ceilidh_ a.angrisani - instapaper

8/13/2019 Ceilidh_ A.Angrisani - Instapaper

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Ceilidh

Materials taken from:

Scotland - Wikipedia, the free

encyclopediaen.wikipedia.org

Grand Chain - the Scottish Dance

Resource

scottishdance.net

Ceilidh Dance instructionsscottishdance.net


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Scotland

Scotland(/skt.lnd/) is a

country that is part of the UnitedKingdom. Occupying the northern third

of the island of Great Britain, it shares a

border with England to the south and is

bounded by the North Sea to the east, the

Atlantic Ocean to the north and west,

and the North Channel and Irish Sea to

he southwest. In addition to themainland, Scotland is made up of more

han 790 islands, including the Northern

sles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh, the country's capitaland second-largest city, is one of

Europe's largest financial centres.

Edinburgh was the hub of the Scottish


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Enlightenment of the 18th century, which

ransformed Scotland into one of the

commercial, intellectual, and industrial

powerhouses of Europe. Glasgow,Scotland's largest city, was once one of

he world's leading industrial cities and

now lies at the centre of the Greater

Glasgow conurbation. Scottish waters

consist of a large sector of the North

Atlantic and the North Sea, containing

he largest oil reserves in the EuropeanUnion. This has given Aberdeen, the

hird-largest city in Scotland, the title of

Europe's oil capital.

The Kingdom of Scotland emergedas an independent sovereign state in the

Early Middle Ages and continued to

exist until 1707. Having entered into a


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personal union with the kingdoms of

England and Ireland following James VI

King of Scots, succeeding to the English

and Irish thrones in 1603, the Kingdomof Scotland subsequently entered into a

political union with the Kingdom of

England on 1 May 1707 to create the

Kingdom of Great Britain.This union

resulted from the Treaty of Union agreed

n 1706 and enacted by the twin Acts of

Union passed by the Parliaments of bothcountries, despite popular opposition

and anti-union riots in Edinburgh,

Glasgow, and elsewhere. The Kingdom

of Great Britain itself subsequentlyentered into a political union with the

Kingdom of Ireland on 1 January 1801 t

create the United Kingdom of Great


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Britain and Ireland.

Scotland's legal system has

remained separate from those of England

and Wales and Northern Ireland, andScotland constitutes a distinct

urisdiction in public and private law.

The continued existence of legal,

educational and religious institutions

distinct from those in the remainder of

he UK have all contributed to the

continuation of Scottish culture andnational identity since the 1707 Union. I

1999, a devolved legislature, the

Scottish Parliament, was reconvened

with authority over many areas of homeaffairs following a referendum in 1997.

n May 2011, the Scottish National Party

won an overall majority in the Scottish


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Parliament. As a result, a referendum on

ndependence will take place on 18

September 2014.

Scotland is a member nation of theBritishIrish Council, and the British

rish Parliamentary Assembly and also

participates within the Common Travel

Area agreement.Scotland is represented

n the European Union and the European

Parliament with six MEPs.

Government and politicsMain articles: Politics of Scotland,

Scottish Parliament, and Scottish

Government.

Scotland's head of state is the

monarch of the United Kingdom,

currently Queen Elizabeth II (since


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1952). The regnal numbering "Elizabeth

I" caused controversy around the time

of the Queen's coronation because there

had never been an Elizabeth I inScotland. A legal action, MacCormick v

Lord Advocate (1953 SC 396), was

brought to contest the right of the Queen

o entitle herselfElizabeth IIwithin

Scotland, arguing that this was a breach

of Article 1 of the Treaty of Union.

The Crown won the case. It wasdecided that future British monarchs

would be numbered according to either

heir English or their Scottish

predecessors, whichever number ishigher. For instance any future King

James would be styled James VIII (since

he last Scottish King James was James


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VII (also James II of England, etc.))

while the next King Henry would be

King Henry IX throughout the UK even

hough there have been no Scottish kingsof that name.

Scotland has limited self-

government within the United Kingdom

as well as representation in the UK

Parliament. Executive and legislative

powers have been devolved to,

respectively, the Scottish Governmentand the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood

n Edinburgh. The United Kingdom

Parliament retains power over a set list

of areas explicitly specified in theScotland Act 1998 as reserved matters,

ncluding, for example, levels of UK

axes, social security, defence,


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nternational relations and broadcasting

The Scottish Parliament has

egislative authority for all other areas

relating to Scotland, as well as limitedpower to vary income tax. In 2008, the

prime minister, Gordon Brown, in a

BBC Scotland interview, indicated that

he Scottish Parliament could be given

more tax-raising powers.

