Mr. Beveridges Maggot
Longways for as many as will (Playford 1695)
This is one of the very first dances Dorothée taught me and it kept one of my favourites!
For Encore!Magazine, I also created a modern edition of the sheet music, which will soon be on-line too.
A1
1-2 First man and first woman cross over and change places.
3-4 First man goes back-to-back with second woman; while first woman goes back-to-back with second man.
5-6 First man, facing down, turns single and then turns second woman with the right hand once round; while the first woman turns single and then turns second man with the right hand once round.
7-8 First man and first woman turn left with left hands, half-way round to places.
B1
1-2 First man and first woman cross over and cast down into second place (improper), second couple moving up into first place.
3-4 First and second men go back-to-back with their partners.
5-8 First couple standing between second couple, all four take hands and move up six steps and fall back six steps, first couple falling into first place (improper), second couple into second place (proper).
B2
1-6 First couple goes the Figure-8 through the second couple, first man crossing over, passing clockwise round second man and counter-clockwise round second woman, first woman crossing over, passing counter-clockwise round second woman and clockwise round second man..
7-8 First man and second woman cross over and cast down into second place, second couple moving up into first place.
Below, you'll find two little films from the BBC series "Emma" and "Pride & Prejudice". Unfortunately, there is no proof that people still danced "Mr. Beveridge's" in the time of Jane Austen...
