Ladies Chain, 2nd Corner/Robins/Right-Hand Chain, North Country Chain - Contra/Ceilidh/Country Dance

Click on “…more” for details of the music, links to sections of the video and lots more. This video demonstrates the standard Ladies' Chain and how to do it well. It also teaches you good technique for adding twirls, and variants such as the Open Chain and the North Country Chain. While it is traditionally known as a Ladies' Chain, it is also known as a Second Corner Chain, a Robins' Chain, a Right-Hand Chain, Chain by the Right, Chain Across or just Chain. This figure appears across many genres: Contra Dance, Country Dance, ECD, Square Dance, Barn Dance, Traditional Dance, English Ceilidh, etc. Demonstrators: Karen Sweeney, Liberina Jeacock & Philip Jeacock. Everything else: John Sweeney Main music: Wild Asparagus “Coral Riff” Composed by Pete Sutherland From the album “Live At The Guiding Star Grange” Waltz-time music: Wild Asparagus – “The Crested Hen” (“Les Poules Huppées”) Composed by Gilles Chabenat From the album “Live At The Guiding Star Grange” Hornpipe-time music: The Committee Band - Alessandrian Schottische From the album "It’s About Time" North Country Chain music: The Committee Band - Lucerne; Lulu Polka From the album "Dancemusic" Lots more articles and tutorial videos at https://contrafusion.co.uk/DanceNotes... Lots more dance videos at    • Ceilidh & Country Dance   Video Contents: 00:00 Standard Chain 00:35 Teaching the Chain 04:13 American Contra Dance Style with Twirls 05:09 Negotiating whether to twirl 06:43 Technique for good twirls 8:30 Spinning into a Chain 8:51 Open Chain in Waltz Time 9:47 Open Chain in Hornpipe Time 10:01 North Country Chain 11:43 Left Hand Chain/Second Corner Chain Another teaching point: in the video you can see us making the Second Corners take a long route or a short route. Part of that is the concept that you should be pivoting around a point halfway between you. This applies to the Open Chain as well, where the pivot point is where your joined hands are. In the Courtesy Turn the First Corner is walking backwards around the pivot point; in the Open Chain they are walking forwards around the povot point. You can contact me at john@modernjive.com.