The Scottish Parliament can give

egislative consent over devolvedmatters back to Westminster by passing

a Legislative Consent Motion if United

Kingdom-wide legislation is considered

more appropriate for a certain issue. Thprogrammes of legislation enacted by th

Scottish Parliament have seen a

divergence in the provision of public


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services compared to the rest of the

United Kingdom. For instance,

university education and care services

for the elderly are free at point of use inScotland, while fees are paid in the rest

of the UK. Scotland was the first country

n the UK to ban smoking in enclosed

public places.

The Scottish Parliament is a

unicameral legislature with 129

members (MSPs), 73 of whom represenndividual constituencies, and are

elected on a first past the post system; 5

are elected in eight different electoral

regions by the additional membersystem. MSPs serve for a four-year

period (exceptionally five years from

201116). The Queen appoints one


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Member of the Scottish Parliament,

nominated by the Parliament, to be First

Minister. Other ministers are also

appointed by the First Minister andserve at his/her discretion. Together the

make up the Scottish Government, the

executive arm of the devolved

government.

Bute House, official residence of the

First Minister of Scotland, located

within 6 Charlotte Square, EdinburghIn the 2011 election, the Scottish

ational Party (SNP) formed a majority

government after winning 69 seats out o

129. This was the first majoritygovernment since the modern post-

devolution Scottish Parliament was

established in 1999. The leader of the


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SNP, Alex Salmond, continued as First

Minister. The Labour Party continued as

he largest opposition party, with the

Conservative Party, the LiberalDemocrats, and the Green Party also

represented in the Parliament. Margo

MacDonald is the only independent MSP

sitting in parliament. The next Scottish

Parliament general election will be held

on 5 May 2016. The Scotland Bill, put

forward by the Calman Commission andcleared by the UK House of Commons,

proposes devolving more power to

Scotland. The bill has yet to be enacted

as law. The Scottish National Party,whose members did not take part in the

consultation, believe the bill does not

devolve enough powers to the Scottish


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Parliament.

Scotland is represented in the

British House of Commons by 59 MPs

elected from territory-based Scottishconstituencies. The Scotland Office

represents the UK government in

Scotland on reserved matters and

represents Scottish interests within the

UK government.[124]The Scotland Offic

s led by the Secretary of State for

Scotland, who sits in the Cabinet of theUnited Kingdom; the current incumbent

s Michael Moore.

Administrative subdivisions

Main article: Subdivisions of Scotland

Historical subdivisions of Scotland


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ncluded the mormaerdom, stewartry,

earldom, burgh, parish, county and

regions and districts. Some of these

names are still sometimes used asgeographical descriptors.

Modern Scotland is subdivided in

various ways depending on the purpose.

n local government, there have been 32

council areas since 1996,whose

councils are unitary authorities

responsible for the provision of all locagovernment services. Community

councils are informal organisations that

represent specific sub-divisions of a

council area.In the Scottish Parliament, there

are 73 constituencies and eight regions.

For the Parliament of the United


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Kingdom, there are 59 constituencies.

Until 2013 the Scottish fire brigades and

police forces were based on a system of

regions introduced in 1975. Forhealthcare and postal districts, and a

number of other governmental and non-

governmental organisations such as the

churches, there are other long-standing

methods of subdividing Scotland for the

purposes of administration.

City status in the United Kingdoms conferred by letters patent. There are

seven cities in Scotland: Aberdeen,

Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness

Stirling and Perth.

