Updated Video of "Juice of Barley" at the 1999 Hartford Ball
1 view
Skip to first unread message
donwfbell
Feb 11, 2026, 7:52:42 AMFeb 11
to ecd...@googlegroups.com, ECD National List
I am very grateful to one of my viewers who did us all a great favor by pointing out a discrepancy in my "Juice of Barley" video shot at the 1999 Hartford Ball. The viewer was confused by the dance instructions given in the "Playford Ball" book as they did not match the dancing shown in the video. Her comment compelled me to do a second update to the video.
In my first update to this video a few years ago, I added dance instructions from "The Playford Ball" book. I should have noted in the video that there are two slightly different versions of the dance. I mistakenly only included the "Playford Ball" instructions, which are for the longways, duple minor version of the dance. My video shows a Sicilian Circle version of the dance with two couples facing each other.
Here are the dance instructions for the Sicilian Circle version of the dance.
A
Partners R-shoulder back-to-back
Partners 2-hand turn once round.
B1
Outer circle dancers 1/2 figure 8 through the inner circle dancers (W first). All clap on the 1st beat, circle 4 hands CW once round.
B2
Inner circle dancers 1/2 figure 8 through the outer circle dancers (W first). All clap on the 1st beat, circle 4 hands CW once round.
Partners R-shoulder back-to-back
Partners 2-hand turn once round.
B1
Outer circle dancers 1/2 figure 8 through the inner circle dancers (W first). All clap on the 1st beat, circle 4 hands CW once round.
B2
Inner circle dancers 1/2 figure 8 through the outer circle dancers (W first). All clap on the 1st beat, circle 4 hands CW once round.
The progression occurs during the 1/2 figure eights as dancers change places with their neighbors, each couple moving forward one place.
For further comparison, here's a longways version of the dance done by a group of young dancers in Yaroslavl, Russia, in 2021.
When I shot this video way back in 1999, I was just documenting dances as events, showing off the hall, the performers and many of the dancers. Now, over the last 10 years, I am more interested in documenting the dances themselves and trying to make them easy to learn. My latest edit of this video reflects this change in perspective.
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages