Picking Up Sticks

A lively 3-couple dance from 1651 done at the Village Church in New York on a regular CD*NY Tuesday night. Music by Robin Russell, piano; Tom Phillips, violin, and Zadie Lawler, flute. From the top, dancers are Beverly Francis and David Chandler, Dorothy Cummings and Orly Krasner, and Ellie Hanson and Bob Erenburg.
Discerning dancers will notice that in this version all the zig-zag progressions in the first figure (sometimes called the "shoelace" figure) are by the right shoulder. In New York and Westchester, we now do all right diagonal changes by right and left diagonal changes by left. This small adjustment allows the moving dancers to turn quite naturally toward their new temporary partner for the lead up a double/fall back a double portion of the Part I chorus. Otherwise, many dancers will "twiddle" away from the new person before taking inside hands for the lead up.

[@elfpix]

That's the way to dance. No trudging, such great connectedness. Mother would be proud!

[@garyhughes1936]

I folk danced for 35 years, and this is one of the most fun dances I ever did.

[@ursulareynolds3963]

bringsbackhappymemoriesoffolkdancing

[@MrCatiafan]

In Germany this dance is called "Mogler" meaning that the last person does not follow the chain, but abbreviates its way.

[@childgrove]

Hi, happy to oblige:
The band plays the music for Picking Up Sticks 8x through, then plays Kitty McGee A & B music (each played 1x, corresponding to the two shuttle figures), then back to Picking Up Sticks 1x through for the arming, and finally Kitty McGee ABB x2 for the sheepskin heys.
My thanks to violinist Paul Friedman of Brooklyn, NY for working this out.
Notice that we use Cecil Sharp-style swirl siding--much more fun than side-by-side siding for this music.
--Paul Ross

[@childgrove]

As you acutely noticed, the title in the original is Picking of Sticks. Cecil Sharp changed this to Picking Up Sticks when he reconstructed the dance in volume 4 of the Country Dance Book, and modern practice has been to follow Sharp in this particular.

[@gcdev]

I love this dance, it is so alive bouncing and fun. Good music makes all the difference to the feel of the dance. I want to teach it to our U3A English Country Dancing set, I just hope they are up to it, some of them complain when I take the difficulty level up a little.

[@childgrove]

I hope you succeed in doing so, Michael. Perhaps your own enthusiasm for this historic dance will carry the day (along with careful, easy programming before and after the teaching to help with buy-in from the dancers).

[@lawomega1]

Lovely to see and hear you all enjoying the dance ,very nice I did like it very much. From a limey across the pond ,and thanks for posting !!!!

[@childgrove]

Cecil Sharp made a number of musical substitutions; his choice of The Hare's Maggot for the dance Up with Aily is a common example. Here and there, various ECD teachers match up the original tunes with their dances, and I applaud the experimentation. But personally I think that Sharp's musical sense was very acute, and I really like the marriage of music and dance that he achieved.

[@veladarney]

Thanks for the information! This is the exact arrangement we used in my English Country Dances class! I love how well the tunes fit together. :)

[@CearaQC]

A very lively dance, indeed! I would love to have a copy of that arrangement of the tune!

[@WestfaliaMagna]

@childgrove And Sharp also put a different tune to this dance. Look at the tune at the very beginning - it´s completely different to the played one. The tune played belongs to the dance "Lavena", also from Playford´s 1st edition. But more and more groups begin to use the original tune, seen at first in an exhibition at the Consol Theatre in my home town Gelsenkirchen, Ruhr Area !

[@sarahharman9879]

Idk how I found this video but it's pretty good

[@asueft]

Those wild and crazy Mormons 👍

[@CearaQC]

Thank you! I wasn't smart enough to realize it was two tunes in one. LOL

[@Odna_actrisa]

Hi! Please tell me about how in history people making this dance! How it was?
I wanna teach this for kids) thanks!

[@childgrove]

@arbatax1913
Non parlo Italiano, ma grazie a lei

[@marchagebolling1677]

is it possible to get the music version of this dance?

[@brydengren773]

All hоооot girls ааreеe hеrеeе => twitter.com/e932c62dc4061b5fd/status/801992405775826944 Рicссking Up Stiсks

[@fireflower201]

wait, so is it "picking up sticks" or "picking of sticks"?