KW 2025-09-03 Joyride (DRAFT)

Bob Isaacs notes: The give and take figure originated from Larry Jennings, the great caller and writer from Boston. End the neighbor swing in shoulder/waist position, take two steps forward, and the gentlespoons take their partner’s hand and lead her to his side for a swing. Some “hard-to-get” playfulness usually goes along with this. In this dance the figure is a good alternative to circle L ¾, and in other dances can go to either side of the set.

This smooth-flowing dance was written by one top caller for the marriage of two other outstanding callers, Linda Leslie and Bob Golder, all of whom are from eastern Massachusetts.

A1 is from James Hutson’s “Treasure of the Sierra Madre”. This dance was tested at Soda Bar in Brooklyn, hence the title, and first called at Glen Echo FND in August 2016.

Inspired by Cheat Lake Twirl by Perry Shafran

Written January 2017, called shortly thereafter at Brooklyn Contra. I wanted a dance with a gentlespoons' right-hand chain to a neighbor that was otherwise dead easy, and this is what I came up with. (There are lots of great dances with a gentlespoons' right-hand chain to their partner, but chaining to a neighbor lets dancers practice the move with lots of different folks.) Note that the allemande in B2 is with your CURRENT neighbor, i.e. the one you starred with (this is the biggest point of confusion for experienced dancers used to looking for new neighbors out of a left-hand star).

The person you chain / chain to in A1 is the neighbor you swing in A2.

Collected from a dancer in Texas, who transcribed it from a video in which it was danced to the tune "Yellow Rose of Texas." He did not have a name for the dance. As taught to me, it began with a full do si do as couples; I changed it to a half poussette.