Category: Irish Ceili/Ceilidh

Description:

A simple ceili dance for a line of 6 gents facing a line of 6 ladies. It was created, from pieces of Ar Rince Foirne ceili dances, for a group who performed at the 2013 O’Flaherty Irish Music Youth Camp. Miss Lillian O’Flaherty named the dance. Dance by Susan Harrison.

Listowel Stitches (Reel)

128 Bars + 8 bar lead-in

1	Everyone Advance and Retire Gents and ladies hold hands in their lines, and dance promenade step toward the opposite line (2b), dance back to place (2b), and repeat.	8
2	7's / Sidestep Lines dance side step to the right of their position while holding hands (2b), dance two short 3's in place (2b), and repeat by side stepping left to the home position, ending with two short 3's.	8
3	Lead off & Make Two Bridges All dancers face the head of the figure, which is to the left of the gents' line. All take inside hands with their partner (in the opposite line), raise hands, and dance as couples to the right, along the side of the initial dance, then turning right again to dance halfway into the original formation's spot. The 1st, 2nd, and 3rd couples stop (where couples 4, 5 & 6 began the dance) and make a bridge by touching fingertips overhead. The rest of the couples keep holding hands, dance under the first bridge into the top 3 positions, and make a bridge of their own once they are all in place. The ladies not in the new bridge release partner's hands and dance single file under the bridge, as their partners dance along the outside, behind the other gents, toward the top. Next the ladies dance behind the other ladies' part of the bridge while their gents dance under the bridge. All fall into place in their original order, shifted so they are now couples 4, 5 & 6. (Similar to the Bridge of Athlone.)	24
4	Stamp & Clap Dancers stamp the right foot slightly in front of them 2 times and clap 3 times. Repeat. (4b) The gents' line takes hands to form an arch. Both lines dance forward to the opposite place, passing by right shoulders as the ladies dance under the arches. (2b) All turn clockwise to face into the figure. (2b) Repeat from the stamps, with the ladies' line arching.	16
5	Repeat 1 to 4	56
6	Thread the Needle The "needle" is the two gents in the center of the gents' line; they raise their held hands to make an arch. Everyone else take hands except for the gent on the left side of the needle (his perspective). The gent next to him is the start of the thread; he leads the other dancers under the needle arch, following an oval path counter-clockwise around and back to original positions. When the last dancer (end of the thread) goes through the needle, the gent forming the right side turns under his raised arm. All clap for the remainder of the current 8 bars.	16

Added on 2013-10-19 09:57:12.
Modified on 2013-10-20 22:10:42.
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