Sicilian Circle

Formation: unless otherwise specified, couple facing couple in a circle, sometimes 3-facing-3 or two couples facing two couples.

Some of these can also be done as scatter dances - start anywhere; as the dance ends, rush around the floor to find a new couple. Some can also be done longways. The 'Silly Threesome' isn't a Sicilian at all but I didn't know where else to put it!

Some of the dances require different moves from couples facing clockwise and those fsacing anticlockwise. It's irritating if you have to stop and think, so - a useful tip: clockwise couples are the ones with the man on the outside.

2 Facing 2

The Amazon

By Ron Coxall, from 'Roles'

Sicilian Circle. 32-bar jigs or reels. Difficulty: 2 (the steering idea is hard to explain)

• A1: In fours, circle left; do-si-do partner
• A2: right-hand star; do-si-do person opposite
• B1: take 2 hands with opposite person. Each linked couple goes 8 steps around either the inner or the outer circle, the women pushing and steering and the men trusting and hoping. Then two-hand swing, 2.5 or 3.5 times around.
• B2: Back the other way, women still steering, men still trusting. Swing own partner and turn to face new couple.

Balance The Star

Sicilian circle. 32 bar jigs. Difficulty: 1

• A1: Form a RH star but don't go round, balance in and out twice; RH star half way.
• A2: Ditto with left hands (ending in home places).
• B1: do si do corner; take right hands with corner and men help corners pass each other to end in partner's place.
• B2: do si do partner; take right hands with partner and men help them pass to end in their home places.

The Carousel

Sicilian circle. Bill Wolding. Difficulty: 1

• A1: do-si-do person opposite; do-si-do partner
• A2: form a circle balance in-out twice (kick left right left right); circle left once.
• B1: balance in-out twice; circle right.
• B2: link elbow with partner (man's right elbow to woman's left), balance forward and back once. Men link left elbows to form a line; swing line around once. Release elbows to face next couple.

Music: 32-bar jigs/reels. Not too fast

I'm told that some dancers do B2 with arm around partner's waist and gents hook elbows - sounds good to me.

Dishrag Dance

Sicilian circle (or can be done as a scatter dance, in which couples start anywhere). Difficulty: 2 (people have trouble with A2 at first)

• A1: circle left in fours, then circle right.
• A2: still holding hands 1s (clockwise couples) make an arch and 2s pass under. Then 2s turn AWAY from each other (keeping hands joined) and pass their still-joined hands over their own heads and over the 1s' heads to make a clover-leaf, admire it, and lift the arch back to reform. ('Wring out the dishrag'.) Then 2s make the arch, 1's pass under.
• B1: Right hand star; Left hand star
• B2: polka off to find new couple (for the scatter version) or do forward and back and pass on (for normal Sicilian circle)

Music: polkas

Mock Turtle Hornpipe

By Dave Hunt

Sicilian. Step-hop. Difficulty: 1

• A1: Circle Left and Right.
• A2: A2: 1s arch, 2s under, then 1s turn and come back under 2s arch. (Repeat)
• B1: RH star; LH star
• B2: Each couple take side-by-side hold and do 4 side-steps to the left, then to the right, passing the other couple as you do it; then swing
  partner

To make it interesting the caller can ask for different stepping in each figure, e.g.step hop in A1, 123-hop in A2, etc.

(The above is the original version, thanks to Dave Hunt's kindness. When I learnt it on the dance floor, we did 7 side steps in B2 and left out the swing. The folk process at work .....)

Quorndon Hill

Sicilian Circle. 48-bar jigs. Difficulty: 1

Roger Watson

• A1: 2s separate, 1s gallop between them 8 steps round the circle to man's left and back.
• A2: 1s separate, 2s gallop.
• B1: RH star, LH star.
• B2: come forward and stamp, go back; repeat.
• C1: 2s arch and 1s go through, back over the 2s, through again to meet a new couple.
• C2: All swing their partner.

(Note. I had the composer down as Roger Whynot but have been corrected)

The Steps of Waterloo

Sicilian circle. 32 bar jigs/reels. Difficulty: 1

• A1: circle left and right in fours
• A2: RH star; LH star
• B1: basket (all hold wrists behind backs lean out a bit and circle clockwise) - end back in place
• B2: forward 2 steps back 2; 1s make arch 2s go under meet new couple.

Music: 32-bar.

Sweets of May

Sicilian circle. 48 bar jigs (e.g. own tune). Difficulty: 1

• A1: circle left and right in fours
• A2: RH star; LH star
• B1: with partner, balance and swing
• B2: ditto with opposite
• C1: do-si-do partner; do-si-do opposite
• C2: couples advance and retire, then pass through, anticlockwise couples arching

Waltz Country Dance

Sicilian circle. 40-bar waltzes (an unusual length). Stepping is in threes. Difficulty: 2

• A1: face your opposite, take right hands, balance forward and back and then forward past each other to change places; ditto with your partner.
• A2: Repeat A1. (This takes you round a little square.)
• B1: All take hands. Balance in and out, then women cross from left to right (they let go with their left hands, roll across the man on the right, taking his right hand in their left hand, and roll into place on his right, all taking hands in a ring again). Repeat.
• B2: Repeat B1.
• B3: Waltz on to next couple.

Difficulty 2 because occasional dancers may have difficulty with the waltz step.

Waterfall Waltz

Sicilian circle. 32-bar waltzes. Stepping is in threes. Difficulty: 2

• A1: Men turn each other once by RH (6 steps); do si do corner (6 steps again).
• A2: Women turn once by RH; do si do partner.
• B1: Face partner but don't take hands. All take 2 chassays towards the other couple, passing then with women on the inside passing face to face and men on the outside. Take both hands with partner and half turn. Chassay back in the same way; half-turn partner again.
• B2: Circle left half way, all bow/curtsey. Take two hands with partner and half turn.

