This dance has never been in Banbury Cross's repertoire, but may be someday.
Tune: Nine Men's Morris Source: Nine Men's Morris by Great Western Morris Chorus: closed side step right, double step, closed side step left, foot-together-jump. Back dancers leapfrog over middles, then tops on upright capers. Hop backs & foot-together jump. Sequence: once to yourself, foot up & down, hey, cross-over, rounds & lift.
This is a dance for nine dancers, in a 3×3 set. It was written by Great Western Morris. Refer to their https://greatwesternmorris.org.uk/about-us-2/298-dance-notes/311-nine-mens-morrisdance notes for the definitive version. This page describes the dance as performed by Banbury Cross.
All face up. Closed side step right, double step, closed side step left, foot-together-jump. Dancers #5 & #6 leapfrog over #3 & #4 (on upright capers), then over #1 & #2. Hop backs, foot-together-jump.
Note that Great Western shortens the tune and the dancers do leapfrogs on two beats. Banbury uses the longer version of the tune (as written) and the dancers leapfrog on upright capers, as in other leapfrogging dances.
Hankie dances: stand in position, trying not to look stupid. Five beats before the end of the tune, bring the hankies up to chest-level and rise onto your toes. Then two hop backs and a foot-together-jump. Stick dances: stand in position, trying not to look stupid. Two beats before the end of the tune, do a foot-together-jump.
Face up. Two double steps in the “up” direction (one stationary, one in place). Galley (out from the center). Foot-together-jump to face down. Face down. Two double steps in the “down” direction (one stationary, one in place). Galley (out from the center). Foot-together-jump ¾ of the way around to face across.
Because there are three lines, all dancers galley left both times.
This figure is double-length, so the A music happens twice.
Four half heys, alternating between up & down and side-to-side.
This figure is also double-length, so the A music happens twice.
Sequence: one double step in place. One double step to cross to your corner's place (passing right shoulders with the person in the center). Hop backs & foot-together-jump.
The sequence happens four times, alternating corners, middles, corners, middles.
The eight outside dancers do rounds surrounding the dancer in the center.
The left line and top middle go straight into rounds. The right line and back do a “hard turn” by spinning over their right shoulder. One double step around the circle (clockwise). On the second double step spiral into a clump, ending halfway around the circle but closer to the dancer in the center. Hop backs to your corner's place (halfway around the circle). Foot-together-jump. On the catch-step (“and”) before the downbeat, all dancers spin a little more than 180° over their left shoulders (“hard turn”) and go back the way they came (counter-clockwise). Again, on the second double step spiral into a clump, ending halfway around the circle but closer to the center.
At the end, the middles on all four sides do four plain capers facing up. The corners do two plain capers to get to the person in the center and lift the center dancer in the air on the last beat of the dance.
X: 1 T:Nine Men's Morris R:Reel L:1/8 M:4/4 K:Em |: "Em"E2 B2 BAGF | E2 E2 "D"DEFD | "C"E2 B2 BAGA |"Em" B2 Bc BAGF | E2 B2 BAGF | "Em"E2 E2 "D"DEFD | "Em"E2 B2 BAGF | E8 :| |: "Em"B2 e2 e3f | ed B2 "D"d4 | "Em"B2 e2 e2 f2 | "D"A2 d2 "Em"B4 | "Em"e2 f2 g2 e2 | "D"f4 d4 | "C"c2 d2 e2 c2 | "D"d4 A4 | "Em"E2 B2 BAGF | E8 :|
