western australia

circassian circle

All set for some folk-dancing

@JudyEv (381815)

Rockingham, Australia

May 12, 2023 7:45am CST

The photo shows me and my partner ready to do some folk-dancing at our school ball. Did you do folk-dancing at school? I can really only remember the Caucasian Circle. I don’t remember the names of any of the other dances. I think Way Down Yonder in the PawPaw Patch might have been another one. The girls had white blouses with drawstrings on the sleeves and fire-engine red skirts and scarves. The boys wore jeans and red scarves. I think my partner’s mother must have been hoping to get at least a few years out of the jeans as there is a fair bit turned up at the bottom of the legs. We don't look very happy about it, do we?

Edit: The Caucasian Circle should be the Circassian Circle. Thanks to @Fleura for setting me straight.

20 people like this

21 responses

@Ronrybs (21503)

• London, England

12 May 23

Never did any dancing, at all, at any of my schools. That know has me wondering how Morris Dancing has survived in the UK!

2 people like this

@Fleura (34932)

• United Kingdom

12 May 23

Because it isn't done in schools, probably! And because they now include women - do you remember all the fuss when women first wanted to join in and were told it was not traditional and there was a big hoo-ha about it?

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

Before I say anything derogatory about Morris dancing, I should ask if you're a fan or not!

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

@Fleura They have Morris dancing here at fairs etc. And women are included. I guess they need someone to make the tea.

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@DaddyEvil (174250)

• United States

12 May 23

Mom always bought our jeans too big to get more years out of them, too. And then cut the legs off when she couldn't patch them anymore and we wore them as Summer shorts as long as the waist still fit. Or, in my family, we got hand-me-downs from all the older brothers.

I really hated hand-me-downs... It felt like I only got new clothes after the older boys all left home and their old clothes finally wore out. We had to dance to Way Down Youner in the Paw Paw Patch, too. I hated dancing in school.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 May 23

I liked dancing. I was eight years behind my siblings so I didn't get too many hand-me-downs. I can understand that you'd hate them.

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@DaddyEvil (174250)

• United States

12 May 23

@JudyEv We were stair-stepped every year and a half.

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@Fleura (34932)

• United Kingdom

12 May 23

About hand-me-downs, we have the opposite situation, funnily enough. Little One is waiting to be big enough to fit some of the clothes she has admired when Big One wore them!

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@LadyDuck (502189)

• Italy

12 May 23

NO folk dancing in our Italian schools. You both look very cute, but I cannot say that you look happy.

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@LadyDuck (502189)

• Italy

13 May 23

@JudyEv - I remember that my brother had something like that, he went to a public school. He was so angry that he had to bow in front of a girl he did not like.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

@LadyDuck There would probably have been a lot of teasing too.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

It was just another thing you had to do in a way and there was also the fact that it wasn't the done thing to say you enjoyed it.

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@Marilynda1225 (91013)

• United States

12 May 23

I think you and your partner look very serious about your dancing. We didn't do any kind of dancing when I was in school but I think I might have enjoyed it if we did. It's nice that you still have these pictures to remind you of those good old days.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

You always had to at least pretend you didn't like your partner.

But this guy was a bit of a sleaze in high school.

@Kandae11 (57233)

•

12 May 23

Happy or not, you look very, very cute.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

Thanks. We probably looked quite good, all in our red and white.

@Beestring (15373)

• Hong Kong

12 May 23

You look so cute, a bit serious.

I love folk dancing when I was studying in high school, even in university.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

As adults, we joined in some folk dancing in France at a caravan park. They were selling mussels at the entrance and then a little band started playing and they had folk dancing.

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@Beestring (15373)

• Hong Kong

13 May 23

@JudyEv That sounds fun.

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@AmbiePam (120569)

• United States

12 May 23

I can definitely tell that sweet face is yours! We didn’t do any kind of dancing in school unless the Hokey Pokey counts, and I greatly doubt it does.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 May 23

Many people say I've never changed apart from looking a bit older obviously.

