Harlem Rosette Mixer called by Larry Edelman

Larry Edelman calls this scatter mixer at the Dare To Be Square weekend held November 18-20, 2011, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC. He introduces the "Harlem Rosette" figure that also appears later in the weekend in the Calico Top square. (See that video elsewhere on this website.) This is an abbreviated version of the dance, which actually ran about 6 minutes in length.

This dance is adapted from the square dance "Harlem Rosette" which was "dreamed up by Lloyd Shaw for his exhibition team and became immediately popular with the callers who came to the summer institutes. Like all good dance patterns, it was a straight "steal" from an old ...Danish four dance called "Little Man In A Fix which was one of Pappy's favorites." (Milly Riley, Western Square Dancing, 1989)

Neil Barden's Square and Contra Dance Figures (1960) defines the movement in this way:

HARLEM ROSETTE
From a "Travel-on" position with two couples in the line, gents in the center. Gents spread out to hand positions and make an arch. The ladies still hold gents' hands, walk forward, duck under the arch, turn a half turn to the left and join right hands with the other lady. All circle as called, using a buzz step.

'Head two couples go forward and back
Now veer to the right and gents hook on
Make that line and travel on
Now the girls duck under
and face to the left
Join your hands in a Harlem Rosette
Circle left you're doing fine
And those two ladies chain
Turn them around and all face to the middle
Circle eight to the tune of the fiddle."

Musicians are Steve Hickman, fiddle; Jim Morrison, guitar; Claudio Buchwald, piano; Sam Bartlett, banjo. Video footage of the musicians starts about 3:10 into the video. The tune is a John Ashby tune in A.