Blackburn

Dance Notations

1 THE BLACKBURN DANCE FROM ANNIE NUTTALL: A DANCER IN BLACKBURN

THE FIGURES 1. WEAVE AND ARCH. 2. CROSSOVER. 3. BACK TO BACK. 4. LONG CORNERS. 5. LONG FOURS. 6. WEAVE AND ARCH.

Step: Skip-step, starting always on the left foot. Sticks: Held in the middle Set formation:

STICK POSITION (A): The sticks are held at arm’s length close to the side of the thigh, palms towards the thigh, with the sticks parallel to the ground pointing to the top of the set.

STICK POSITION (B): The sticks are held at approximately ear level on either side of the head with the elbows bent at 90ï‚°, palms towards the head, with the sticks parallel to the ground pointing to top of the set.

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STEP-UP Starting with the left foot, all dancers walk forwards for three beats with sticks in position (A). On beat 4 the dancers hop on the left foot, the right knee being brought up high in front of the body. At the same time, beat 4, the sticks are raised to position (B) for one beat only. All dancers, starting with the right foot, then take three steps backwards with sticks in position (A). On beat 8 the dancers hop on the right foot bringing the left knee up high in front of the body. At the same time, beat 8, they bring the sticks up to position (B) for one beat only. The forward manoeuvre is then repeated. The second time that the backwards movement is performed the sticks remain in position (A) and the left foot is simply stamped down on beat 16, the dancers momentarily coming to attention. The step-up is repeated after every figure.

WEAVE AND ARCH FIGURES 1 AND 6

The whole figure takes 32 BEATS, but it is best to break it up into 2 sections, 16 BEATS each section. Then it is easier for all the Dancers to remember exactly where they should be on each BEAT. It is also best to look at the diagrams explaining where each Dancer should be on certain BEATS. On BEAT 1 of the figure each Dancer raises their sticks to position (B), keeping them there for the whole figure. Until the Dancers have to move position, they dance on the spot with sticks in position (B), flicking the sticks on each beat.

1. BEATS 1-4.

Dancers 1 and 2 both turn into the set and then dance down the set to be on the outside of Dancers 3 and 4 on BEAT 4. (Dancer 1 will be next to 3 on the outside of the set, and 2 will be next to 4 on the outside of the set).

2. BEATS 5-8.

Dancers 1 and 2 then continue to dance down the set to the inside space between Dancers 5 and 6, to arrive there on BEAT 8. (Dancer 1 will be next to 5 on the inside of the set, and 2 will be next to 6 on the inside of the set).

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3. BEATS 9-12.

(A) Dancers 1 and 2 continue to dance down the set to reach Dancers 7 and 8 on beat 12. (Dancer 1 will be next to 7 on the outside of the set, and 2 will be next to 8 on the outside of the set).

(B) On BEAT 9 Dancers 3 and 4 both turn out and then dance down the set to the inside space between Dancers 5 and 6. (Dancer 3 will be next to 5 on the inside of the set, and 4 will be next to 6 on the inside of the set).

4. BEATS 13-16.

(A) Dancers 1 and 2 move from their positions facing down the set outside Dancers 7 and 8, to positions facing up the set on the inside of Dancers 7 and 8. (Dancer 1 will be next to 7 on the inside of the set, and 2 will be next to 8 on the inside of the set). Dancer 1 will cross right stick with the left stick of Dancer 2 to form an ARCH on BEAT 16.

(B) Dancers 3 and 4 continue to dance down the set so that on BEAT 16 they are on the outside of Dancers 7 and 8. (Dancer 3 will be next to 7 on the outside of the set, and 4 will be next to 8 on the outside of the set).

5. BEATS 1-4 (x2)

(A) Dancers 1 and 2, still forming an ARCH, move up the set towards the front.

(B) Dancers 3 and 4 move from their positions facing down the set outside Dancers 7 and 8, to positions facing up the set on the inside of Dancers 7 and 8. (Dancer 3 will be next to 7 on the inside of the set, and 4 will be next to 8 on the inside of the set). Dancer 3 will cross right stick with the left stick of Dancer 4 to form an ARCH on BEAT 4 (X2). Dancers 3 and 4 will now be facing up the set.

(C)Dancers 5 and 6 both turn into the set and then dance to the outside of Dancers 7 and 8. (Dancer 5 will be next to 7 on the outside of the set, and 6 will be next to 8 on the outside of the set).

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6. BEATS 5-8 (X2)

(A) Dancers 1 and 2, still forming an ARCH, move up the set towards the front.

(B) Dancers 3 and 4, still forming an ARCH, move up the set towards the front, keeping their spacing behind Dancers 1 and 2.

(C) Dancers 5 and 6 move from their positions facing down the set outside Dancers 7 and 8, to positions facing up the set on the inside of Dancers 7 and 8. (Dancer 5 will be next to 7 on the inside of the set, and 6 will be next to 8 on the inside of the set). Dancer 5 will cross right stick with the left stick of Dancer 6 to form an ARCH on BEAT 8 (X2). Dancers 5 and 6 will now be facing up the set.

7. BEATS 9-12 (X2)

(A) Dancers 1 and 2, still forming an ARCH, move up the set to the inside of their original position in the set.

(B) Dancers 3 and 4, still forming an ARCH, move up the set to the inside of their original position in the set, keeping their spacing behind Dancers 1 and 2.

(C) Dancers 5 and 6, still forming an ARCH, move up the set to the inside of their original position in the set, keeping their spacing behind Dancers 3 and 4.

(D) Dancers 7 and 8 both turn out and do a 360 degree turn so that they are now facing up the set with the other Dancers.

