Virginia No Reel

Formation: Proper Contra Lines of 12 couples or less. All the men in a line on the prompter’s right and all the ladies in a line on the prompter’s left.
Music: “Fiddler’s Fancy” on TNT 106 or LS 318 “January 7th Jig” on LS 318 or “Virginia Reel” on MacGregor 7345 or other jig or reel.

Download RTF file: Virginia No Reel

Prompts:
Intro or
57-64   – – – -; Long Lines Forward and Back;
    1-8   – – – -; Turn your partner Right Hand Around;
  9-16   – – – -; Turn your partner Left Hand Around;
17-24   – – – -; Turn your partner both hands around;
25-32   – – – -; Top couple slide to the foot;

33-40   – – – -; Same two slide back to the head;
41-48   – – – -; Promenade Single File to the foot;
49-56   – – – -; Actives make an arch and the others duck through;
57-64   – – – -; Everybody Forward and Back;

Description:
    1-8   Both lines Forward and Back.
  9-16   Turn your partner with a Right Arm Turn.
17-24   Turn your partner with a Left Arm Turn.
25-32   Join both hands with your partner and walk once around right hip to right hip.

33-40   Keeping both hands joined with your partner, the active couple slide-steps (Sashays) 8 steps toward the foot of the set between the two lines. (Or strut to the foot if sashays might cause a fall.)
41-48   Active couple slide-steps back to the head of the set.
49-56   The active people each lead their line in a Single File Promenade down the outside to the foot of the set. This may take more than 8 counts of music.
57-64   Only the active couple make a two-hand arch. All the other couples duck through the arch and Promenade to the head of the set. When finished, the former head couple is now at the foot of the set and all the other couples have moved one position toward the prompter.

Variations:
— To add variety to this dance, have 2 to 5 couples slide to the foot of the set and back. These same couples will then all make an arch for the other dancers to duck through.
— The traditional version is documented separately under “Virginia Reel”.

Choreography by: Calvin Campbell, Colorado
Source: Printed in Dancing for Busy People, page 146.
Usage: This is a simplified version of the traditional Virginia Reel. Often it is not possible to complete the sequence in 64 counts. Try to prompt so the dancers feel the 8-count phrasing during the first 32-counts of the choreography.

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