Continuing along with Gilbert's Elite Lanciers, here are figures two and three! An introduction and the first figure may be found in my previous post.
The second figure as given in Link:
8b Introduction [not repeated]
4b Head ladies forward & back
4b Cross over
4b Head couples chassa to the left & right
4b Head ladies pass to the couples on their left and swing gent with the right hand half round
4b Chassa
4b Turn partner to place
Played 4 times
3rd & 4th time gents
The interesting element that is not obvious from these instructions is which dancers do the second "chassa". Following Rivers, it's meant to be done by six dancers in two trios in "wavy" formation, with the gentleman facing two ladies, holding hands, and all three moving in the same direction.
My reconstruction:
The Elite Lanciers, Figure 2 (8b + (24bx4))
8b Introduction [not repeated]
4b Head couples forward and back
4b Head ladies cross over, changing places
4b Head couples, holding inside hands, chassez left and dechassez right
4b Head ladies turn halfway by right hands with gent in couple to their current left (first lady/third gent, second lady/fourth gent), ending with lady facing center and gent facing out
(Third and fourth gent take left hands with their own ladies, forming "wavy" lines of three, ladies side by side and gentleman facing them)
4b Trios chassez to gent's left/ladies' right and dechassez back
4b All turn partners by left hand to places
Second time: side couples lead the figure; third time: heads; fourth time: sides.
The only detail not given in Rivers is that the final turn to places is by left hand; Rivers does not specify. Since (the first time through), the side couples are already holding left hands and the head ladies have their original gentleman on their left and their left hands free, it seems smoothest and most natural for everyone to turn by the left rather than having to drop and retake hands.
An actual difference between Rivers and Link is that Link has the third and fourth repeats performed by the gents, presumably meaning that they cross over and form the trios with a second gent. My reconstruction above follows Rivers, whom I consider more likely to represent Gilbert's original. There is no hint of the gentlemen leading in Rivers, just that the head and side couples alternate leading. Since in the fourth figure Rivers does specify that the gentlemen lead in turn, I think he would have mentioned it if it happened in the second.
Should one strongly prefer to vary the third and fourth figures, here's how to do it: when the gentlemen lead, after the crossing over and chassez-dechassez, they go to the couple on their right relative to their crossed-over positions, turn by left hands (ending facing out, side-by-side with another gentleman), and then turn their own partners (who should be to their immediate right) by the right hand to places. I actually think this is an improvement in the figure. I'm just not sure it's true to Gilbert's original.
Edited 6/19/2019 to add: the Once a Week description states that the ladies "hop to the right", though it is then described as taking right hands and turning halfway. It does not mention the gentlemen leading.
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The third figure as given in Link:
8b Introduction [not repeated]
4b Head couples forward sides separate and back with first four
4b Forward all, address
8b Swing sides with right hand partner with left
Repeat.
This figure isn't missing as much detail as the others, though it could use a but more punctuation. The only thing unclear is that "sides" here means "the lady currently on your left".
My reconstruction:
The Elite Lanciers, Figure 3 (8b + (16bx4))
8b Introduction [not repeated]
2b Head couples forward
2b Side couples separate and all fall back in lines of four at the head and foot of the set
4b All forward in lines, bow/curtsy, and back
4b Gents turn ladies at their left (who are not their partners!) by the right hand
4b All turn partners by left hands to places
Second time: side couples lead the figure; third time: heads; fourth time: sides.
The placement of the salutes matches that of the standard Lancers of this era, so it will be in the correct place for the ritard in the music. But in the Elite Lanciers all eight dancers perform it together. First/third and second/fourth times through are identical.
Figures four and five will follow in the next post!
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