Five years ago I posted a description of the late nineteenth-century Rye Waltz, a simple sequence dance set to a special version of "Coming Through the Rye" that alternates between duple and triple (waltz) meter.
In 1914, Oklahoma City dancing master M. W. Cain submitted a new version of the dance, the Rye Hesitation, to F. Leslie Clendenen's compilation Dance Mad. Cain's version is extremely simple, well-suited to beginning dancers. It requires no actual waltzing; the waltz music segment is occupied by one-to-the-bar hesitation steps.
(At left, the dancers dip in the final step of the Rye Hesitation. Click to enlarge.)
The Rye Hesitation
The dancers begin in standard ballroom hold, opened slightly so that both face along the line of dance. Steps below are given for the gentleman; the lady dances on opposite feet.
Part One (4 bars of 4/4 time)
1b Walk three steps along line of dance left-right-left; rock back on right, pointing left foot forward along line of dance
1b Tap left foot three times, and on the fourth beat shift weight onto that foot and face "over elbows" against line of dance
1b Walk three steps against line of dance right-left-right; rock back on left foot, pointing right foot forward against line of dance
1b Tap three times with right foot, and on the fourth beat shift weight onto that foot and gentleman turns to face line of dance
Part Two (16 bars of 3/4 time)
(The gentleman faces line of dance and the lady's back is to line of dance; this is "Yale" position, side by side, right hip to right hip)
4b Walk four slow steps, left-right-left-right, one per bar, along line of dance, gentleman moving forward and lady moving backward
(Maintaining ballroom hold, each dancer turns halfway, clockwise, into reverse Yale position, left hip to left hip, continuing to move along line of dance)
4b Walk four slow steps, left-right-left-right, one per bar, along line of dance, gentleman moving backward, lady moving forward
(Each dancer turns halfway, counter-clockwise, back to original Yale position, right hip to right hip, continuing to move along line of dance)
4b Walk four slow steps, left-right-left-right, one per bar, along line of dance, gentleman moving forward and lady moving backward
(Partners open slightly so that they face each other, but maintain some distance and the offset position so that they continue to step outside each other's feet)
3b Walk three slow steps around each other, like a pomander walk, ending with the gentleman facing line of dance
1b Gentleman steps strongly back on his right foot; lady lunges forward on her left directly toward the gentleman, both dancers leaning slightly to the side, free feet extended, and hold position (see illustration above). Straighten up on the third beat of the measure, keeping weight on that same foot and turning the lady to face line of dance to restart the sequence with Part One.
Music
A good recording for the Rye Hesitation may be found under the name "La Chinche" (the bedbug) on the Brassworks Band album The Congress of Vienna, which may be ordered at the Brassworks Band website. A snippet of this recording is included in my post on the Rye Waltz.
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