Cherries & Chocolates
Degree of Teaching Difficulty (1-5, where 1 is easiest and 5 is hardest): 4
Longways triple minor
A1 1st and 2nd couple turn partner two-hands halfway.
1st couple cast into second place; 2nd couple lead up.
1st and 2nd couples dance a double half figure of 8, beginning with 1st couple crossing up while 2nd couple casts down.
A2 1st and 3rd couple turn parner two-hands halfway.
1st couple cast into third place; 3rd couple lead up.
1st and 3rd couples dance a double half figure of 8, beginning with 1st couple crossing up while 3rd couple casts down.
B1 All dance full mirror heys, beginning with 3rd couple (in middle place) dancing out and up, 2nd couple (in top place) dancing in
and down, and 1st couple (in bottom place) dancing in and up.
B2 1st and 3rd couple handy-hand turns once and a half on the sides, 1st couple splitting 3rd couple and 3rd couple casting down to begin.
Lines of three on the sides fall back and come forward.
Teaching Notes
The threes anchor the second half of the dance. At the end of A2, threes (in middle place) continue out and up to flow into the mirror hey; in contrast, at the end of the B1 threes (still in middle place) continue out but cast down into the handy-hand turns.
I recommend a polite turn/courtesy turn at the end of the handy-hand turn, to give the ones a nice "flip" into the lines of three.
It can be helpful to point out that the dancers with the handy-hand turns are the ones who start the next round of the dance.
Choeography Notes
I originally wrote B2 with mirror dance rounds (gypsies) instead of turns; that's fun for the fleet-of-foot but can be a strain for many dancers, so I've revised the dance to recommend handy-hand turns. Thanks go to Linda Nelson for the suggestion.
This is a dance with a lot of Scottish influence; I originally wrote A1 and A2 with right-hand turns, which feels natural from a Scottish perspective but a bit stilted in the English style, so I've revised the dance to recommend two-hand turns. Thanks go to Jenna Simpson and Melissa Running for the suggestion.
https://sites.google.com/site/miriamcranenewman/home/choreography/cherries--chocolates
