 2009	Bare Necessities	2 Couple Longways permutation: 21
Food, Sex, and Beer		Carol Ormand 2008		Duple Minor
Forgotten Treasure		Beth Parkes (date unknown)		Duple Minor
Four Score and Ten		Gary Roodman 2015		Duple Minor

G

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Gambols		Jenna Simpson 2014	Colin Hume	4 Couple Longways permutation: 3142
David's Good Man David's Good Man David Smukler ~1995 Bare Necessities Duple Minor
The Good Man of Cambridge		Gary Roodman 1992	MGM and Reunion	Duple Minor

H

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Halcyon Days		Joseph Pimentel 2020	Goldcrest	Duple Minor
Handel with Care		Gary Roodman 1992	Academy of St. Martins in the Fields	Facing Couples

J

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Jack's Health ~ Bolton		John Playford 1679 Charles Bolton ~2004		Duple Minor
Jack-in-the-Box		Colin Hume 1992	Colin Hume	4 Couple Longways
Jacob Hall's Jig Jacob Hall's Jig ~ Cook Henry Playford 1695 Tom Cook 1991 Bare Necessities Duple Minor Jacob Hall's Jig ~ Pat Shaw Henry Playford 1695 Pat Shaw 1968 Colin Hume Duple Minor Jacob Hall's Jig ~ Sharp Henry Playford 1695 Cecil Sharp 1916 Playford Ball Bare Necessities Duple Minor

K

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Kim's Game		Colin Hume 1995	Masquerade	Four Face Four

L

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Lathrop House		Gary Roodman 2020		Lines of Four
Leslie's Valentine		Scott Higgs 2001	Robert Winokur, and Susan McNeil	Duple Minor
Lull Me Beyond Thee Lull Me Beyond Thee John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1912 Playford Ball Bare Necessities 4 Couple Longways Lull Me Beyond Thee ~ Pat Shaw John Playford 1651 Pat Shaw 1960 4 Couple Longways

M

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Mainstream Rectangle #1332		Vic Ceder ~2015		6 Couple Rectangle
Meg Merrilees ~ Smyth		J. P. Boulogne 1827 W. Smyth 1830		Duple Minor
Midwinter Maggot		Gary Roodman 2012	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
Mike's Health		Lynn Jensen 2011		Duple Minor
Mrs. Beveridge's Triumph		Susan Amesse and Beverly Francis 2004	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
My Lady Cullen		John Playford 1651 Cecil Sharp 1911	Colin Hume	Duple Minor

N

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The New Wood Floor		Gary Roodman 1992		Lines of Four
Now We Are Four		Eric Weberg (date unknown)		Becket

O

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Old Wife Behind The Fire		John & William Neal ~1726 Rich Jackson & George Fogg 1990 Playford Assembly	Bare Necessities	Duple Minor
Orly Triumphant		Victor Skowronski 1999		Duple Minor

P

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Please Don't Call Me Surely		Lynn Ackerson (date unknown)		Duple Minor
Pterocotta		Gary Roodman 2023	Anna Patton, Eric Martin, and Karen Axelrod	Duple Minor

S

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Slaughter House		Henry Playford 1702 Cecil Sharp 1922 Playford Assembly		Duple Minor
Sleeping in the Attic		Philippe Callens 1996		Duple Minor

T

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Take the Lady		Vic Ceder 2019		Becket
There You Go		Sue Rosen (date unknown)		Duple Minor
The Twenty-Nineth of May ~ Sharp		John Playford 1686 Cecil Sharp 1911	Colin Hume	Duple Minor
Twenty-Something		Gary Roodman 1996	MGM and Reunion	Facing Couples

U

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
Unrequited Love		Colin Hume 1986	Dampier's Round	3 Couple Longways

W

Dance Title	Type	Deviser (or Editor/Publisher), Date, Interpreter	Music Performers	Formation
The White Joak The White Joak Walsh 1731 Pat Shaw 1966 3 Couple Longways permutation: 231 The White Joak ~ Triple Walsh 1731 Pat Shaw (mod) 1966 Triple Minor
Wiesler's Romp		Gary Roodman 2020		4 Couple Longways permutation: 2413

Number of dances	Number of versions	Number with music
50	57	27

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.

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Bend The Line

An online definition may be found here.

Bars: 2.

In ECD and Contra dance, starting from a line of four all facing up or down the hall, the dancers move in to reform the minor set.

In Square dancing, many more starting positions are possible, see Taminations.

History

Bend the line is a Square Dance call that has been applied (at least in the US) to a far older phenomenon. In My Lady Cullen, 1651, Playford does even bother to mention the behavior; he goes from a line of four moving up and down the hall to right hands across. Clearly the line needs to bend to get into position for the hands across, but this is so obvious it doesn't even get mentioned:

According to Vic Ceder's website this call was created by Bill Hansen in 1957.

First cu. cross over and fall on the outside into the 2. place, and change places The first four hands all abreast, and lead up to the Presence, and fall back

Right hands across and go round all four Left hands across and go round, back again

As is usual with square dance calls, I cannot track what happened between 1939 (when Lloyd Shaw doesn't mention it in Cowboy Dances) and 1975 when CALLERLAB published the mainstream list.

Northern Junket, Feb, 1972, page 25, uses the term "bend the line".

This website is copyright © 2021-2026 by George W. Williams V
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.