Could you have danced the Virginia Reel?

After my disastrous attempt at dancing at the Ft. Stanton Ball, described in last week's post, you will not be surprised to learn that I sat out the next dance, the Virginia Reel.  And that was probably for the best, because it is a dance that takes not only rhythm but brain work and concentration as well.  I later learned that the Virginia Reel is a traditional folk dance that was most popular in the United States in the years 1830-1890. 

Kenneth Dusenberry lined up four sets of dancers, with four males on one side of each set and four females on the other side.  Having a partner was imperative for this dance. (How different I thought from dances I have attended recently where women dance with women, parents dance with their children, and some brave souls even get out on the dance floor alone.)

I took the following notes on the steps the dancers were doing.  See if you can picture the Virginia Reel. Each step is done to the count of eight.

Step 1:  Couples move toward each other and bow (repeat).
Step 2:  Couples join right hands and circle each other.
Step 3:  Couples join left hands and circle each other.
Step 4:  Couples join both hands and circle each other.
Step 5:  Couples do- si- do around each other, passing right shoulders.
Step 6:  The first couple does a turn and a half, and dances down the line of dancers, always giving their partner the right hand, and the new person the left hand.  (Are you confused yet?  I was, just watching.)
Step 7:  The couple then does a back to front do-si-do, and the male and female dance outside their respective lines to meet up at the end to form a bridge with their hands.
Step 8:  The other couples follow the leader to the back of the line and go under the bridge, meeting up with their partner.

It looks like this couple has it down - right hand to left hand.

You can see the variety of people who were dancing.the Virginia Reel.

Here is the bridge that the partners form.

You may want to view this short YouTube video of other dancers doing the Virginia Reel to imagine what it it might be like.

There were quite a few dancers at Ft. Stanton who were struggling with the left hand/right hand distinction, but most eventually got the hang of it.  One of the most amusing things to watch was when elementary school age children were the bridge makers, and the taller adults had to squeeze through a very low bridge.

The laughter of the dancers was infectious, and it was obvious that everyone was enjoying themselves and the challenge of the Virginia Reel.  (Once again, I compared the happy looks on the dancers'  faces with other dancers I have seen recently who looked really bored or tried to look super-sexy).

The Grand March, the First Waltz, the Hat Dance and then the Virginia Reel had all been marvelous ice-breakers.  The Ft. Stanton Ball continued with a good time had by all.  I felt like I had participated in a piece of Civil War history.

More dancing the night away at Ft. Stanton

As last week's post ended, Kenneth Dusenberry was lining up partners for the Grand March at the Ft. Stanton Live Saturday night ball.  The Grand March was performed according to military protocol, with dancers in pairs positioned according to rank.  Kenneth encouraged spectators to join in, but most of us felt reluctant to do so. I heard one couple dressed in Western style clothing tell Kenneth they just weren't dressed appropriately.

But the spirited atmosphere must have overcome their reluctance, because I spied them later at the back of the column ready to march.  As Kenneth Dusenberry and his partner led the dancers around the room, I recognized the music as "Scotland the Brave,"  one of my favorite traditional Scottish melodies.

After the march, Kenneth announced that the first waltz of the evening must be danced with the Grand March partner, but that the rest of the evening was for mingling.  He reminded us again that balls were one of the few opportunities for meeting members of the opposite sex that were available at a 19th century military post. Sort of like a modern day Internet dating site, I suppose.

By this time, Wayne and I had sat out two dances. We were beginning to feel like we were missing out on the fun.  When Kenneth announced the Hat Dance, we made a quick decision to join in.  This wasn't the intricate Mexican Hat Dance that we were familiar with, or we would have stayed seated for sure.  

Males lined up on one side and females on the other.  The participants were of all ages, from grandmas and grandpas to elementary school age children.  The young lady standing beside me in line provided a quick summary of the dance, which she assured me was lots of fun.

This is the young lady later in the evening.

Three chairs were positioned at the front of the dance floor.  They were occupied by either one male in the middle with two females on the side, or one female in the middle with two males on the side.  The person in the middle was given a hat. He or she talked to the potential dance partners on either side and chose one of them as a partner. They then danced down the floor to the end of the respective lines. The person not chosen got the hat and moved over to the middle seat, and the procedure was repeated.

