Inspiration for the Research
In summer 2018, I was casually looking at English country dances while at work (waiting on patrons to come by the information desk at my university’s library). I ran across Peppers Black, a progressive round dance for as many couples as will, and began trying to figure out how it was danced. After checking Playford and some written reconstructions, I realized that the dance as commonly reconstructed had a significant issue. Specifically, in the third chorus Couple 1 goes the hey with Couple 2 before doing so with Couple 3 and so on around the circle until they get back to place. When this is done as a circular hey for four, as was specified in the reconstructions I found, it must either be done very slowly once or at normal hey speed twice around. Either way, this puts Couple 1 back in their original spots instead of progressing, which makes little sense given the structure of the dance.
It occurred to me upon consideration of this issue that using a linear hey for four instead of a circular one might fix the problem. After checking this supposition using diagrams on scrap pieces of paper, I concluded that this was possible. Later, however, I realized that I had forgotten to make sure that Couple 1 did not end up on their original sides and the project lay forgotten for some time.
In summer 2020, I was lying in bed failing to sleep and pondering dance reconstructions (as one does), when I put together this supposition with some thoughts about Hit and Miss and arrived at a sudden inspiration. The hey section of the chorus in Hit and Miss, when done to the original music, contains twice as much music as is required to do a circular hey at normal speed, and it occurred to me as I considered both of these dances that a linear hey might solve that issue as well.
And thus, the research paper on heys for four in Playford and, ultimately, the inspiration for a project looking at all the heys and hey-like figures in Playford was born.
Check back for more details as I incorporate the feedback from my research paper and refine my project.