Scotland within the UK


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Welcome sign on the A1 at the Scottish

border, with writing in Gaelic as well a

English A policy of devolution had

been advocated by the three main UKparties with varying enthusiasm during

recent history. The late Labour leader

John Smith described the revival of a

Scottish parliament as the "settled will

of the Scottish people". The

constitutional status of Scotland is

nonetheless subject to ongoing debate.In 2007, the Scottish Government

established a "National Conversation"

on constitutional issues, proposing a

number of options such as increasing thepowers of the Scottish Parliament,

federalism, or a referendum on Scottish

ndependence from the United Kingdom


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n rejecting the last option, the three

main opposition parties in the Scottish

Parliament have proposed a separate

Scottish Constitutional Commission tonvestigate the distribution of powers

between devolved Scottish and UK-

wide bodies. In August 2009 the SNP

proposed a referendum bill to hold a

referendum on independence in

ovember 2010. Immediate opposition

from all other major parties led to anexpected defeat. These plans were put

on hold by the Scottish National Party

until after the 2011 Scottish Parliament

elections. After the May 2011 electionsgave the SNP a majority in the Scottish

Parliament, a referendum on

ndependence for Scotland is to be held


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on 18 September 2014, with the Scottish

Government having launched its

consultation on 25 January 2012.

Geography and naturalhistory

The mainland of Scotland

comprises the northern third of the land

mass of the island of Great Britain,

which lies off the north-west coast ofContinental Europe. The total area is

78,772 km2(30,414 sq mi), comparable

o the size of the Czech Republic.Scotland's only land border is with

England, and runs for 96 kilometres

60 mi) between the basin of the River

Tweed on the east coast and the Solway


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Firth in the west. The Atlantic Ocean

borders the west coast and the North Se

s to the east. The island of Ireland lies

only 30 kilometres (19 mi) from thesouth-western peninsula of Kintyre;

orway is 305 kilometres (190 mi) to

he east and the Faroes, 270 kilometres

168 mi) to the north.

The territorial extent of Scotland

s generally that established by the 1237

Treaty of York between Scotland and thKingdom of England and the 1266

Treaty of Perth between Scotland and

orway. Important exceptions include

he Isle of Man, which having been losto England in the 14th century is now a

crown dependency outside of the United

Kingdom; the island groups Orkney and


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Shetland, which were acquired from

orway in 1472; and Berwick-upon-

Tweed, lost to England in 1482.

The geographical centre ofScotland lies a few miles from the

village of Newtonmore in Badenoch.

Rising to 1,344 metres (4,409 ft) above

sea level, Scotland's highest point is the

summit of Ben Nevis, in Lochaber,

while Scotland's longest river, the River

Tay, flows for a distance of 190kilometres (118 mi).

Currency

Main article: Banknotes of the pound

sterling#Scotland Although the Bank

of England is the central bank for the


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UK, three Scottish clearing banks still

ssue their own Sterling banknotes: the

Bank of Scotland; the Royal Bank of

Scotland; and the Clydesdale Bank. Thecurrent value of the Scottish banknotes i

circulation is 3.5 billion.[189]

Education

Main article: Education in

Scotland The Scottish educationsystem has always remained distinct

from the rest of United Kingdom, with a

characteristic emphasis on a broad

education. In the 15th century, the

Humanist emphasis on education

cumulated with the passing of the

Education Act 1496, which decreed that


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all sons of barons and freeholders of

substance should attend grammar

schools to learn "perfyct Latyne",

resulting in an increase in literacy amona male and wealthy elite. In the

Reformation the 1560First Book of

isciplineset out a plan for a school in

every parish, but this proved financially

mpossible. In 1616 an act in Privy

council commanded every parish to

establish a school. By the lateseventeenth century there was a largely

complete network of parish schools in

he lowlands, but in the Highlands basic

education was still lacking in manyareas. Education remained a matter for

he church rather than the state until the

Education Act (1872).


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The "Curriculum for Excellence"

provides the curricular framework for

children and young people from age 3 to

18. All 3- and 4-year-old children inScotland are entitled to a free nursery

place. Formal primary education begins

at approximately 5 years old and lasts

for 7 years (P1P7); today, children in

Scotland study Standard Grades, or

ntermediate qualifications between the

ages of 14 and 16. These are beingphased out and replaced by the National

Qualifications of the Curriculum for

Excellence. The school leaving age is

16, after which students may choose toremain at school and study for Access,

ntermediate or Higher Grade and

Advanced Higher qualifications. A


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small number of students at certain

private, independent schools may follow

he English system and study towards

GCSEs and A and AS-Levels instead.There are fifteen Scottish

universities, some of which are amongst

he oldest in the world. These include

he University of St Andrews, the

University of Glasgow, the University o

Aberdeen, the University of Edinburgh,

and the University of Dundeemany ofwhich are ranked amongst the best in the

UK. Proportionally, Scotland has more

universities in QS' World University

Rankings' top 100 than any other nationn the world. The country produces 1%

of the world's published research with

ess than 0.1% of the world's population


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and higher education institutions accoun

for 9% of Scotland's service sector

exports. Scotland's University Courts ar

he only bodies in Scotland authorised toaward degrees.

