The annotated Cochinchine

A somewhat rare visitor to the eCeilidh scene, having moved from Scandinavia to France in the same way as La Chapelloise. It's energetic, maybe a little wild, has lots of ducking and diving and has the middle person waving their arms like a windmill. It is also handy as needs just three people.

No sets, just three people holding hands in a circle. Any combination of sexes, it doesn't matter.

A1: Circle Left

  • It's a step hop. So a one, hop, two, hop, one, hop, two, hop round. With energy...

A2: Circle Right

  • Change direction, step hop back round to the right...

B: Ducking and Diving

Open the circle randomly almost into a line of three... .... meaning a pair of people have to decide to let go hands. If you've got two people of one sex and one of the other, try the two of the same sex letting go. At least initially.

  • The person in the middle lifts his/her right arm, making an arch...
  • The left hand person ducks under the arch and continues dancing round, straightening up, because...
  • The person in the middle lifts his/her left arm, and the right hand person ducks through.
  • And this continues, while there's time, the right person ducking underneath, the left person, the right person...

Gets smoother and faster when neither of the end persons even think of stopping (and the centre person looks like a windmill).

Rejoin hands and circle to the left again

More information: Origins...

The Wikipedia entry on the Cochinchine, in French, is a little sparse but references the dance as being originally Danish. Other pages, also in French, link the introduction of the dance to France with Alick-Maud Pledge in the inter-war years and that it was picked up in the 1970's folk revival. It appeared in Encyclopedia Blowzabellica in 1987...

The name is said to come from the Cochin chicken, originally from China.

See also

Cancoillotte Folk's description of the dance (in French).

Music

Danced to the Den Toppede Høne (ABC notation)