Eide RatasEstonia
These notes ©2016, Andrew Carnie. Taught in the US by Jane Farwell, Michael Herman and many others. This is a dance that has been in the IFD repertoire since at least the 1940s. Michael Herman's notes date from 1943. The dance is supposed to represent the action of a Spinning wheel.
Music:
- Folk Dancer MH1018
- Folkraft 337-008
- Sonart M303
- Imperial 1007
- https://youtu.be/5-4o9g-U60k
Formation: Couples facing CCW, with the M on the inside. There is some variation in the notes about the starting handhold. Some notes have the dancers in an open ballroom position (W's R in M's L in front of body). Others have M's R on W's R hip and W's L in M's L hand.
Introduction: Depends upon the recording.
Estonian Mazurka Step:
Leap onto outside foot (M's L, W's R), bending body forward (1), step forward on inside foot (2), hop on inside foot (3)Part 1: Mazurka
Bar 1-2: Do 2 Mazurka Step forward in LODBar 3-4: Using 6 running step, couple turns CW in place. M runs forward and W backs up. [Alternately the couple runs forward on these six counts]
Bars 5-8: repeat bars 1-4 [If you ran forward on 3-4, do the CW turn on bars 7-8]
Bars 9-16: repeat bars 1-8
Part 2: Waltz Away
Turn to face partner. M on the inside, backs to the center, W facing center. Puts hands on hip.Bars 1-4: Using 4 waltz steps, turning slightly side to side on each waltz step, back away from partner.
Bars 5-6: Using 6 running steps, run towards partner. Optionally clap on first running step
Bars 7-8: Using 6 running steps, hook R elbows with partner and turn 1 and a 1/2 around each other CW, end with W in the center.
Bars 9-16: repeat bars 1-8, with W backing into the center. Do the turn with the L elbow. End in original position.
To do the dance as a mixer:
On bars 13-14: run towards L hand corner instead of partner, and turn L elbows with new partner (your former corner).Other Notes on the web
Bill and Karen Faust's Fayetteville Video
Other videos on the web
Other sources
- Herman, Michael (1947) Folk Dances for All. Barnes and Noble.
- Greene Hank (1984) Square and Folk Dancing: A Complete Guide for Students, Teachers and Callers. Harper and Row Publishers.
- Spiesman, Mildred (1970) Folk Dancing. Saunders Company