Scotland's Universities are

complemented in the provision of

Further and Higher Education by 43

Colleges. Colleges offer National

Certificates, Higher National

Certificates and Higher NationalDiplomas. These Group Awards,

alongside Scottish Vocational

Qualifications, aim to ensure Scotland's

population has the appropriate skills andknowledge to meet workplace needs.

Culture


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Main article: Culture of Scotland See

also: Scottish people, Music of

Scotland, Scottish literature, Scottish artMedia of Scotland, and Scottish cuisine

A Pipe Major playing the Great

Highland Bagpipe Scottish music is

a significant aspect of the nation'sculture, with both traditional and moder

nfluences. A famous traditional Scottish

nstrument is the Great HighlandBagpipe, a wind instrument consisting o

hree drones and a melody pipe (called

he chanter), which are fed continuously

by a reservoir of air in a bag. Bagpipebands, featuring bagpipes and various

ypes of drums, and showcasing Scottish

music styles while creating new ones,


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have spread throughout the world. The

clrsach (harp), fiddle and accordion

are also traditional Scottish instruments

he latter two heavily featured inScottish country dance bands. Today,

here are many successful Scottish band

and individual artists in varying styles

ncluding Annie Lennox, Runrig, Boards

of Canada, Cocteau Twins, Franz

Ferdinand, Susan Boyle, Emeli Sande,

Texas, The View, The Fratellis, TwinAtlantic and Biffy Clyro. Other Scottish

musicians include Paolo Nutini and

Calvin Harris.

Scotland has a literary heritagedating back to the early Middle Ages.

The earliest extant literature composed

n what is now Scotland was in


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Brythonic speech in the 6th century, but

s preserved as part of Welsh literature.

Later medieval literature included work

n Latin, Gaelic,Old Englishand FrenchThe first surviving major text in Early

Scots is the 14th-century poet John

Barbour's epicBrus, focusing on the lifeof Robert I, and was soon followed by a

series of vernacular romances and prose

works. In the 16th century the crown's

patronage helped the development ofScots drama and poetry, but the

accession of James VI to the English

hrone removed a major centre of

iterary patronage and Scots wassidelined as a literary language. Interest

n Scots literature was revived in the

18th century by figures including James


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Macpherson, whose Ossian Cycle made

him the first Scottish poet to gain an

nternational reputation and was a major

nfluence on the EuropeanEnlightenment. It was also a major

nfluence on Robert Burns, whom many

consider the national poet, and Walter

Scott, whose Waverley Novels did muc

o define Scottish identity in the 19th

century. Towards the end of the

Victorian era a number of Scottish-bornauthors achieved international

reputations as writers in English,

ncluding Robert Louis Stevenson,

Arthur Conan Doyle, J. M. Barrie andGeorge MacDonald. In the 20th century

he Scottish Renaissance saw a surge of

iterary activity and attempts to reclaim


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he Scots language as a medium for

serious literature. Members of the

movement were followed by a new

generation of post-war poets includingEdwin Morgan, who would be

appointed the first Scots Makar by the

naugural Scottish government in 2004.

From the 1980s Scottish literature

enjoyed another major revival,

particularly associated with a group of

writers including Irvine Welsh. Scottishpoets who emerged in the same period

ncluded Carol Ann Duffy, who, in May

2009, was the first Scot named UK Poet

Laureate.Television in Scotland is largely

he same as UK-wide broadcasts,

however the national broadcaster is


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BBC Scotland, a constituent part of the

British Broadcasting Corporation, the

publicly funded broadcaster of the

United Kingdom. It runs three nationalelevision stations, and the national

radio stations,BBC Radio Scotlandand

BC Radio nan Gaidheal, amongst

others. Scotland also has some

programming in the Gaelic language.

