Jefferson and Liberty

Formation: This was originally written for contra lines with 1, 3, 5 etc. active but not crossed
over. Because of the “Right and Left Thru” it is easier to dance with the actives crossed over.
Music: Originally danced in the early 19th century to an Irish Jig called “The Gobby-o”. For a
traditional feel try “March of St. Timothy” on LS-338 (record is called “Lighted Sconce”).

Download RTF file: Jefferson & Liberty

Prompts:
Intro or
57-64   – – – -; – – Circle Left;
    1-8   – – – -; – – Circle Right;
  9-16   – – – -; – – Right-hand Star;
17-24   – – – -; – – Left-hand Star;

25-32   – – – -; Active couples down the center and turn alone;
33-40   – – – -; Return and Cast Off;
41-48   – – – -; Right and Left Thru across;
49-56   – – – -; Right and Left back;
57-64   – – – -; – – Circle Left;

Description:
    1-8   Each group of four dancers Circle to the Left for 8 steps.
  9-16   The same four dancers Circle Right back to their original facing positions.
17-24   The same four dancers make a Right-hand Star and turn it for 8 beats.
25-32   The same four turn around and Star Left back to their original position.

33-40   Active couples walk down the center of their line towards the foot of the hall for six short steps, then those dancers turn alone on beats 7 and 8.
41-48   Active dancers come back up the center and Cast Off with the inactive dancer who was just below them. (To Cast Off the two dancers turn side by side three-quarters around, with the active dancer moving forward and the inactive dancer moving backward. This ends in long facing lines with the active dancers below the inactive dancers.)
49-56   The same group of four dancers do a Right and Left Thru across. If dancing as an Alternate Duple this is a right hand pull by followed by a Courtesy Turn. If dancing as a Proper Duple this is a Pass Thru and wheel counterclockwise as a couple.
57-64   The same four dancers repeat the action of 49-56 to come back across the set.

Progression: When a couple has no one to dance with they are neutral for one sequence. During this time they turn around as a couple (or individually if dancing as a Proper Duple) and change their role — at the top Inactives become Active, at the bottom Actives become Inactive.

Variation: Another option for the action in beats 49-64 is to use a Square Thru Four, which removes any debate about which way to Courtesy Turn or Wheel Around. (Square Thru Four begins with a right pull by and continues for a total of four pull bys alternating right and left hands. Dancers turn individually one-quarter in at each corner of the box. In this case everyone should be facing the next group of four dancers after the last pull by.)

Source: Contra Dancers of Hawaii website.

This page from http://dances.callerlab.org (CALLERLAB Dance Resource)