The Blue-Eyed Stranger and Idbury Hill

The Blue-Eyed Stranger

Also known as "Starve The Lad" or, when danced to a tune borrowed from Fieldtown, as "The Forester" - this latter manifestation of the dance is very rare these days (Spring 1997), though.

A1, A2   Once-To-Yourself.
A3, A4   Foot-Up-And-Down.
B1   Chorus: face across the set, long sidesteps left and right, half hey. Finish with the set reversed.
A5, A6   Half Gyp.
B2   Chorus: finish with the dancers back in their original positions.
A7, A8   Whole Gyp.
B3   Chorus, as in B1.
A9, A10   Rounds.
B4   Chorus, as in B2, finishing with four plain capers facing up.

Idbury Hill

Devised by Andy Cheyne, based on the Bledington dance of the same name.

"Idbury Hill" is almost identical to "The Blue-Eyed Stranger". The only difference is in the long sidesteps in the chorus. In "Idbury Hill", the chorus starts with a long sidestep left, just as in "The Blue-Eyed Stranger", but the long sidestep right finishes with a feet-together-jump.

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