Well Done Jack
Nathaniel Kynaston in 1718
Published by Walsh in “Twenty Four New Country Dances 1718”.
Interpreted by Andrew Shaw in 2002.
proper duple minor Jig 8×32
Recording: well_done_jack_066-bn9sr13.mp3.zip
well_done_jack--045.mp3.zip
well_done_jack-persons_of_quality.mp3.zip
Video: http://dancevideos.childgrove.org/ecd/playford/422-well-done-jack
1-8 1C, 2C dance back-to-back; turn partners by the R 1-1/2 times. 9-16 1C, 2C dance back-to-back; dance 1/2 R's & L's. 17-24 1C, 2C, 3C set twice; turn partners by the R. 25-32 1C dance down between 3C, cast up, dance up between 2C, cast to 2nd place.
Well Done Jack
Published by Walsh in “Twenty Four New Country Dances 1718”.
Interpreted by Andrew Shaw in 2002.
Proper duple minor
Al 1-8 Partners back-to-back right shoulder (4 bars), then two-hand turn once and a half around, ending facing neighbor (4 bars) A2 1-8 Neighbors back-to-back right right shoulder (4 bars), then two-hand turn once and half around, ending facing partners (4 bars) All progressed and improper. B1 1-4 Two changes of rights and lefts, starting with partner: All home. 5-8 Partners set right and left, then move clockwise to progress, thus: 1st woman and 2nd man cast right (1st woman down, 2nd man up) into progressed places, while 1st man and 2nd woman turn single right moving through the middle of the dance (1st man turning single down, 2nd woman turning single up) into progressed places. B2 1-4 1s lead down through next 2s below and cast back to progressed places (skip-change step)- 5-8 Partners two-hand turn once around. The track of B1: 5-8 is similar to the Royal Scottish Country Dance figure “set and link.”
Jack was arguably the most popular man in 18“ century England; he was at once a clown, the giant-killer of folklore, the man in the street, and perhaps a secret Jacobite. His name was at one stroke the familiar form of James, Jacob, and John.
Certainly the most celebrated John in England in the first part of the 18th century was John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, a victor in war, diplomacy, and politics, a figure commemorated in many social dances of the period. This triumphant yet accessible dance seems to pay tribute to England’s greatest general, then nearing the end of his astonishing career. (Reference: A. Shaw 2002: 30)