Need tune for the "Gay Gordon" dance
Lisa K. Sieverts
called the "Gay Gordon." You can imagine the results.
So I turn to you, my fine, dedicated dancers.
First off, here are the dance instructions as I have found them so far:
As a couple, in a kind of "hands up" promenade position, walk forward 4
steps, pivot as a couple 180 degrees and walk backward 4 steps (line of
direction remains the same)
Repeat
Walk forward, while the gent twirls the lady under his arm
polka
What I'm missing is the traditional tune for this dance, and the timing. Is
it a normal 32 bar tune? Or is that center twirling section shorter than it
would be if it were a "B1" part? Corrections to the dance are also
appreciated.
All help appreciated!
Lisa Sieverts
Boise, Idaho
Richard Crew
: It's kind of sad, searching the net for information on the fine old dance
It takes a "half-length" tune (16 bar), and I've heard people play various
things for it ("Scotland the Brave" is a common choice). In New England the
canonical choice is the tune "Gay Gordon" found in Randy Miller's "New
England Fiddler's Repertoire" (might be hard to find, but maybe you can
order it from CDSS).
--Rich
--
Better to toss a stone at random, then a word.
-Porphyry
Neal Rhodes
>
> It's kind of sad, searching the net for information on the fine old dance
> called the "Gay Gordon." You can imagine the results.
>
> So I turn to you, my fine, dedicated dancers.
>
> First off, here are the dance instructions as I have found them so far:
>
> As a couple, in a kind of "hands up" promenade position, walk forward 4
> steps, pivot as a couple 180 degrees and walk backward 4 steps (line of
> direction remains the same)
> Repeat
> Walk forward, while the gent twirls the lady under his arm
> polka
Well, gee, how let's see how many versions we can collect....
Four Steps forward (promenade direction)
Couple turn as individuals, hold inner hands, and take
four steps
backward. (which is still in promenade direction.)
Four Steps forward (anti-promenade direction)
Couple turn as individuals, hold inner hands, and take
four steps
backward. (which is still in anti-promenade direction.)
Couples Balance in, and out.
Rollaway lady to inside.
Couples Balance in, gent's roll lady under left arm to
prior gent
To keep in time, they must pivot on the forth step. I usually teach
it as "one two three turn, back two three four".
>
> What I'm missing is the traditional tune for this dance, and the timing. Is
> it a normal 32 bar tune? Or is that center twirling section shorter than it
> would be if it were a "B1" part? Corrections to the dance are also
> appreciated.
>
> All help appreciated!
>
> Lisa Sieverts
> Boise, Idaho
Standard set for it is Scotland the Brave(2/4)/Muckin O'Geordies
Byre(6/8)/Mairis Wedding(2/4)/Cock O' the North(6/8) I've got
ABC files for all of the above.
Now, in this country folks frequently just use Scotland the Brave.
Usually the band knows it or can fake it.
--
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neal Rhodes MNOP Ltd (770)-
972-5430
President Lilburn (atlanta) GA 30247 Fax:
978-4741
ne...@mnopltd.com
http://www.mnopltd.com/
David Millstone
>
> As a couple, in a kind of "hands up" promenade position, walk forward 4
> steps, pivot as a couple 180 degrees and walk backward 4 steps (line of
> direction remains the same)
> Repeat
> Walk forward, while the gent twirls the lady under his arm
> polka
That's how I teach it (tune of Gay Gordon, one A, one B), with the
addition that while the woman is turning under, the man is doing a little
one-two-three shuffle with his feet. Doing the high hands promenade allows
the dancers to keep both hands joined while pivoting, which is a nice
feature.
David Millstone
Lebanon, NH
Donna Richoux
> It's kind of sad, searching the net for information on the fine old dance
> called the "Gay Gordon." You can imagine the results.
Well, it wasn't so bad. It only took me two or three minutes to get a
midi file:
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/cgi/abc/Tune?F=MIDI&X=79&U=/~jc/book/RJ/R/Ga
yGordon.abc&N=GayGordon.midi
The trick is probably knowing where to start. I already had a bookmark
at the very thorough site,
Grand Chain Scottish Dancing Resource Pages
http://www.scottishdance.net/
None of their own categories were "tunes," so I went to their "Links"
page and found "Scottish and Folk music pages". This had a line called
"Tunes on the Web," which led to a dauntingly long list of tune sites.
Fortunately, the first one was
John Chambers' tune searcher.
http://trillian.mit.edu/~jc/music/abc/FindTune.html
Typing in the words "gay" and "gordon" brought up two dozen versions in
six different formats to choose from! I listened to the first one --
which is the tune I know -- and gave you the URL at the top of this
message. You might prefer a different version or format.
Best wishes --- Donna Richoux
Norman
versions of this dance, depending on whether the people
dancing it were folkdancing, Scottish Country dancing or
Irish Ceili dancing. I have also seen it spelled "Gei
Gordons" and other variations. I have several LP's with
music listed for the dance and if you wish anything further
I will be happy to respond to e-mail.
