DUMBARTON DRUMS

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A dance in mescolanze formation, two couples facing two others in
small lines of four, either around the room in a circle (lines
radiating from the center) or in long columns in the center of the
hall.

Record: LS 171 (cued)/ 172 (music only)

Music: "Dumbarton Drums"

The arrangement is the simplest version of a very popular dance
called "La Tempete," widely danced in America and the British
Isles since early in the 19th century. In Ireland it is called "The
Siege of Ennis."

A1 (16 counts)
EVERYBODY FORWARD AND BACK
     The facing lines of four, holding hands in the line, go fwd
     four steps twd each other, and back four steps to place
     again.
RIGHT COUPLE IN FRONT, SASHAY OVER
     Retain the hand of your partner, but separate from the other
     couple in line with you. Moving as a couple, the couple on
     the R-hand lane of the line sashays (slides) in front of the L-
     and couple and to the L, while the L-hand couple sashays
     (slides) behind the R-hand couple and to the R, exchanging
     places. The sashay is done with six sliding steps to the side
     (slide-close, slide-close, etc.) And then, on counts 7 and 8,
     "stamp, stamp-stamp." Make the three little stamps sharp
     and brisk but not too noisy. And right on the drum beats in
     the music.

A2 (16 counts)
WITH THE MUSIC, FORWARD AND BACK
     In this new pos, repeat the four steps fwd and four steps
     back.
RIGHT COUPLE IN FRONT, SASHAY BACK
     Repeat the sashay and "stamp, stamp-stamp" back to place,
     this time with the new R-hand couple in front.

B1 (16 counts)
WITH THE OPPOSITE COUPLE RIGHT HAND STAR
     Each couple does a R-hand star with the opposite, exactly
     once around.
LEFT HAND BACK
     L-hand star back in 8 counts.

B2 (16 counts)
COME BACK TO PLACE, THEN FORWARD AND BACK
     Couples step quickly back into their original positions in the
lines of four, then take three steps fwd and four steps back.
ARCH TO THE HEAD, DIVE TO THE FOOT
     The lines of four pass through each other in the following
     fashion: couples moving twd the head of the hall from the
     foot, make arches, and those moving twd the foot from the
     head, pass under these arches. (The original lines are now
     standing back to back.)

The next sequence begins:
(Bow) FORWARD AND BACK
     You will have a little too much time for the arch and dive in
the 8 counts of the preceding phrase, so, on the last two counts
after you have passed through, turn to your partner with a brief
bow, then face the opposite couple. Then fwd four counts and back
four counts as you begin the pattern again. (Some callers have the
dancers pass under two arches, turning at the ends of the column,
so that no couples will stand out during the dance.)

When you reach the foot or the head of the contra line (column), go
right through the routine as if an opposite line were there (do a
two-hand star with your partner when the stars are called) until you
come to the "arch and dive." While the others are passing through
with the arch and dive, reverse your direction, either by wheeling
as a couple or doing a frontier twirl, bow, when the others bow,
and be ready to go fwd and back with the on-coming new line.

Alternatively, at the end, the two couples can face each other and
perform all of the figures, passing through when the "arch and
dive" action is called to begin the dance at the other end of the line
from where they were in the beginning.

To cue this dance:

          Intro:           , Everybody forward and back,
     1-8         , Right couple in front sashay over,
     9-16        , With the music forward and back,
     17-24             , Right couple in front sashay back,
     25-32             , With the opposite couple right hand star,
     33-40             ,     Left hand back,
     41-48            ,     Forward and back,
     49-56            , Arch to the head dive to the foot,
     57-64           Bow,     Forward and back,