This is where I should have known I was in trouble.  I was one of the females on the side.  The male in the middle looked at me and said, "You know how to dance, don't you?"  (I guess he thought that if I had reached my current advanced age and was still mobile, I had had plenty of time to learn how to dance!)  I said, "Yes, but I'm wearing my Birkenstock sandals."  "That's okay,"  he said, and handed the hat to the other female.  We began dancing down the floor.

I was struggling mightily trying to follow a new unfamiliar dance partner and keep my shoes on at the same time.  My first embarrassment came when my partner said, "Hey, you've got to let me lead."  I guess I was pulling him down the floor to get this dance over with post haste. Then my worst fears came true as I stepped out of one of my sandals, right in the middle of the floor.  An elementary school age young man in military uniform rushed over from the sidelines and helped me put my shoe back on.  I thanked my dance partner, who was unfailingly polite and thanked me also (both of us grateful that the agony was over, I'm sure), and I slunk away to my chair instead of rejoining the female line of dancers.

Birkenstock sandals have many virtues.  They are unbelievably comfortable, they don't rub blisters, and they just feel like summertime. But I'm sure none of those 19th century belles would have been foolish enough to try to dance in similar footwear.

The next dance was the Virginia Reel, an intricate dance that I (thankfully) just observed.  I'll wait to describe the Virginia Reel in next week's blog because it is quite complex.  If anyone has ever danced the Virginia Reel, please let me know if my description next week is accurate!  

Dancing the night away at Ft. Stanton

I should have known better than to wear my Birkenstock sandals to a ball.  But I had only intended to be an observer at the Military Ball that culminated Ft. Stanton Live activities last weekend.

Ft. Stanton is located near the town of  Lincoln, in the pine forests of southeastern New Mexico. My husband Wayne is describing the entire Ft. Stanton Live experience in his blog (www.ccchuckwagon.blogspot.com).  I would like to focus on our experiences at the ball.   It was a unique evening that took us back into the history of the Southwest in the last part of the 19th century.  And I truly felt transported.

The Military Ball was listed on the schedule of activities as starting at 7:00 pm in the cafeteria. Ordinarily, it wouldn't have been an activity that caught our eye, but we are writing a second mystery novel, this one set at Ft. Stanton, so we wanted to pick up as much local color as possible to make the book more authentic.  The new book title is Forts, Farbs, and Phantoms.

During the day at the fort, we had talked to a teenage Civil War re-enactor and, just to make conversation really, had asked about the ball.  He described it enthusiastically and answered our nosy questions such as, "Are there plenty of young ladies to dance with?  What dances do they do?  Have you learned those dances?" He said, rather shyly, that yes, there were usually plenty of dancing partners and that he loved the Virginia Reel and the Hat Dance, but that he was still working on the Waltz. He said that "civilians" were welcome at the ball. We caught a glimpse of him later, decked out in his white gloves (de rigueur for male dancers, so we learned, because ladies' gowns couldn't be washed or cleaned). Later, we exchanged a mutual flicker of recognition as he danced by us.

The many buildings at Ft Stanton are being restored at different rates, but the cafeteria was still in rather sad condition.  A new floor was being laid in one part, but the ball was held in the older part, with a small stage set up for the musicians.  Plastic chairs had been placed around the perimeter, and there was a drink dispenser with lemonade and small plastic cups on a table in one corner.

When we arrived at the fort a little before 7:00 in the evening, all was dark and quiet in contrast to the lively daytime activities.  Camps were set up on the grass, and in several we passed, we saw re-enactors sitting outside chatting.  In one camp, there were singers harmonizing on plaintive folk tunes.  Kenneth Dusenberry, of the Artillery Company of New Mexico, decked out in full uniform and heading up the ball. appeared at the door of the cafeteria and invited all outside to enter.

 He began to paint a picture for us of the history of military balls at forts in the Southwest, describing how important they were for socializing in the days before technology, and how much they were enjoyed by all. Gradually, the old cafeteria faded away, and we entered  through a time warp into an era of dashing young soldiers and beautiful dance partners in hoop skirts, gracefully making their way around the dance floor. Some of the present-day participants were dressed in period costume, and even those who weren't took on an old-time aura as they danced the traditional dances.  Kenneth Dusenberry reminded the audience that women could not dance backwards very easily in hoop skirts, so if a lady fell down, it was always the male partner's fault.

The first dance of the evening was the Grand March.  I'm going to describe it in detail as well as the dances that followed in next week's blog.  I hope you will join me and find out what happened when I tried to waltz wearing Birkenstock sandals.