hook: Heart of Joy circulates
by: Isaac Banner
formation: improper
Have dancers note their direction of travel.
| A1 | 4 | neighbors gyre ½
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| 4 | single-file promenade clockwise across the set, gentlespoons facing neighbors
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| 8 | neighbors swing
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| A2 | 4 | circle left 2 places and form long waves - gentlespoons face in, ladles face out
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| 8 | balance & box circulate - gentlespoons cross while ladles loop right
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| 0 | form long waves - ladles face in, gentlespoons face out
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| 4 | balance the wave
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| B1 | 4 | box circulate - ladles cross while gentlespoons loop right and
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| 12 | partners swing
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| B2 | 8 | pass through to an ocean wave & balance - ladles by left in the center, partners by right on the sides
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| 4 | ladles allemande left ¾
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| 4 | trade the wave and pass through left - partners pass right across, neighbors pass left along ⁋
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Trade the wave: have dancers note their partner's position in the B2 ocean wave - they will travel into their partner's place in the wave, facing the opposite direction (their direction of travel). Dancers face across the set, pass their partner by the right across, and step back into the wave offering left hands to their neighbors (in this case, dancers don't retake the wave, passing through instead, but a teaching wave might help dancers orient themselves during the first walkthrough).
Inspired by a figure pair introduced to me by nc Krantz-Fire, I wanted to play around with a circle left 2 places to long waves circulate. Pushing the balance to the back beat creates some interesting space to work with and presents the move in a way that feels fresh. I've wanted to toy with circulate-chase figures for a little while, similar to the flow of Chris Page's Heart of Joy and the back beat balances gave the figure a bit more space to breathe.
Credit to Will Mentor for introducing me to the "Trade the Wave" figure, the cross-set trade feels similar to a box circulate and matches up nicely with the core of the dance.