-----------
"Humor does not diminish the pain--
it makes the space around it get
bigger." Allen Klein
Norman Lampert
mr(dot)bones(at)att(dot)net
bogus address
"Lisa K. Sieverts" <lsie...@cyberhighway.net> writes:
> It's kind of sad, searching the net for information on the fine
> old dance called the "Gay Gordon." You can imagine the results.
Particularly since you've got the name one letter wrong. "Gay Gordons".
> What I'm missing is the traditional tune for this dance, and the timing.
It's usually done here to a string of pipe marches, 2/4 and 6/8 mixed up,
and march-ified bothy ballad tunes. "Farewell to the Creeks" is probably
the most popular, but you'd never use less than four different tunes.
Simple two-part marches seem more popular for it than the "heavy" four-
and six-part ones (okay, "Farewell to the Creeks" is four parts, I know).
---> email to "jc" at this site: email to "jack" or "bogus" will bounce <---
Jack Campin: 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU; 0131 6604760
http://www.purr.demon.co.uk/purrhome.html food intolerance data and recipes,
freeware logic fonts for the Macintosh, and Scots traditional music resources
Jacqueline Laufman
the first tune as The Gie Gordons, followed by two other marchy type pipe
tunes (75th Farewell to Gilbralter By Way of Egypt etc.) There is a woman
in Vt. who thinks the real tune is Scotland The Brave, and she gets real
pissed if I don't play that chune for the dance. In England one time at a
barn dance after Abbotts Bromeley, they did a Gay Gordons mixer to the tune
of Yellow Submarine in hornpipe time. In the flick BREAKING THE WAVES
(Emily Watson)there is the best version of the dance as done at a wild small
wedding on the north Scottish coast. Can't remember the tune they used, but
the dance was wild.
We have several favorite tunes: George Fox (Monx March), Over The Hills and
Far Away, Welcome Here Again, Scotland the Brave (when the lady from Vt is
not around). For 6/8 tunes: Bonnie Dundee, Wee Tad.
In Tamworth, NH we usually do the dance twice a night.
Dudley Laufman, Canterbury, NH
bogus address
"Jacqueline Laufman" <lau...@totalnetnh.net> writes:
> The old 10" 78 rpm recording on a Beltona label, played by Jimmy Shand
> has the first tune as The Gie Gordons,
"Gie"? Where did that come from?
> followed by two other marchy type pipe tunes (75th Farewell to Gilbralter
> By Way of Egypt etc.) There is a woman in Vt. who thinks the real tune
> is Scotland The Brave, and she gets real pissed if I don't play that chune
> for the dance.
79th's Farewell to Gibraltar. It dates from the 1850s; Scotland the
Brave is later, from the turn of the century, and the words everybody
knows are from the 1950s. When does the dance date to? Can't think
of a 19th century reference to it, offhand. I'd guess it postdates the
renumbering of British regiments in 1888, when the Gordon Highlanders
came into being.
> In England one time at a barn dance after Abbotts Bromeley, they did
> a Gay Gordons mixer to the tune of Yellow Submarine in hornpipe time.
You could probably use a slowed-down form of the theme from The Archers.
S Miskoe
lead musician. He picked a number of Scot Skinner tunes, the first is Gay
Gordons, also Cameron Highlanders, Bonny Banchory and one other that escapes me
at the moment. The recording is by an English Company. I am surmising, and
this is only my opinion, that the title was transmitted orally by a Scott,
probably Jimmy, and the person writing it down put it down as Gie. On the
record label Gie is written in quotes.
The dance has a progressive variation. The Scottish Country Dancers use
setting steps for the woman's turn, others just walk as they turn.
Cheers,
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord, NH, USA
peanu...@my-deja.com
You will find the music at
http://netopia.geocities.com/peanutjake
click browse, goto folk dance music, browse folder
This site has lots of
Square Dance Music
Folk Dance Music
Contra Dance Music
English Country Dance Music
Polkas
All tunes in midi format.
All tunes play long enough to finish the dance.
enjoy
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Before you buy.
Fred Lloyd
Lisa K. Sieverts <lsie...@cyberhighway.net> wrote in message
news:7vf4cc$pgv$1...@news.cyberhighway.net...
> It's kind of sad, searching the net for information on the fine old dance
> called the "Gay Gordon." You can imagine the results.
>
>
>
> As a couple, in a kind of "hands up" promenade position, walk forward 4
> steps, pivot as a couple 180 degrees and walk backward 4 steps (line of
> direction remains the same)
> Repeat
> Walk forward, while the gent twirls the lady under his arm
> polka
>
> it a normal 32 bar tune? Or is that center twirling section shorter than
it
> would be if it were a "B1" part? Corrections to the dance are also
> appreciated.
>
> All help appreciated!
