Plethyn Lulynn - Newlyn Reel (Cornwall)

Plethyn Lulynn - Newlyn Reel

Cornwall

This description ©2023, Andrew Carnie. Taught to us by Nancy Bannister. A couple dance from Newlyn. The dance and tune were notated by Esme Francis in 1971 based on interactions she had with her neighbor John Williams who remembers seeing the dance when he travelled to Newlyn in the early 1900s. There is some speculation, given the unusual nature of the tune and the dance steps that it might have be introduced by sailors from Scandinavia or Russia who used Newlyn port, but there's no evidence for this. It may have originally been danced only by men, but it is now done as a couple mixer. It does bear a similarity to some Scandinavian schottische mixers like Johan Pa Snippen and Ti Ti Tyy Jenkka.

Music:

Meter: 2/4
Formation: Couples in a circle, facing center. M on the L, W on the R. Start in shoulder hold.
Introduction: Depends upon the recording but typically 8 bars

Bar 1: Leap on R to R, kicking L out to L side (1). Leap onto L closed next to R (2). [Some groups do this as a sedate step close, but given the putative "sailor's" origin, I expect that the leaping step is more authentic.]

Bar 2-3: Repeat bar 1, two more times (3 in total).

Bar 4: Leap on R to R (1). Hop on R, Swinging L across in front of R shin (2).

Bars 5-8: Repeat bars 1-4, with opposite footwork and direction.

Bars 9-16: Repeat bars 1-8.

Bar 17: Drop hands, M stay in place. W run forward into the center R (1), L (2).

Bar 18: W run forward into the center R (1). Hop on R (2)

Bars 19-20: Repeat bars 17-18 except, clap in the center on count 2 of bar 20

Bars 21-24: W back away from the center, R (1), L (2), R (1). Hop R (2); L (1), R (2), L (3). Hop L (4).

Bars 25-32: M go into the center and back out using the same footwork that the women did in Bars 19-24. Except in bar 28, instead of clapping they raise their R fist in the air and shout "Hoy". At the end of bar 32, everyone turns to face their partner.

Bars 33-40: Facing partner, put arms akimbo (sailor's hornpipe pose), and use the footwork of bars 1-8. M are moving away from the center and W are moving in. On the hop on count 2 of bar 40, pull L shoulder back to face neighbor.
Bars 41-48: Repeat bars 33-40, except with M dancing towards center and W dancing away from center.
Bars 49-56: Repeat bars 33-40.
Bars 57-64: Repeat bars 41-48, except W advances forward 1 position in LOD on bars 57-60 as she travels out, then as she travels in on Bars 61-64, she ends up back to back with and to the R of her neighbor (who becomes her new partner). On the final hop everyone faces in and retakes shoulder hold.

Repeat until the end of the music.