8. BEATS 13-16 (X2)

(A) BEAT 13 all Dancers clash sticks with their partner, the left file doing the clashing and the right file holding sticks in a position to be hit.

(B) All Dancers, with sticks at position (B), move sideways back to their original position. The sticks are returned with a sharp downwards movement to position (A) on the first beat of the step-up.

STEP-UP

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CROSSOVER FIGURE 2

All Dancers cross to the opposite side, left hand file in front of the right hand file, using a skip step, which will take 8 beats, and then REPEAT to return to their places in another 8 beats. On the first beat of the movement each Dancer raises their sticks to position (B), keeping them there for the whole figure.

1. BEATS 1 and 2. All Dancers skip on spot for 2 beats facing up.

2.BEATS 3 and 4. All Dancers skip on spot for 2 beats facing in, so that they are now facing a partner immediately opposite them.

3. BEATS 5-8. All Dancers cross to the opposite side, passing right shoulders, using a skip step. Dancers clash sticks as they cross, with the left file doing the clashing and right file just holding out the stick to be hit. Clashing will take place on beat 5. All Dancers facing out on beat 8.

4. REPEAT to cross back to original places, left hand file in front of right hand file. All Dancers are facing out on beat 16. The sticks are returned with a sharp downwards movement to position (A) on the first beat of the step-up.

STEP-UP

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BACK-TO-BACK FIGURE 3

Basically, the set of 8 Dancers works in 2 groups of 4: the front 4 (Dancers 1, 2, 3 and 4) and the back 4 (Dancers 5, 6, 7 and 8).

All dancers bring their sticks up to position (B) on beat 1.

1. BEATS 1 and 2. Dancers 1, 2, 5 and 6 all turn to their right, 180 degrees, so that they are facing the dancers immediately behind them..........1 faces 3, 2 faces 4, 5 faces 7 and 6 faces 8. Meanwhile Dancers 3, 4, 7 and 8 dance on the spot for the first two beats.

2. BEATS 3-8, the Dancers facing each other do a right shoulder Back-to-Back, ending up where they started, facing each other on beat 8.

3. BEATS 9 and 10, all the Dancers face into the set, so that each Dancer is now facing another partner.............1 faces 2, 3 faces 4, 5 faces 6 and 7 faces 8.

4. BEATS 11-16, the Dancers facing each other do a right shoulder Back-to-Back, ending up where they started, with all Dancers facing into the set on BEAT 16. The sticks are returned with a sharp downwards movement to position (A) on the first beat of the step-up.

STEP-UP

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LONG CORNERS FIGURE 4 (THERE ARE 2 PARTS TO THIS FIGURE)

PART 1 (first 16 BEATS)

Dancers 1 and 8, then 2 and 7, do RIGHT-HAND TWOS.

1. BEATS 1-8, Dancers 1 and 8, in 8 beats from start to finish, do a right-hand TWOS in the middle of the set and will be returning to their position backwards. They will have to link wrists to help keep their balance as they will be dancing quite fast.

2. BEATS 9-16. Dancers 2 and 7 REPEAT this, again in 8 beats.

Any Dancer not dancing the LONG CORNERS skip on the spot with sticks in position (B), flicking the sticks on each beat. Dancers 3, 4, 5 and 6 will do this for 16 beats, and Dancers 1, 2, 3 and 4 will do this when not doing a LONG CORNERS.

PART 2 (second 16 BEATS)

Dancers 3, 4, 5 and 6 will do a FOURS

BEATS 1-16 (X2). Bringing the sticks up to position (B) all 4 dancers turn in and dance to the middle of the set to meet on beat 4 in groups of four. Touching right hands they dance for 4 beats in a clockwise direction. Turning inwards and touching left hands they then dance for 4 beats in an anti-clockwise direction. The hands that are touching are held at waist level and the free hand as in position (B). They then dance back to their original places in 4 beats. The sticks are held as in position (B).

Dancers 1, 2, 7 and 8 skip on the spot with sticks in position (B), flicking the sticks on each beat, while the other dancers do the FOURS.

The sticks are returned with a sharp downwards movement to position (A) on the first beat of the step-up.

STEP-UP

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LONG FOURS FIGURE 5 (THERE ARE 2 PARTS TO THIS FIGURE)

PART 1 (first 16 BEATS)

Dancers 1, 2, 7 and 8 will do a LONG FOURS.

BEATS 1-16: Bringing the sticks up to position (B) all 4 Dancers dance to the middle of the set to meet on beat 4. Touching right hands they dance for 4 beats in a clockwise direction. Turning inwards and touching left hands they then dance for 4 beats in an anti-clockwise direction. The hands that are touching are held at waist level and the free hand as in position (B). They then dance back to their original places in 4 beats. Dancers 7 and 8 may well be going back to their places backwards. The sticks are held as in position (B).

MEANWHILE, Dancers 3, 4, 5 and 6 skip on the spot with sticks in position (B), flicking the sticks on each beat, while the other dancers do the LONG FOURS.

PART 2 (second 16 BEATS)

1. BEATS 1-8. Dancers 3 and 6 do a Back to Back in 8 beats while all the other Dancers skip on the spot with sticks in position (B), flicking the sticks on each beat.

2. BEATS 9-16. Then Dancers 5 and 4 do a Back to Back for the next 8 beats while all the other Dancers skip on the spot with sticks in position (B), flicking the sticks on each beat.

The sticks are returned with a sharp downwards movement to position (A) on the first beat of the step-up.

STEP-UP

WEAVE AND ARCH to finish

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