Linear set, 4 people.
None.
(A+B)x6. A is 8 bars & B is 4 bars. Tempo increases.
Walking Reel | Ch | Walking Reel with Hands | Ch | Single Stepping Reel | Ch | Single Stepping Reel with Hands | Ch |Ranting Reel | Ch | Ranting Reel with Hands | Ch.
Hop landing with the other foot across in front with the toe tapping the ground [1 beat]. Hop again but without tapping [1 beat]. Gently close the other foot to the hopped on one transfer weight to it [2 beats]. The whole emphasis is on the hops not the step so the rhythm is “DE de pause”. It is slightly syncopated by hopping a little before the beat so that the landing taps are on the beats. [Summary: hopLI with tap RFAww + Lhop + RC.]
Next step has R & L switched, of course.
This is a popular step in Northwest Morris where it is done wearing hard clogs [hence ‘tapping’ rather than ‘stamping’].
These are reels of 4 starting passing Rsh done in the step specified and using hands like a Grand Chain when specified. Go one place further than normal so that those whose were at the middle end up at the end and vice versa.
Middles face & do 8 ranting steps in place (starting RFAww), then middles face ends and everyone does 8 ranting steps.
Have the heel of the free foot tapping the ground rather than the toe. [In Northwest Morris teams, typically the whole team will do either the heel or the toe version. I have been told that the heel version looks more dramatic but the toe version is easier on the knees.]
Instead of subtly transferring weight to the other foot after the two hops, wait then do a low leap directly onto the other foot. I.e. instead of (hopLI with tap RFAww + Lhop + RC), it is (leapLC with tap RFAww + Lhop).
Miss out the Single Stepping verses [and associated Ch, of course] so the dance is only 4 verses long
Do all the ‘without Hands’ verses before all the ‘with Hands ones’ [i.e. ordering by handwork then footwork rather than the other way around].
Do only 4 Rants on the spot in each direction instead of 8.
Do Pas de Basques instead of the Ranting steps in Ch [this might be a mistake by me trying to follow the footwork because leaping Rants look very much like Pas de Basques].
It is not a Cotswold Morris dance but tends to come up in gatherings of sides because it is an easy one that most know. It also appears in joint events with Northwest Morris sides because Rant steps are very common in Northwest.
However, once they start dancing together they find that the order of the verses, the length of the reels and the number of steps in the chorus is not standardised.
Lots of different sides with conflicting instructions!
This page only contains features specific to this dance. Where not specified, the features of this dance are in common with other dances in this tradition.
[Non-Cotswold Endings] [Different Traditions] [Abbreviations] [General Cotswold Morris Features]