Lingdale is a village in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and this is the dance that was recorded in that village, as danced by the Lingdale Primrose Team.
The Lingdale Primrose Team
Most of our information about the dance comes from the 1936 film, and the detailed notes made from it by Roy Dommett, and the notes made on the dance in 1948 by Peter Kennedy. There is also a small amount of data taken from a short film clip of the Lingdale Primrose team dancing at the Albert Hall in 1965.
Research notes on Lingdale
Music
We list the probable traditional tunes (John Peel, Oyster Girl, Lass O’ Dallowgill, and Keel Row), which were popular with other Cleveland sword dance teams in the early twentieth century , but we’ve had to add a couple (Bobby Shafto and Kafoozalum), which were used by other traditional longsword sides in Yorshire) to allow for the extra figures recorded by Kennedy.
Tunes known to have been played by Dick Hogarth (who played for the Lingdale Primrose team for most of his adult life) include many traditional tunes, also ‘Abide With Me’, the Lambeth Walk and in the 60s, the Twist tunes of Chubby Checker.
Basic Dance Instructions
Swords are held in the right hand.
The basic move is a brisk walk, going into something that is almost a run with an alternating stamp when the dance suits.
Left foot start.
I’m trying to avoid numbers as far as possible, but the lead dancer is number 1 and numbers after that go clockwise around the circle. ie. The dancers walk on in reverse numerical order. 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2.
Walk On (John Peel)
Line up with number 1 at the front, swords resting on right shoulder and almost vertical. Number 1 leads the dancers on stage and into a circle. On the last beat of the music, everyone stops smartly with a stamp step.
Figure 1 (Allsop’s first, Kennedy’s first)
Figure 2 (Allsop’s second, Kennedy’s second)
Figure 3 (Kennedy’s third figure)
Right and left lock with swing
Swing swords out, then close in, clashing right over left – also see Dommett
Figure 4 (Kennedy’s second figure)
Back Lock
Figure 5 (Allsop’s third figure, Kennedy’s fifth)
High Lock -dommett