TO TING

(toe ting)

Skandia CD, track 14

NOMENCLATURE

Credible English Title Two Things.

ETHNO-CULTURAL ATTRIBUTES

Heritage

 Himmerland region of Denmark.

U.S. Source

  

Category

 Couple folk dance.

Motivation and application

 Recreational, non-performance-oriented.

MUSICAL ATTRIBUTES

Type

 Triple-meter (3/4), and duple-meter (2/4).

CHOREOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES

Function

 Elementary individual couple dance.

Character and form

 Smooth and flowing.

Footwork

 Opposite throughout.

Specific steps

 Open waltz and turning waltz, step-skip and step-lift pivot-spin.

Dance holds

 Simple one-hand hold. Closed waltz hold. Open shoulder-waist hold.

Formation

 Any number of couples in circle, LOD=CCW.

THE DANCE ROUTINE

MEASURES ACTION
in 3/4 time:

1 - 4		 A.  "Tyrolervals" (open and closed waltz), 2 times:

As a couple, inside hands joined at shoulder level, free hand on hip, beginning on outside foot, 4 open waltz steps (slightly back-to-back, face- to-face, etc) moving forward in LOD.
5 - 8 In closed waltz hold, 4 waltz steps turning CW and progressing forward in LOD.
(The above 8 measures constitute a Danish "Tyrolervals" pattern.)
1 - 8 Repeat the above, measures 1-8.
in 2/4 time:

9 - 12		 B.  Step-skip and pivot-spin 2 times:

In open shoulder-waist hold, beginning on outside foot, 4 fast step-skips forward in LOD.
13 - 16 In closed shoulder-waist hold, 4 Danish "step-lift" pivot-spin steps turning CW and progressing forward in LOD.
9 - 16 Repeat the above, measures 9-16.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION


Here is a little Danish couple dance which means just what it says, "Two Things," that is two contrasting step patterns each with its own rhythm.  The basic melody quite obviously has the same ancestor as the Varsouvianna ("Put Your Little Foot"), a dance long known throughout the United States.

The pivot-spin step appropriate here is that called svejtrit in Danish.  Similar to the German dreher, it involves a simultaneous lifting and shifting of the heel on the off-beat of each double-count, i.e. "one-and- two-and."

Copyright © 1997 Skandia Music Foundation TO TING


You may freely distribute this document provided you agree to retain this copyright notice and mention that a recording for this dance is on the Viking Skandia CD, available from www.folkdancing.com.