Love in a Bottle

Love in a Bottle, a 3-couple progressive longways dance, was reconstructed by Bernard Bentley in his Fallibroome series, a collection of dances from 18th century sources published between 1962 and 1980 and now available as a single volume from EFDSS. I am especially fond of this version, with its asymmetrical figure 8s done here with a skip change, and its lively contra corners executed with a skipping step. Each type of stepping helps express the energy of the tune, and the combination lends a satisfying texture to the choreography, which a dance walk alone could not achieve. I applaud the dancers in the video set for accomplishing this contrasting style so well. Viewers will also notice that at the end of the contra corners figure, the actives flip left to face partner, a polite turn, in fact. Neither this nor the stepping is in the instructions, but I believe they help give the dance its special character. Finally, this is one of those "clapping" dances, which are not much in favor in many dance groups. But clapping, if programmed judiciously and artfully used by the band, allows dancers to be part of the music! This is exactly what happens here in the final round, to great effect, I think. Many thanks to the dancers for their fine dancing, to Beverly Francis for her calling, and especially to the 3rd String Trio for their exuberant and clever playing. --Paul Ross