The Severn Bore

Fried Herman dedicated the dance The Severn Bore to the British ECD caller Robert Moir, who, with his wife Hazel, live in the county of Gloucestershire in South West England, comprising part of the Cotswold Hills, the entire Forest of Dean, and part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn. The Severn bore, where the river and the incoming tidal currents meet, is close by.
Published in 1991 in Fringe Benefits, the dance is set to a Sarabande (adapted) by Corelli. Fried says of the music, “I feel triple time tunes as having an inexorable drive, like the tide coming in or the current going out. The straight hey is the line where the waters meet. The B part of this tune has some surprises. A bore has surprises too, sometimes.” Please follow the video to the end; it has a surprise as well!
Fried was very clear in her teaching of the Severn Bore that she was looking for certain things from her dancers. I am happy to say she would have found them, and more, in the fine dancing in this video from the 2016 Lenox Assembly.
To begin with, she wants the 1s to set forward in the A part, not timidly but convincingly and with feeling. In the hands-3, dancers should release hands on bar 7 to open up the set, continue dancing forward, and end home by the close of bar 8, what she calls “spiraling out.” In the lead down in B1, the 1s meet and face down on bar 1 (but don’t move down). The move down starts on the left foot in bar 2. First couple change hands in place on bar 4 and the 2s also dance in place; this allows the couples to do a modified double poussette back up the set with proper spacing.
The hey-for-4 represents the turbulent border where the river and ocean meet. Fried specified that it be danced with wide loops and relaxed arms that move with the energy of the hey. It is also important that the 1st couple release left hands after the ½ turn by left in the last two bars, ending in progressed place to start the next round.
Finally there are many opportunities for eye contact in this dance. One that I am especially pleased the dancers took advantage of is in B1 bars 7-8, when the 1s are about to end in the middle of the line of 4 for the hey. You’ll see that they make eye contact before turning their attention to neighbor to start the hey right shoulder. You may also notice how nicely the women reorient after their left-shoulder gypsy in B1 to start the hey with a right-shoulder pass.
The music for the weekend came courtesy of Cynthia Shaw, keyboard; Eric Martin, violin and viola; and Doug Creighton, flute and melodeon. Bob Mills did sound again this year. I am extremely grateful to this world-class team for their superb musicianship and enduring friendship. -Paul Ross

[@chestnutcecilelaye4257]

Very well danced !

[@childgrove]

Thank you, Cécile

[@bearfuz]

This is quite beautiful to watch! I feel I could almost surf that wave (and I'm not a surfer...)!

[@childgrove]

+Chip Prince Ah, but you surf the 88 keys regularly and with masterly skill!

[@childgrove]

July 8, 2016: There was an interesting discussion of this dance on the ECD List, highlights of which are reproduced below:
I don't believe this is how Fried intended the dance, though I don't have her original instructions so I could be wrong.
My understanding is that the lead down at the start of the B-music is where the river flowing down meets the sea coming up, and I believe that in bar 4 the ones are supposed to turn on the spot while the twos continue to move down, so that the couples end very close together.
The notes below the video say: "First couple change hands in place on bar 4 and the 2s also dance in place; this allows the couples to do a modified double poussette back up the set with proper spacing." I think the dance was designed so that you DON'T have the proper spacing - the sea really is pushing the river back. What do people who have Fried's original wording think?
Colin Hume
Well, I guess I should comment.
As usual the Lennox Dancers provide an excellent performance - worth watching and learning.
It seems to me that mostly the Cu.1 dancers are leading down for 4 steps and turning to face up whereas I expect them to turn on the spot on 4, while the Cu.2 dancers are still advancing down towards them; so they all end close to neighbours before moving back up the set. ( Of course, Fried may have changed things subsequently)
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Having written the dance, Fried sent me two hand-tinted pages to select which I’d like to be included in her book. She asked me to try out the dance with British dances before she came over for her next tour.
At the Halsway Weekend which Hazel arranged for her she taught the dance. When we came to the spiral out to place we all turned single! (there had been no explanation of spiral at that point.) Fried asked “Who taught you that?”
All 49 other dancers pointed at me!!!!
Fortunately she forgave me and the dance went well from then on.
Bets wishes to all
Robert Moir
( The Severn Bore)
Hello, Robert, I think many of us have had a similar experience with Fried and her dances! Yours is quite entertaining.
The 1s are clearly meant to meet and face down in bar 1 without traveling, and having just watched the video again I am quite certain all the couples do so. What I observe is the 1Cs changing hands in place 'at the end' of bar 4 rather than the beginning. You can hear my call in some rounds asking for the 1s to face up in place but the timing wasn't quite right.
I never experienced Fried teaching the dance with the 2s ending 'nose to nose' with the 1s in B1 bar 4; she referred to the following figure in bars 5-6 as a double poussette variant, with poussette spacing, and, referencing her instructions in Fringe Benefits, the instructions are indeterminate. But I can see the validity of Colin's point, which your memory appears to confirm. --Paul Ross