Instructions for Hyde Park

[ This article appeared in volume 1 of the Letter of Dance. ]

[Editor's note: this article is copiously footnoted -- follow the links to footnotes.]

Hyde Park is a non-standard Playford dance which is part of the core repertoire of the Barony Marche of the Debatable Lands (BMDL). It is an enjoyable dance which is fairly easy to teach to beginners.

The instructions for this dance are presented below, in three parts. First, the original Playford instructions are given. Below that, the instructions are repeated in what I hope is a more usable format. Those instructions should be all that is needed for anyone who has ever done the dance. Finally, extensive footnotes on the reconstruction are provided for those unfamiliar with the dance, or for anyone wishing more information about the decisions which were made in reconstructing it.

I. Original Instructions:

Figure 1 is taken directly from The Dancing Master, by John Playford, published in London, 1650/1. [1]

Figure 2 provides the music for the dance, in modern notation.

II. Reconstructed Instructions:

The music is in 6/8 time.[3]

• 1-8 Chorus:
  • 1-4 Head Couples forward [4] and back a double.
  • 5-8 Side Couples the same.

• 9-24 Slips (see figure 3):
  • 9-10 Head Couples face partner, hold hands, and take 4 slips [5] into the center.
  • 11-12 Turn to face opposites [6] and take 4 slips out [7] of the square.
  • 13-16 Cast back to place. [8]
  • 17-24 Side Couples the same.

• 25-32 Chorus

• 33-48 Casting (see figure 4):
  • 33-36 Head Couples cast [9] [10] to the sides and meet their opposites [11] while Side Couples face each other, take hands, turn 180 degrees to trade places, [12] [13] and form an arch with their hands.
  • 37-40 Head Couples go through the arch with opposites, take partner's improper hand [14] and return to place.
  • 41-44 Side Couples cast to the sides and meet their opposites while Head Couples face each other, take hands, and turn 180 degrees to trade places, and form an arch with their hands.
  • 45-48 Side Couples go through the arch with opposites, take partner's proper hand and return to place. [15] [16]

• 49-56 Chorus

• 57-72 The Heys (see figure 5):
  • 57-64 Mens' hey: Men turn towards their right and skip [17] around the square, going in front of their partners, behind the next lady, in front of the third lady and behind the fourth.
  • 65-72 Ladies' hey: Ladies the same [18], to the left.

• Reverence