>
> Lisa Sieverts
> Boise, Idaho
Hi, Lisa,
There are several versions of Gay Gordons. The one you have is
Scottish (there are English, Irish, etc. versions.). Any way, it is a 16 bar
dance.
The first promenade part takes 4 bars, as does the second.
The twirl under the arm takes 4 bars and so does the polka.>
> You can make it progressive if at the end of the "twirl" the man passes
the lady to the man ahead for the polka.
Hope you enjoy it.
Fred
S Miskoe
boredom and repetitiousness, musicians often choose a similar march.
Sylvia Miskoe, Concord, NH
J. Rymsza
Fred Lloyd <fr...@lloyd213.freeserve.co.uk> wrote:
Gay Gordon....
Way back when, John Kelly of Philadelphia used to play a Gay Gordon at the
International House Tuesday night Square dance. I believe he used
Scotland the Brave. BTW, Pete LaBerge, a regular poster on this
newsgroup, has written a fine article intitled, "Traditional Dancing in
Southeastern Pennsylvania..." for anyone interested in those heady days of
the wonderful oldtime music and dance in and around Philly. Look for it
in the latest edition of Old-Time Herald.
-Jim Rymsza
jam...@u.washington.edu
--
James A. Rymsza (jam...@u.washington.edu) Architect - UW Design Services
.......... Box 352215 (work) 221-4325 (fax) 543-4117 ..........
Warren Kubitschek
> called the "Gay Gordon."
sometimes spelled "Gie Gordon" -- I dunno why.
> As a couple, in a kind of "hands up" promenade position
"Varsouvienne" (sp?) position is one name for it.
(A) > walk forward 4 steps, pivot as a couple 180 degrees
Well, pivot individually while not letting go, is the way I think of
it. To me "as a couple" would mean you'd switch positions, and you
don't. If you're in a circle of couples, the W starts on the outside
and stays on the outside through the dance (except for the polka part).
> walk backward 4 steps (line of direction remains the same)
(B) > Repeat
"ending up where you started" is sometimes a good hint to the dancers
when teaching this.
(C) > Walk forward, while the gent twirls the lady under his arm
As I've seen it done, if you're doing it Scottish style, the woman is
generally doing Scottish (reel) setting steps (4 of them to turn under
twice). I have seen Scots dancing it where the man is also doing
setting steps here, though also where the man is walking.
If you're doing it American style, the footwork is typically less
formal.
(D) > polka
As Fred mentioned, you will see men pass the lady ahead at the end of
this. To my mind, this is another Scottish vs. American distinction.
The version I learned (nominally Scottish) was not a mixer, the version
I see at most (nominally American) contradances is a mixer.
> What I'm missing is the traditional tune for this dance, and the timing.
Each phrase above -- A, B, C, D -- is the same length.
> Is it a normal 32 bar tune?
Well, the dance is 16, so any 16, 32, 48, etc. tune works.
But it's not a normal tune; it's a march. (Not that you can't dance it
to almost any 4/4 tune, but they should "feel right".) As Jim
mentioned, Scotland the Brave is often used, especially as part of a
medley. The original tune "Gay Gordons" can be found on sheet music --
the last place I saw it written out was in the recently published
Pinewoods International Collection, but I assume it's not uncommon in
collections of Scottish dance music. If you need sheet music and can't
find a copy, contact me off-list.
Warren
kubits...@nd.edu
Dave Ingledew
I play in The Bursledon Village Band in the South of the UK and we always
use a march "Scotland The Brave" and then change after a few times through
to a Jig "Cock of the North". Though these two tunes are 32 bars long it
doesn't seem to matter to the dancers that they are dancing a 16 bar dance.
I hesitate to say that the two tunes that we use are traditional but
whenever we strike up with Scotland the brave someone in the room will start
doing the Gay Gordons.
I'm sure we'll be playing it on New Years Eve along with The Dashing White
Sargent.
If you want to find out more about The Bursledon Village Band then check out
our web site www.bursledonvillageband.co.uk.
Hope this helps
Dave Ingledew
Southampton. U.K.
da...@ingledew.demon.co.uk
Fred Lloyd <fr...@lloyd213.freeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:80f79v$at3$1...@news5.svr.pol.co.uk...
>
> Lisa K. Sieverts <lsie...@cyberhighway.net> wrote in message
> news:7vf4cc$pgv$1...@news.cyberhighway.net...
> > It's kind of sad, searching the net for information on the fine old
dance
> > called the "Gay Gordon." You can imagine the results.
> >
> > So I turn to you, my fine, dedicated dancers.
> >
> > First off, here are the dance instructions as I have found them so far:
> >
> > As a couple, in a kind of "hands up" promenade position, walk forward 4
> > steps, pivot as a couple 180 degrees and walk backward 4 steps (line of
> > direction remains the same)
> > Repeat
> > Walk forward, while the gent twirls the lady under his arm
> > polka
> >
> > What I'm missing is the traditional tune for this dance, and the timing.
> Is