Sir Roger de Coverley

Today I'm looking at one of the popular dances used to finish a ball in the Regency era: Sir Roger de Coverley. This is one of several dances that were used to conclude balls (others include La Boulanger and the Bumpkin); they emphasized sociability as all ball attendees interacted with each other in this final dance! This dance was also the forerunner of the Virginia Reel!

Sir Roger de Coverley

Part 1: top lady and bottom gentleman advance to the middle of the set and bow/curtsey to the other and retire to places. Repeat with top man and bottom lady. This pattern (top lady/bottom man; top man/bottom lady repeats for the next series of figures.

1. bow/curtsey
2. right-hand turn
3. left-hand turn
4. 2-hand turn
5. back-to-back

Part 2: top couple crosses and casts through every couple in the set until they reach the bottom. Depending on how long the set is, they may have a long way to go!

Part 3: top couple (now at the bottom of the set) take promenade/skater's hold and lead up through the set, followed by the other couples. The ladies cast down their own side, while the men cast down their own side.

The dance then repeats with the new top couple and bottom couple. The previous top couple is now the bottom couple, so they are still active for the next repetition of the dance! 

For anyone who is interested, there is a lovely recording of Sir Roger de Coverley on the Regency Ballroom CD by Spare Parts.

That's all for now - until next time... Happy dancing!