The Merry Glover
for six

Chorus - we might as well risk life and limb at this stage.

Note that this is almost certainly not the sort of thing the original dancers would have done, because it doesn't work well with staves with pointy tips or with posies tied to the top. But we don't have either, so this is going to be as safe as it gets.

"Double the Staves" - yes, I meant it. What we're going to do is a "dip and dive" figure, similar in concept to what longsword dancers do. So, take the stave off the shoulder, tops face down, second and thirds up, and place the tip of your stave gently where your partner can grab it, meantime grabbing the tip of their stave.
 

 
Holding both staves in both hands works best, and you're going to have to bend a lot. The only dance where you get back trouble instead of knee trouble.

Now, tops put their staves down low, seconds raise them high, seconds step over the tops' satves whilst tops duck and go under. The bottoms under the tops, whilst the middles, now at the top, turn round under the staves, and so on. You have to let go with one hand at a time to turn round, unless you want to get flash and dance backwards. No, I wasn't serious, I don't think I have enough liability insurance.

Figures - again, simple ones as a contrast

Note each figure repeats but this time it repeats in fours.

The top four do the figure whilst the bottom four dance up past them, cast in singly, and dance back down. Then the bottom four do the figure whilst the top four dance down, cast in and dance back.

Pinwheel Stars in fours (as in The Ferryboat).

The two couples put the tips of the staves into the centre of the block of four and move round clockwise once round to places - a four-person version of the 'pinwheel stars' we did for three at the beginning.

Figure Eights:

The centre couple do a figure of eight through the end they are facing. The left hand person in the couple as they face up or down, leads off, so, at the top, number three leads through one and two, three casts out round two whilst one casts out round four, into opposite places (four bars). Then three leads again, casting round four whilst one casts round three, to original places. Be careful when moving back in to opposite places, not to spear the other dancers coming up the outside.

Square Hey:

Face up and down the set and start by passing right shoulders. Turn the easy way to face across, and pass left shoulders. Then right again up and down, and left shoulders across. Be careful when turning to face across in the middle.

Corners Cross:

Face into the centre of the square: first corners cross whilst seconds step, then seconds cross whilst firsts step. Then dance round clockwise in a small circle, staves on shoulders, one-and-a-half times, to places.