Brief Encounter 5 couples longways Barrie Bullimore on trad-dance-callers list Really a ceilidh dance A1: On right diagonal, those who can, right hand turn halfway; straight across all left hand turn halfway On right diagonal right hand turn halfway; straight across all left hand turn halfway [all men are at bottom, ladies at top, 1st man and 5th lady in middle] A2: Middle couple (not partners) gypsy & swing (their brief encounter) while... ends in 4's right hand star, left hand star B1 Original 1st lady and 5th man (woman is in second place on men's side, man in fourth place on women's side) cast out and around nearest end, followed by the others as they come out of the star. Middles tag onto the end of their own sex line (set finishes upside down and proper) B2 Couple 1 lead up the middle to the top. They cast followed by the others to invert the set. BARRIE SEZ: When I call this dance I identify "the important people" by asking the dancers to face on the right diagonal and then say "If there's someone there you're not important! it's the top lady and the bottom man" It's these identified "important people that I ask to cast out of the stars. I also tell dancers that it will always be the same person on the right diagonal as this is a great help if dancers are slow getting back into lines for the next turn of the dance. The dance goes well to Judy Morningstar's "March of St Timothy"