Lollipop Man

Taken from the dancing of Fox’s Morris and Borderline Morris, tweaked by us

The Music

This is a dance for four dancers

Intro (A)
Dancers start in set formation. 3 holds a stick in their left hand; 2 and 4 are stickless. 1 holds three sticks, two in the left hand, one in the right
Count	Moves
1-2	Dancer 1 moves towards 2 with single stick held out
3-4	Dancer 2 grabs stick with right hand and they both spin around it clockwise for a full turn. Dancer 1 lets and shifts another stick into his right hand
5-6	Dancer 1 moves towards 3 with stick held out
7-8	Dancer 3 grabs stick and they both spin around it clockwise for 1 full turn. Dancer 1 lets go and shifts another stick into his right hand
9-10	Dancer 1 moves towards 4 with stick held out
11-12	Dancer 4 grabs the stick and they spin around clockwise for a full turn
13-16	Dancer 1 lets go and dances back to the number 1 position, taking the stick from dancer 3’s outstretched left hand, turning on the spot as they reach their place

Chorus (B)
Step continuously throughout the chorus
Count	Moves
1-2	Exchange places with partner, passing right shoulder and back to back. Do a half turn anti-clockwise as you pass, so you end up facing your partner again
3-4	Tap sticks forehand with your partner three times. Think of it as tapping ‘three, and, four’
5-6	Form into a line along the set. This is done by passing right shoulder with your partner while doing a ¾ turn anti-clockwise
7-8	Tap sticks forehand with your partner three times. Think ‘seven, and, eight’
9-10	Exchange places with partner, passing right shoulder and back to back. Do a half-turn anti-clockwise as you pass, so you end up facing your partner again, while still lined up along the set
11-12	Tap sticks forehand with your partner three times. Think ‘eleven, and, twelve’
13-14	Pass right shoulder with partner while doing a quarter turn anti-clockwise. Travel round your partner and return to your original place. This is similar to a back-to-back
15-16	Tap sticks forehand with your partner three times

Around Partner (A)
Dancers in this figure should step on the spot when not the active dancer
Count	Moves
1-8	Squire’s side go around their partner and back to place, doing one complete turn in the process. This should not be confused with a back-to-back, as here you always face the direction you are moving
9-16	Non-squire’s side go around their partner and back to place

Changing Places (A)
Count	Moves
1-2	1 moves into 2’s position
3-4	2 moves into 3’s position
5-6	3 moves into 4’s position
7-8	4 moves into 1’s position
9-10	4 moves into their own position
11-12	3 moves into their own position
13-14	2 moves into their own position
15-16	1 moves into their own position

Stick Toss (A)
No stepping
Count	Moves
1	1 and 4 tap the butt of their sticks on the ground. 2 and 3 toss their sticks to each other
2	2 and 3 tap the butt of their sticks on the ground. 1 and 4 toss their sticks to each other
3-16	Repeat for the rest of the figure

Wheel (A)
Count	Moves
1-2	Dancers 2 and 3 move into the centre (lining up right shoulders) to make a diagonal line between dancers 1 and 4 You will end up in a diagonal line in the order 1,3,2,4 – with 1 and 3 facing one way, and 2 and 4 facing the other way
3-4	Two steps on the spot while keeping the line straight
5-12	Rotate the wheel once round Squire can mime winding a crank handle for bonus effect
13-14	Two steps on the spot while keeping the line straight
15-16	Two steps back to place

Pass The Buck (A)
No stepping
Count	Moves
1	All tap the butts of their sticks on the ground
2	All toss their stick one place to the right
3-10	Repeat beats 1-2
11	All tap the butts of their sticks on the ground
12	All but dancer 1 toss sticks one place to the right, leaving 3 with no stick and 1 with two
13	Those with sticks tap the butts of their sticks on the ground. Those without stay still
14	Dancers 4 and 2 toss sticks one place to the right, leaving 3 and 4 with no stick and 1 with three
15	Those with sticks tap the butts of their sticks on the ground. Those without stay still
16	Dancer 2 tosses stick to 1, who now has all four sticks

Lead Off (AB)
Count	Moves
1-4	Dancer 1 does a right hand turn outwards and starts dancing clockwise around the set
5-8	As 1 makes a second circuit around the set they hold out a stick for 2. 2 grabs it and spins around it, then falls in behind 1 as they continue around the set
9-12	As 1 makes a third circuit around the set they hold out a stick for 4. 4 grabs it and spins around it, then falls in behind 1 and in front of 2 as they continue around the set
13-16	As 1 makes a fourth circuit around the set they hold out a stick for 3. 3 grabs it and spins around it, then falls in behind 1 and in front of 4 as they continue around the set
17-32	Dancer 1 leads the line off wherever they choose

Unless otherwise specified, the following general rules apply:

Always start right foot first.
There are 4 beats to a bar. This works out as two steps.
The top of the set is towards the band. Likewise, the bottom of the set is away from the band.
When resting stick on shoulder, the tip of the stick should be level with the middle of your ear.
Turns on the spot will usually be right-hand turns (clockwise). Common exceptions are when dancers need to turn in or out of a set the shortest way.
When passing shoulders with another dancer, the first pass will be a right-shoulder pass. Many dances will have figures that alternate right and left shoulders.
Where a fast turn on the spot is needed, it will be on the first beat of the bar. E.g. If you need to turn and then move across the set, you can count it as 'turn, two, three, four'.
Swings with a partner will be right-hand (clockwise), with the stick held in the left hand, unless otherwise specified.
Figures are usually in multiples of four beats. If you mentally keep counting 'one, two, three, four', then you'll have a good idea of when to move and change.