How to dance Pop Goes the Weasel at Fezziwig's Ball

This is how we dance Pop Goes The Weasel in Boston. If you attend a ball in another place, you should pay attention to see if they dance it differently. There were different variations in the nineteenth century and still more ways that modern dancers could interpret them.

I often begin with the music so slow that all the dancers are comfortable walking it. Four bars equals eight beats. Eight walking steps match the beats perfectly. Once everyone understands the pattern, we can speed up the music to the point that the dancers are comfortable trotting through the dance. Many directions call for the dancers to run.

The first couple trots down the center of the dance, turning as individuals on counts seven and eight to face back up towards the top. (4 bars)

They trot up the center and on count eight they are in their original places, but facing out. (4 bars)

They trot down the outside of the dance and turn on counts seven and eight, (4 bars)

They trot up the outside and on count eight they are just inside their original places facing down the set (4 bars)

The first couple takes hands in a circle with the second lady. They circle to the right for eight counts. Ideally, this takes them to the places where they started the circle. (4 bars)

The three circle to the left for 4 counts. Ideally, this takes them opposite the places where they started the circle. (2 bars)

The first couple lift their joined hands (the gentleman's right and the lady's left) to make an arch and gently lead the second lady towards the arch with their other hands. The second lady drops hands and ducks under the arch. All this is done in quick succession during the 4 counts. (2 bars)

The first couple does not release their joined hands. The gentleman backs up a little bit and begins walking to his right, leading the lady into a circle with the second gentleman. The three circle right for 8 counts. Ideally this will take them to a similar place as the right turn with the lady did. (4 bars)

The three circle left for 4 counts. Ideally, this brings them to the opposite places. (2 bars)

The first couple lift their joined hands to make an arch and gently lead the second gentleman towards the arch with their other hands. The second gentleman drops hands and ducks under the arch. All this is done in quick succession during the 4 counts. (2 bars)

The first couple stays active and repeats the 32 bars of the dance.

To make the transition from the end of the first repeat and the beginning of the second repeat, these two things must happen:
The first couple still has their hands joined. The first lady backs up and to her left a bit so that the couple is facing down the set, ready to begin the figure again.
The second couple, who have just been "popped", each take a big step towards the top of the hall, into the first couple's original position.

The effect of the second lady and gentleman stepping up is to create a gap below them for the first couple to cut through. It is important for the first couple to remember who they just "popped" and to circle and pop the next couple down. The first couple might, however, forget in the excitement of trotting hither and yon. The second couple should assume the responsibility of gently refusing to dance with the first couple after their turn is over.

Often we start this dance with every third couple active. This means that in each "set" there is an active couple, a couple that gets "popped" and a spacer couple. In other places they dance this with every other couple active, but we have found that in rooms with a lot of inexperienced dancers, having that third, spacer, couple is very helpful.

Progression: The first couple dances the first time through the figure with the second couple. They dance the second time through the figure with the third couple. On the third time through they dance with the fourth couple and the second couple starts paying attention. When the active couple "pops" the fourth gentleman, the second couple begins with the trot down the center. This is in keeping with the original sources which say that the second couple should only begin after the first couple has danced 3 or 4 times through the figure.  As each couple reaches the top of the set, they wait out for two times through and then dance with the couple just below them. Waiting through two sequences means that the sets continue to have the three couples.

The first couple stays active until they reach the bottom of the set. They then become inactive and are repeatedly "popped" until they reach the top of the set and stop moving. If the sets are quite long, or if the music is quite short, they may not get back to the top of the set.