Like the Winthrop(e), the Pittsburgh Star is a cotillion (dance party game) figure in the guise of a march sequence which was published in H. Layton Walker's Twentieth Century Cotillion Figures (Two Step Publishing Company, Buffalo, New York, 1912). It was most likely copied from some other source; based on the apparent origin of the Winthrop, the original might have appeared in a publication of the National Association of Dancing Masters after a meeting in Pittsburgh.
The Pittsburgh Star differs from the Winthrop, however, in incorporating the mixer element into the march sequence, which I find more interesting as a figure, rather than by having the dancers seek new partners before beginning the march.
Here are the original instructions for the figure followed by the two diagrams. Note when reading the directions that "up" is toward the bottom of the diagrams.
PITTSBURGH STAR.
All two-step. Signal, all march up centre of hall. All mark time when in middle. First couple forward in line of direction. Second couple turn to right; second [third] couple turn to left. Repeat this until four couples are in front, four on right side, four on left side, and four in back. This forms the cross. The four couples in back now wheel round and face other way, thus: [diagram on left] Now, in single file, [ladies] march to right, gentlemen to left, meeting and going to centre, forming thus: [diagram on right] and all two-step with that person.
I corrected "second" with [third] where it was needed and interpolated [ladies] where it was obvious from the diagrams that it had been left out.
The instructions were given for sixteen couples even though the diagrams show twenty. In practice, the exact number of couples does not matter, though it should be a number divisible by four. If it is not, the symmetry will be imperfect, but the figure still functions. There also needs to be a prompter or caller; this is not a figure that can be run by the dancers from within unless it has been previously rehearsed (unlikely for a period social event, though possible for a modern performance).
Leading the figure is simple, though it does require the prompter to know how many couples are in the march and what that number divided by four equals. For example, if there are twenty couples in the march, the prompter had better know that twenty divided by four equals five. Larger numbers will be increasingly difficult to keep track of visually.
To run the figure, begin with a general two-step. Then get all the dancers marching in couples up the room to the top (the bottom of the diagrams), halting in the center of the room. This could involve the lead couple starting to circle the room at the signal and the other couples slowly collecting behind them, at which point the march up the center, or at the signal (a whistle or something similar) the dancers could all just move into a column.
Start the column of couples marching and divide them three ways, alternating forward toward the top of the room, to the right, and to the left, forming three arms of a cross. Once each arm of the cross has received [total divided by four] couples, stop. The prompter will probably have to signal the dancers if he or she has not cued them to march to the wall and halt. Before continuing, the remaining [total divided by four] couples must each turn as a couple to face the bottom of the room. At this point there should be four equal arms of the cross facing the four walls of the room, as in the first diagram.
From this point, the lead dancers (nearest the wall) in each arm of the cross turn away from each other, the other dancers following, and march along the wall, or in an arc following the wall, as in the second diagram. (In my opinion this looks more like the petals of a flower than the rays of a star, but whatever.) They will meet a dancer of the opposite sex from the next arm over and proceed with that dancer toward the center of the room, from whence they will two-step away for the duration of the music.
If the figure is performed with a number of couples is not divisible by four, there will be two dancers left marching alone toward the center at the ends of their lines. This is not a crisis; the two should just keep following their respective lines to the center, even though they will not acquire a partner to march with. Once in the center, they will meet the other spare dancer and can happily two-step away. If there is only one spare couple, this will be their original partner, but with two or three extra, the mixer element is maintained. The prompter really has to keep track of the number of extra couples, however, making sure the extras are distributed to the first, second, and third arms as needed, but stopping the division soon enough to leave sufficient couples at the bottom of the room to form the fourth arm. If there are twenty-one couples (one extra), the arms must end up 6-5-5-5, not 6-6-6-3!
To add to the mathematical complications, there is no real reason this figure can't be done in a three-arm formation (a Pittsburgh "Y"?) with a smaller group of dancers or a number of couples divisible by three rather than four. Larger numbers of arms are possible in theory with a large number of couples, but it will be progressively more difficult to track the angles of and the number of dancers in each arm.
Comments