The Gay Gordons is an easy sequence dance that appeared in several sources in the mid-20th century, at the height of the Old Time Dancing revival in England.
Side by side, with right hands joined by the Follow's right shoulder, left hands joined by the Follow's left shoulder.
Part I - Forward and Back Along LOD (4 bars): Four steps forward along LOD (1, 2, 3, 4), turning halfway to the right on the fourth step, then four steps backward along LOD (5, 6, 7, 8).
Part II - Forward and Back Against LOD (4 bars): Repeat Part I to return to place, turning halfway to the left on the fourth step, and turning to face partner at the end.
Part III - Allemande (4 bars): The Lead steps side (1), close (2), side (3), close (4), as the Follow completes one full turn of two step under R-in-R hands (1-and-2, 3-and-4). Then, both step side (5), close (6), side (7), close (8).
Part IV - Two-Step (4 bars): Two full turns of two-step (1-and-2, 3-and-4, 5-and-6, 7-and-8).
Repeat from the beginning.
March music, at 112 bpm.
© 2018 Nick Enge
For more dance descriptions, see our three books on dancing:
The Book of Mixers: 100 Easy-Teach Dances for Getting Acquainted (2022) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge,
Cross-Step Waltz: A Dancer's Guide (2019) by Richard Powers and Nick & Melissa Enge, and
Waltzing: A Manual for Dancing and Living (2013) by Richard Powers and Nick Enge.
For full-length teaching videos, visit: University of Dance.
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