🍂OF RED AND GOLD🍁

 

AUTUMN LEAVES

🗣🎙: Tony BENETT

📝✍️: Johnny MERCER

(adaptation of Prévert's French poem: "Les Feuilles Mortes")

🎼🎵: Joseph KOSMA

DANCE TITLE: OF RED & GOLD

Please read lyrics verses in Notes at the end of this article to fit them with the phrases of the dance.

👞👠📋: Jean (Jack) Louis LEQUEUX

On Copperknob

In this dance, "Of Red and Gold", I'm trying to fit the moves and motion of the dancer with the mood and reminidcence of the singer who is remembering a past love he lost by an autumn day when foliage turns to orange, red and gold, the whirlwind throwing autumn leaves endlessly.
It is a phrased choreography but simple: verses of the song — originally a French Poem of Jack Prevert not translated but re-interpreted by Johnny Mercer — alternate the feelings of the singer and the sadness of fall.
Joseph KOSMA's music is definitely a jazz ballad. By inserting a choir singing, in background and like in faraway in the past, some verses of the French poem like some classical music, Tony BENETT's cover definitely adds a fourth dimension to this works.

CHOREOGRAPHY
BPM:  +  78
Rythm: Jazz Ballad
Level: Easy Intermediate
Walls: 2
5-Phrase-dance:  Intro, A, B, C, Outro
No tag no restart
Weight on:
- left foot: WOLF
- right foot: WORF

Phrasing
Intro-A-A-B-C-B-Outro
▪︎ Intro (instrumental)
▪︎ Phrase A on verses 1 and 2
▪︎ Phrase B on verse 3 and 4
▪︎ Phrase C on Choir
▪︎ Phrase B on verse 5 and 6
• Outro
At start: WOLF
Start with music

INTRO (instrumental)
Sad and slow sliding stroll.
24 counts

Section 1
Sliding marche forward
1 to  4:  slide foot forward: right left right; slide left foot near right.
Sliding marche backward
5 to 8:  slide foot backward: right left right; slide left foot near right.

Section 2
¹ ² ³ ⁴ Slow side step to the right
- side step to right, assemble; side step to right, left foot touches right foot (WORF)
⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ Slow side step to the left
- side step to left, assemble; side step to left. right foot touches left foot (WOLF)

Section 3
Jazz-box
¹  Cross right foot over left foot
²  Slide left foot to the left behind right foot
³ Slide right foot at the right of left foot
⁴ Drag right foot near left foot
Rocking chair
⁵ Rock right foot forward
⁶ Recover on left foot
⁷ Rock tight foot back
⁸ Recover on left foot
(WOLF)

PHRASE A: 16 counts
On Verse 1 and 2

Section 1
Start Phrase A with Verse 1
Jazz box
¹ Cross right foot over left foot
² Step left foot back left
³  Step right foot to the right side
⁴  Step left foot together next right foot (WOLF)

Side right, touch, Side right, touch. Schuffle left
⁵  Step right foot to right
⁶ Right foot touches left foot
⁷ Step right foot to right
& Step left foot against right foot
⁸  Step right foot to right keeping your WOLF

Section 2

Quarter-turn right, marche forward (x3); facing 🕒
¹ quarter turn right foot to right, (WORF)
² Step forward left foot
³ Step forward right foot
⁴ Step forward left foot (WOLF)

Sailor ¼ turn right; shuffle right; facing 🕕
⁵ Sweep right foot with a quarter turn back to right facing 6:00
⁶ Slide left foot near right foot
⁷ Walk right foot forward
& Lock left foot behind right foot
⁸  Slide right foot near left foot (WOLF)

Dance phrase A on verse 1 and verse 2
At the end of Phrase A you're facing 6:00

PHRASE B: 32 counts
Dance phrase B
•  on verses 3 and 4
•  and on verses 5 and 6
Phrase B is a lateral sliding promenade

Section 1
Side steps
¹ Slide right foot to the right
² Assemble left foot near right foot
³ Slide right foot to the right
⁴ Assemble left foot near right foot
Side shuffles
⁵ Right foot to right side
& Assemble left foot near right foot
⁶  Right foot to the right
⁷  Left foot touches right
& Left foot to the left side
⁸  Right foot touches left foot
WOLF

Section 2
Rocking chair
¹ Rock right foot forward
² Recover on left foot
³ Rock right foot backward
⁴ Recover on left foot
Sliding jazz box
⁵ Cross right foot over left foot
⁶ Slide left foot on the back left of right foot
⁷ Slide right foot back aligning it slightly distant of left foot
⁸ Drag slowly left foot neat right foot
WOLF

Section 3
Slide drag shuffle to right
¹ Slide right foot to right
& Drag left toes against right foot
²  Pose left heel near right heel (WOLF)
³  Slide right foot to right
& Drag left toes against right foot
⁴ Pose left heel near right heel (WOLF)
Rocking chair
⁵ Rock right foot forward
⁶ Recover on left foot
⁷ Rock right foot backward
⁸ Recover on left foot
WOLF

Section 4
Front weave
¹ Right foot crosses over left foot
² Step left foot to the left
³ Cross right foot behind left foot
⁴ Step left foot to left side - change weight on right foot
Back weave
⁵ Cross left foot behind right foot
⁶ Step right foot to the right
⁷ Cross left foot over right foot
⁸ Step right foot to thr right

PHRASE C: on the Choir
The choir is singing, in French, some verses of Jack PREVERT's poem. "Les Feuilles Mortes" — Dead Leaves —  sounding like it is a voice from very far away long time ago.
This section consists in 8 turns evocating autumnal leaves carried away by a gentle october whirlwind.

32 counts
1 Wall
Phrase C is composed of 4 full turns

Section 1
Quarter turn to the right marche(x4)
¹ ²
Step right foot to the right, toes facing 🕒
Slide left foot near right foot (WOLF) 🕕
³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸
Repeat preceeding steps twice, facing 🕘 and 🕛

Section 2
Quarter-turn right jazz box (x2)
¹ ² ³ ⁴
Jazz box with a ¼-turn while right foot crosses over left foot
⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸
Repeat preceeding steps.

Section 3
Monterey half turn right (x2)
¹ Point right foot to right
² Half-turn right, left foot together with right foot
WORF
³ Point left foot to left
⁴ Assemble left foot near right foot
WOLF
⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸
Repeat preceeding steps

Section 4
Quarter turn to the right marche(x4)
¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸
Repeat Section 1

OUTRO (Short Instrumental)
8 counts
Pivot full turn x3
¹ Step forward right foot
² Pivot ½ turn left
³ Step forward right foot
⁴ Pivot ½ yurn left
Repeat twice

####NOTES####
"Autumn Leaves" Lyrics by Johnny Mercer

INTRO: 21" Instrumental

VERSE 1  
The falling leaves
Drift by the window
The autumn leaves
Of red and gold

VERSE 2
I see your lips
The summer kisses
The sunburned hands
I used to hold

VERSE 3
Since you went away
The days grow long
And soon I'll hear
Old winter's song

VERSE 4
But I miss you most of all
My darling
When autumn leaves
Start to fall

CHOIR

VERSE 5
Since you went away
The days grow long
And soon I'll hear
Old winter's song

VERSE 6
But I miss you most of all
My darling
When autumn leaves
Start to fall

OUTRO