A variant for the half turn in B2 is waltz round in place.

Difficulty 2 because occasional dancers may have difficulty with the waltx step.

Weaver Jig

Sicilian circle. Difficulty: 1

• A1: circle left; LH star
• A2: do-si-do opposite; do-si-do partner
• B1: dip and dive past 4 couples. The couple with the man on the outside (i.e. clockwise) arches first.
• B2: Basket with 5th couple.

The dip-and-dive makes this pleasantly different from most simple Sicilians.

Wherries Circle Contra

Sicilian Circle but with one inside circle and one outside circle, giving two circles round the room, partners standing side-by-side. (You can get to this formation by starting in a Sicilian circle and asking the sets to circle one place to the left.)

Difficulty: 1

Ron Coxall, from "Jogs" (copyright Cotswold Music Society, used with permission)

• A1: Circle left and right in fours.
• A2: Circle left and right in two big circles (inside couples in one circle, outsides in another).
• B1: Right hand star; left hand star.
• B2: Do-si-do opposite person. Take hands with partner, go forward in pairs to meet opposites; fall back moving left to meet next couple.

Whynot's Circle Contra

Roger Whynot

Start in circle formation, then turn to face partner and take hands along sides, giving two circles round the room facing each other, partners facing.

Difficulty: 2

• A1: Circle right both in inner and outer circle 8 steps; and left back.
• A2: do-si-do partner; swing neighbour (for men, the woman on the Left; for women, the man on the Right). End the swing facing your partner with woman on right of man.
• B1: Ladies chain; and back.
• B2: Circle 4 left; circle 4 right.

Music: 32-bar jigs/reels

Don't use this unless you're sure the dancers can do the ladies' chain

3 Facing 3

Dashing White Sergeant

3 facing 3 (supposed to be man between 2 women, but who's counting?). Difficulty: 2

• A1: Circle left in sixes then right.
• A2: man turns right to face RH woman, both balance (or do Scottish setting step) then turn with right hand; then man turns to face LH woman and repeat.
• B1: reel of 3, start with man giving left shoulder to RH woman. End when man gets back to place second time. (Don't rush or there'll be too much music.)
• B2: Forward 2 steps, stamp 3 times; back 2 steps. Anticlockwise trios arch, others pass through.

Music: own tune.

You can simplify B1 by having the man walk round the woman turning them alternately. Without the reel, difficulty would only be 1.

I find this dance a bit repetitive.

Dixon Sixsome

3-facing-3. Trios can be any mix of sexes. Useful if sexes imbalanced? Difficulty: 2

David Kettlewell

• A1: all circle left once round.
• A2: the centre person in each threesome swings the person on his/her right; then the person on left.
• B1: the swinging pair makes an arch and the remaining person in that threesome (who should be the RH person) dances under it and back to place. Then the RH pair make arch and LH person dances under and back home.
• B2: Six-hand star right; and left.
• C1: Trios basket.
• C2: forward and back in lines, forward and pass through.

Music: 48-bar jigs/reels

Double or Quits

Sicilian Threesome : man + 2 women facing clockwise, facing woman + 2 men. Difficulty: 2

John Kinch (Caller's Choice 2)

• A1: all circle left and right (8 steps)
• A2: reel of 3 (centre dancer turns right, passes the RH person by the right shoulder)
• B1: the two facing couples who are nearest the centre do half rights & lefts; then the couples now farthest from centre do half Rs and Ls. (Beginners may find this tricky explain carefully]
• B2: new lines of 3 join hands, balance right and left, turn the person opposite half way round to change places; lines of 3 balance right and left again, then all turn round individually to face a new threesome.

Music: 32-bar jigs

Gingerbread

Sicilian Threesome : Difficulty: 2

Step-hop

• A1: (Swings) Middle person in each threesome, right arm swing their right-hand partner (8 steps), then left-arm swing their left-hand partner (8 steps).
• A2: (Stars) Middle person star right with the two people on the right, turn to the two on the left and left hand star. End in place.
• B1: (Arches) Take hands along the lines and make arches. Person on left of line steps in front of middle person, through arch, round behind and back to place (keep hold of hands - middle person has to rotate). Person on right hand end does likewise.
• B2: (Baskets) Cross-hand hold in a basket of 3, and step-hop round and round, travelling past the other threesome to meet a new line of 3.

Music: 32 bar hornpipes.

Double Sicilian - 4 Facing 4

Danish Double Quadrille

Double Sicilian - 4-facing-4. Difficulty: 2

• A1: All 4 couples, circle left for 16 steps (twice as long as you'd expect)
• A2: Circle right for 16 steps.
• B1: The outside 2 couples take inside hands, and lead between the others into the middle of the room and back.
• B2: The inside 2 couples likewise lead to the outside and back.
• A3: Right and left through in fours (all the way).
• A4: Circle left and right in fours.
• B3 and 4: each couple dance (polka-step? pas-de-bas?) right round the opposite couple 2 or 3 times, then go half way round again and form a new line ready to restart.

Music: 64-bar marches

Tumbling Tom Tonic

Double Sicilian circle. Les Orde. Step hops. Difficulty: 2

Men always start from home position, women progress.

Start facing partner.

• A1: Reels of four along the sides, all the way back to place.
• A2: Border swing partner (right arms round waists, left arms free); ditto with left arms.
• B1: Face partner and clap Own-Together, Right-with-Partner, Together, Left, Together, Chest, Together, Both-with-Partner.
• B2: Women RH star while men go round outside; then women LH star going one extra place on, while men go round the other way back to own place. Form new lines.

Last updated 24 August, 2005