From John Garden:
====== Duke of Gloucester’s March ======
midi
Thomas Bray, 1699 \\
Triple minor
A With 4 counts The First Man and second Woman turn to their right Hand
to face out of set and move to their own wall two or three steps, and
close their feet (i.e. with a double); 1st Wo. and 2d. Man each cross
the set to follow their own Partner at the same time, and close their feet;
then with 4 counts 1st Wo. and 2d. Man turn/veer both to the left Hand
round and meet in the middle of the room with their back to each other
facing out, the 1st Man turns down to the left Hand , and takes his Wo.
by both Hands, the 2d. Wo. turns up to the left hand at the same time,
and takes her Man by both Hands,
then a simple 4 count straight-line-pousette - the 1st. Man puts his Wo.
back into second place, and the 2d. Wo. puts her Man back into first place,
1st. cu. below, 2d. cu. above,
then with 4 counts each Man changing by r.sh. with his own partner to end
progressed improper, facing up to the other couple.
With 16 counts The same thing again with the same leader, followed by same
tail, now turning right and going to the other wall, turning a little to the
left and pushing their partner back into original but improper place and
changing back into home place.
B With 8 counts all cast right half way around set by having the First Wo.
cast off to the 2d. Man’s place, and 2d. Man casts up to the 1st. Wo. place,
the other cu. following their Partners, at the same time to each others place,
With 8 counts all cast left half way back around set to place by doing the same
thing back again, only the 1st. Man cast up into his own place as at first.
The 2d. Wo. casting down at the same time, the other cu. following them to their
own places as a Form a single file, The 1st Man and Wo. meet with a double in the
middle of the Room, the Man behind the Wo. and close their feet, then with the
next 4 counts the 2d. cu. do the same after them,
With 8 counts 1st. cu. lead up and cast off (M to the left W to the right) into
progressed proper positions (finishing both facing down), while 2d. cu. lead up
at the same time, and turn single from each other into progressed proper position
(finishing facing up) And so to the end.
music + \\
video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTv10yHqWqU
This dance was presented by Thomas Bray in 1699 as ‘The Duke of Gloucester’s March,
a New Country Dance’. It is very different from its namesake that appeared in Playford
in 1698. The above reconstruction differs from that of Nicholas Broadbridge
Firstly, where others have chosen to play the tune quickly with repeats on the A and
B parts and to dance the dance slowly (with just two steps per bar), my preference is
to play the tune slowly without repeats and to march it briskly.
Secondly, where others have the figure dancers in the A part of the dance retrace their
steps with the former tail becoming the leader and pusher and the former leader the tail
and ‘pushee’, I cannot but help but see in this figure a form of pousse
My reconstruction above also differs from that of Diana Cruickshank's, in The Lover's Luck,
2001, for although Diana has the brisker walking I recommend, she goes for repeating both
the A and B part of the tune and fills out the dance with many more fi
Having seen the latest movie only once and not well enough saving all my observations
at the time, I may reserve my comments on exactly how the move treated this tune and
dance till I have a chance to see it again.