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@m_audrey6788 (58468)

• Germany

12 May 23

You look so pretty

I`m not sure if I have some old pictures when I participated in our school events

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@m_audrey6788 (58468)

• Germany

14 May 23

@JudyEv It is really nice bringing back those memories

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

I'm rediscovering a great many old memories among these photos. lol

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

14 May 23

@m_audrey6788 Some things you completely forget about until you see old photos.

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@snowy22315 (208751)

• United States

12 May 23

We did square dancing in music class. It was fun.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

We did square dancing one year too. I enjoyed that. Square dancing is still very popular here.

@Jenaisle (16568)

• Philippines

12 May 23

We did Filipino folk dances. There are always parts of school activities. Folk dances such as Tinkling, Itik-itik, and Pandanggo. The parents enjoyed it very much.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 May 23

I used to like the dancing too. Sometimes we did simple square dancing.

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@franxav (14588)

• India

13 May 23

I would have loved to see two of you dancing. How is a folk dance performed, I'm curious.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

Oh goodness, I have no idea how to explain a folk dance! There are usually set movements. They are traditional dances. India would have their own but they'd be very different to the folk dances of other countries.

@RubyHawk (99367)

• Atlanta, Georgia

13 May 23

You were cute kids. We didn't have dances but we sang Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw patch. I remember the song.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

It all seems a long time ago now.

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@RubyHawk (99367)

• Atlanta, Georgia

15 May 23

@JudyEv It was a few years back.

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@LindaOHio (222285)

• United States

13 May 23

What a cute picture. No, you don't look thrilled. We didn't do any folk dancing at school. Hope you are having a good weekend.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

Thanks for the good wishes. I've been out to lunch today which was nice.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

@LindaOHio I had lasagna. We never have it at home and I enjoy it so that's what I chose.

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@LindaOHio (222285)

• United States

13 May 23

@JudyEv You're very welcome. What did you have?

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@Laurakemunto (13787)

• Kenya

12 May 23

Beautiful faces you've got there

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

12 May 23

Haha - do you think so?

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@allknowing (153544)

• India

13 May 23

It could also be those pants belonged to his older brother (lol)

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

I hadn't thought of that but that is quite probable.

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@rebelann (117199)

• El Paso, Texas

12 May 23

It looks to me like neither of you wanted a picture taken, but adults did rule back then.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

Yes, you did what you were told, like it or not.

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@wolfgirl569 (135581)

• Marion, Ohio

13 May 23

But you look adorable

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

Thanks. I remember it was a lovely shade of red. I've always liked red.

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@RasmaSandra (97908)

• Daytona Beach, Florida

12 May 23

I know many kids who enjoyed dancing traditional Latvian folk dances in the US while I was growing up. It always sounded like fun to me but I never had any place close enough to me or anyone to take me, I love that photo, DId you enjoy the folk dancing? The only kind of dancing I remember from grade school was playing rhyming games like Skip to my Lou and dancing in a circle,

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

I think we danced to Skip to My Lou too. I did enjoy it but I didn't like my partner much. lol

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Vicki, #1 Creek Girl

@1creekgirl (44560)

• United States

13 May 23

That's so cute. Maybe it turned out to be fun.

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

I quite liked the dancing but it wasn't 'done' to be too enraptured with it all.

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@Fleura (34932)

• United Kingdom

12 May 23

I do remember once the teacher trying to teach us a broom dance, it was hilarious. Can't remember anything about it except how much we laughed! I must have been 7 or 8 I think. No folk dancing after that except one barn dance put on by the chapel when I was about 13 - until now when we go to ceilidhs all the time! And yes we dance the Circassian circle, among many others : )

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@JudyEv (381815)

• Rockingham, Australia

13 May 23

CIRcassian Circle!! Why, oh why don't I check this stuff? I didn't think it sounded quite right. lol

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