Hello-Goodbye Poussette
This Figure is an especially elegant and complex derivative form of Hello-goodbye setting.It requires two adjacent Couples rather than three as in the basic form and four in Double hello-goodbye setting. When these are 1st and 2nd couples, the previous Figure must have left 1st man in 1st man's Place and 2nd lady in 2nd lady's Place, each in Poussette Hold with Partner, all aligned on the First corners' Diagonal, 1st lady Back-to-back with 2nd man. 1st lady and 2nd man Dance as they would as the Dancing man and Dancing lady for 6 bars of standard Hello-goodbye setting. Retaining Poussette Hold throughout, their Partners Dance similar movements, Travelling on each left foot Setting step so that they always Face Partner; at the end of bar 2, all are in line Across The set; at the end of bar 4, all are in line on the Second corners' Diagonal; at the end of bar 6, all are in line Up and down on the Centreline.
Hello-goodbye poussette first appeared in bars 25-30 of The Prince of Sutton Coldfield, performed by 1st and 2nd couples from their Original Places. In this dance, Petronella turn is used to get the Dancers into the Sidelines, 2nd couple Above 1st couple in the following 2 bars, as in many early dances with the basic form of Hello-goodbye setting. Although the original deviser, Rod Downey, specified the full 8 bars, it is convenient to define the Figure as the invariant initial 6 bars since there is so much scope for variation in the final 2 bars.
As in the basic form, the essential feature of this Figure is the separation of the functions of the right and left foot Setting steps; the right foot Setting step is performed On the spot; the left foot Setting step is used for Travelling to the next Position. The Figure is not suitable in Strathspey tempo since the Couples are Facing in a tight Both hands Hold and all need to be on the left foot step on each even bar.
Note that in this Set format, the Corners' "square" is actually a rectangle, 1 Place spacing long and 2 wide and so the component of all movements Up and down must be halved; for the non-mathematicians, this means that the target point in the Sidelines (at the end of bar 2) is halfway between 1st and 2nd places.
The dance in which Hello-goodbye poussette first appeared acknowledges, and, by nickname, is dedicated to, Barry Priddey whose Lang May Your Lum Reek includes what is essentially a "hands-free" version of the Figure; while every innovator's success comes by "Standing on the shoulders of giants", having the Couples Take hands as in Poussette was a master-stroke which has popularized the Figure.
Here are examples of those Scottish Country Dances for which we have instructions on this site and in which the term, Hello-goodbye poussette, either appears explicitly or is implied; note that for a common term these will be a small selection; for a rare term, these may be all that exist:
Bus Monitor
Sound Of Harris Ferry
Ullapool Ferry
Dance Video Clip Which Demonstrates Hello-Goodbye Poussette
Hello-Goodbye Poussette Video ClipLinks To Pages Related To 'Setting'
FiguresBalance (In Line)
Crown Triangles
Double Hello-Goodbye Setting
Double Triangles
Hello-Goodbye Poussette
Hello-Goodbye Setting
Inverted Double Triangles
Set
Set Advancing
Set Advancing And Retire
Set In Line
Set On The Side (Line)s
Set To First Corners
Set To Second Corners
Set Twice
Set Up And Down
Turn On The Spot
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