Picking Up Sticks

Picking Up Sticks

Classification
Genre	English Country Dance
Formation	Longways for six
Difficulty	easy
Tempo	brisk
Character	lively
Key	[[{{#property:P826}}]]
Era	Playford
Choreography
Choreographer	[[{{#property:P1809}}]]
Year	{{#property:P577}}
Published in	The Dancing Master, 1st edition
Music
Title	Lavena
Collector	Cecil Sharp
Year	1909
Published in	Country Dance Tunes

Picking Up Sticks is an English country dance for three couples in a line, recorded by John Playford in 1651.

Tune

<score>

 \relative c {
   \time 6/8
   \partial 8
   \numericTimeSignature
   \key d \minor
   d8 |
   d4 d8 cis8. [b16 cis8] | d4 d8 a4 a8 |
   d4. cis8. [b16 cis8] | d4. a4 bes8 |
   bes8. [d16 c8] bes8. [c16 bes8] | a8. [bes16 a8] g8. [f16 e8] |
   f8. [g16 a8] g8. [a16 f8] | e4. d4
   \bar "|."
 }

</score>

This is NOT the tune for Picking Up Sticks. This tune is called Lavena (also from 1651) and Cecil Sharp substituted the tune at the beginning of the 20th century.

Steps

reconstructed by Greg Lindahl

Bar	Steps
1 – 8	Forward and back a double, and again.
1 – 2	First man changes with second woman, passing right shoulders and going back to back,
3 – 4	first man changes with third man,
5 – 8	Take hands with person across from you, all forward and back a double.
1 – 4	First woman changes with second man, and then third woman,
5 – 8	Forward and back a double.
1 – 16	Repeat changes and forward/back from new positions; note that throughout this sequence, half of the time you will be dancing with someone of the same gender.
1 – 16	Repeat changes a third time from new positions, ending up where you started the dance
1 – 8	Siding.
1 – 4	Couple 3 crosses and skips once around the entire set, while Couple 1 sashays down to 2nd position, while Couple 2 steps back and up to 1st position, then
5 – 8	Couple 2 sashays back to place, while Couple 1 steps back and up to place.
1 – 8	Repeat with Couple 1 going 'around the world' and couples 2 and 3 changing places, starting with Couple 2 sashaying down.
1 – 8	Arming.
1 – 24	Men sheepskin hey.
1 – 24	Women sheepskin hey.

External sources

• Picking up Sticks on The Traditional Tune Archive