Ceilidh Moves and Holds

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Lots of traditional dances use a few common moves that you will see time and time again. Here are a few:

 

TOP COUPLE / TOP LADY / TOP MAN - in a group of dancers, the top couple is the couple nearest the band/top of the room.

 

Holds

 

PROMENADE HOLD - stand side by side, both hands joined right over left.

 

ALLEMANDE HOLD - as for PROMENADE HOLD, stand side, hands joined right over left. To get into ALLEMANDE HOLD, raise your right hands (still joined together) and bring them just in front of the lady’s right shoulder. The gentleman’s right arm will be behind the lady.

 

LOOSE BALLROOM HOLD  /  BARN DANCE HOLD - gentleman’s Right hand on lady’s waist, and lady’s Left hand on gentleman’s shoulder; join your other hands and hold outwards. 

 

Moves

 

TURN – link arms/elbows (or sometimes just hold hands) with your partner and circle round.

 

DOS-A-DOS (pronounced doe-si-doe) - walk forwards crossing Right Shoulder to Right Shoulder; then cross Back to Back; and reverse/walk backwards crossing Left Shoulder to Left Shoulder.

 

SWING - you both cross your hands, right over left, and hold hands. Then lean outwards, pivoting around clockwise (To do this, put your right foot in and propel yourself round with the left).

 

PROMENADE – with your hands joined right over left and standing side by side, walk around the room/ following the line of the dance anti-clockwise.

 

SET/ SETTING - the two dancers SETTING, face each other, and both do a ‘quick 1-2-3 step’ to the Right and a ‘quick 1-2-3 step’ to the Left.

 

GALLOP - a sideways step, leading with one foot and sliding the other up to meet it, with a bouncing, or galloping, feel to it.

 

CAST OFF - the TOP LADY dances down behind the line of Ladies, and TOP MAN dances down behind the line of men. Everyone else follows.

 

STAR (instructions for right-hand star) - everyone, join Right hands in the centre and move around, clockwise. (Alternative version: the gentleman puts his right hand around the lady’s waist, and the lady’s puts her left hand around the gentleman’s waist. Then all four Ladies join right hands together in the centre to form a star, and go clockwise around in a right-hand star.)

 

POLKA - take your partner in LOOSE BALLROOM HOLD and turn together as a couple - clockwise - while travelling round the circle in the direction of the dance. You keep swinging round together doing a 1,2,3 hop / 1,2,3 hop  ... always pushing off on the HOP!

 

WEAVE - dance across the set passing each other Right Shoulder to Right Shoulder, and then you each dance behind the next person in the line, and back across the set again, passing each other again shoulder to shoulder and then behind the next person in the line, and so on until you reach the bottom of the set.

 

GRAND CHAIN -  as you let go of your partner’s hand, and turn away from each other, give your left hand to the dancer coming towards you – pass by each other and pass on to give your right hand to the next dancer coming towards you. Keep passing by, and passing on, from Left hands to Right hands around the Circle.

 

BASKET - as a group of 4, the Gentlemen join hands behind the Ladies’ waists and the Ladies place their hands on the Gentlemen’s shoulders. Everyone leans out, putting their right feet towards the centre, propelling themselves with their left feet, and the basket rotates clockwise with a PIVOT-SWING step. It is possible to “helicopter” while doing the basket: if you go fast enough, the ladies’ feet should leave the floor!

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