Captain Bike
Tune: Captain Bike, by Jeff Bigler
Set: 8 dancers; 34“ (long) sticks; skipping (single steps)
Source: Red Herring / Jeff Bigler (2008)
Chorus: (Bar 1) clash with partner. (Bar 2) clash with partner while crossing to partner's place. (Bar 3) Turn right and clash with partner. (Bars 4-6) Move along the line to the next person & clash. When you reach the end, loop around & head back toward the top of the set. (Bars 7-8) turn out from middle to face partner. Repeat.
Figures: dance on & rounds (with sticks in, like spokes of a wheel), cross & swing, J-loops, "motorcycle" hey & off
Detailed Description
Chorus
Dancers are hopping continuously throughout the chorus. (Yes, this is a “rest-free” dance.)
Beat 1: hop in place and clash with partner.
Beat 2: clash with partner while passing by the right shoulder, roughly at a 45º angle.
Beat 3: turn right (so each side is facing up or down the line) and clash once more with partner.
Beat 4: advance to the next person up or down the line and clash. (If you have no one left to clash with, turn over your left shoulder and start dancing back up or down the set in the opposite direction.)
Beats 5-6: advance and clash again (each time with one more dancer turning out and following up or down the set)
Beat 7: last dancer turns 270º over left shoulder. Remaining dancers turn 90º to face across the set.
Beat 8: dancers move back in to normal set distance.
Repeat entire sequence on beats 9-16.
Figures
Dance On & Rounds
The dancers enter from the sidelines. When they get to the center, they continue in a circle, forming the set in time for the chorus.
The dancers enter as two separate groups, #1-4 in one group, and #5-8 in the other, like two wheels of a bicycle.
On beats 9-12, the “spokes” of the bicycle wheels come down one at a time. On beat 9, the first dancer in each group (#1 and #5) bring their sticks down. On beat 10, #3 and #7 lower their sticks. On beat 11, #4 and #8 lower theirs, and on beat 12, #2 and #6 lower theirs. The dancers continue dancing around with their “spokes” down for beats 13-16.
Cross and Swing
Dancers cross the set (passing by the “stick” (right) shoulder) and continue well past their partner on beats 1-4.
On beats 5-6, the dancers turn over their “stick” (right) shoulder and switch the stick to the left hand.
On beats 7-8, the dancers charge in toward their partner, right arm extended, catching the partner by the waist (from the front).
On beats 9-14, the dancers go around their partners, continuing to hold their partner by the waist.
On beats 15-16, the dancers break apart and end up in their original positions.
J-Loops
Beat 1 (right foot): dancers step in place
Beat 2 (left foot): dancers surge forward to just past their partner
Beat 3 (right): dancers slide to the right, passing behind their partner
Beat 4 (left): dancers move slightly backward into a single straight line
Beat 5 (right): dancers move backward, with the right foot crossing behind the left so that the motion is diagonally back toward their original place.
Beats 6-8: dancers pass by the right shoulder to their partner's place, then turn around over the stick (right) shoulder to face their partner.
The figure repeats on beats 9-16, with the dancers ending up back in their original positions.
"Motorcycle" Hey
The dancers move in a figure-eight pattern. It starts with #5 crossing through the center to position #4. Immediately after that, #3 crosses through the center to position #6. Dancers follow each other through the figure eight, alternating crosses in the middle. At the end of 16 beats, the dancers are back in their original places.
At the end of the motorcycle hey, #1 leads the dancers off and out of the set.
Video
Tune
X:1 T:Captain Bike T:in memory of Sheldon Brown C:Jeff Bigler (2008) M:4/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=114 K:E minor %%partsfont Times-Bold 16.0 %%staves [1 2] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% V:1 clef=treble nm="I" snm="I" %% %%MIDI channel 1 %% %%MIDI control 7 100 % melody volume = 100 %% %%MIDI program 41 % General MIDI violin %% %%MIDI transpose 0 %% %%MIDI gchordoff %% V:2 clef=treble nm="II" snm="II" %% %%MIDI channel 2 %% %%MIDI control 7 50 % harmony volume = 50 %% %%MIDI program 41 % General MIDI violin %% %%MIDI transpose 0 %% %%MIDI gchordoff %% %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% P:A V:1 % melody EFGA B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | EFGA B2 E2 | F2 B,2 B,4 | EFGA B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | A2 GF G2 E2 | B,2 ^D2 E4 || %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% V:2 % harmony z8 | EFGA B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | A2 G2 F4 | z8 | EFGA B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | F2 B2 E4 || %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% P:B V:1 % melody |: e2 dc B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | e2 dc B2 E2 | F2 B,2 B,4 | e2 dc B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | A2 GF G2 E2 | B,2 ^D2 E4 :| %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% V:2 % harmony |: z8 | e2 dc B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | A2 G2 F4 | z8 | e2 dc B2 E2 | c2 BA B2 E2 | F2 B2 E4 :|