BBC Alba is the national Gaelic-

anguage channel. The main Scottishcommercial television station is STV.

ational newspapers such as theDaily

ecord, The Herald, and The Scotsman

are all produced in Scotland. Importantregional dailies include the Evening

ews in Edinburgh The Courierin

Dundee in the east, and The Press and


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ournalserving Aberdeen and the

north.[264]Scotland is represented at the

Celtic Media Festival, which showcase

film and television from the Celticcountries. Scottish entrants have won

many awards since the festival began in

1980.[265]

As one of the Celtic nations,

Scotland and Scottish culture is

represented at interceltic events at home

and over the world. Scotland hostsseveral music festivals including Celtic

Connections (Glasgow), and the

Hebridean Celtic Festival (Stornoway).

Festivals celebrating Celtic culture, suc

as Festival Interceltique de Lorient

Brittany), the Pan Celtic Festival

Ireland), and the National Celtic


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Festival (Portarlington, Australia),

feature elements of Scottish culture such

as language, music and dance.

National symbols

Saint Andrew depicted on a 16thC coat-

of-arms of the burgh of St. Andrews

The image of St. Andrew, martyred

while bound to an X-shaped cross, first

appeared in the Kingdom of Scotlandduring the reign of William I. Following

he death of King Alexander III in 1286

an image of Andrew was used on the

seal of the Guardians of Scotland whoassumed control of the kingdom during

he subsequent interregnum.[280]Use of a

simplified symbol associated with Saint


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Andrew, the saltire, has its origins in the

ate 14th century; the Parliament of

Scotland decreeing in 1385 that Scottish

soldiers should wear a white SaintAndrew's Cross on the front and back of

heir tunics. Use of a blue background

for the Saint Andrew's Cross is said to

date from at least the 15th century. Since

1606 the saltire has also formed part of

he design of the Union Flag. There are

numerous other symbols and symbolicartefacts, both official and unofficial,

ncluding the thistle, the nation's floral

emblem (celebrated in the song, The

Thistle o' Scotland), the Declaration ofArbroath, incorporating a statement of

political independence made on 6 April

1320, the textile pattern tartan that often


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Scotland include Scotland the Brave,

ighland Cathedral, Scots Wha Hae

andA Man's A Man for A' That.

St Andrew's Day, 30 November,s the national day, although Burns' Nigh

ends to be more widely observed,

particularly outside Scotland. Tartan

Day is a recent innovation from Canada

n 2006, the Scottish Parliament passed

he St. Andrew's Day Bank Holiday

Scotland) Act 2007, designating the dayan official bank holiday.

The national animal of Scotland is

he unicorn, which, though fictitious, has

been a Scottish heraldic symbol sincehe 12th century.

Grand Chain - the Scottish Dance


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Resource

scottishdance.net

SPECIAL_IMAGE-http://www.scottishdance.net/images/Co

REPLACE_ME Lorna and Stuart

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http://creativecommons.org/images/pub

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Creative Commons License

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http://www.scottishdance.net/images/mi

REPLACE_ME Edinburgh Castle

Hi. Welcome to the EdinburghScottish Dance Web pages!Ceud mle

filte gu na duilleige chathan-aodaich


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for conditions and my preferred text.

Dancing Tribute to Andy Murray -

here is a new dance here, The Pride of

Dunblane, in tribute to Andy Murray,Wimbledon Men's Singles Champion

2013. This dance was premiered at

Linlithgow Scotch Hop on 17th July

2013. For more information about how

his came about, see here.

If you've just come here and don't

know much about Scottish Dancing heres a quick overview, and here is a

collection of photos on Flickr. If you

come here often, here is a list of the

atest changes.Note this site is completely

voluntary and I do not get paid for it.

Scottish dancing is my hobby,


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particularly Scottish country dancing,

and I provide this resource because I

want to share my experience and the

experience of others. If you haveanything you think could usefully be

ncluded in the site, drop me a line and I

will be delighted to add it, and full

credit will be given. If you want to thank

me, an email is welcomed, and new

books of dances or albums of Scottish

music won't be rejected :-). If you wanto help offset my costs in running the

site, I am an associate of several online

businesses, so if you use them, I get a

very small) cut.Businesses please note: I am not

a business and I will not be buying

your product. If you ask nicely and your


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product is Scottish or dancing related, I

will consider adding a link to you but

hat is all.

I'll skip the tourist bit - there areother ways to find out about Edinburgh,

and go straight on to the interesting bits:

I have sections devoted to

particular styles of Scottish Dance. If

ou can't find what you're looking for

here or within these sub-pages, please

drop me a line at [email protected] I'll see what I can do.

Highlights:

I have now taken over the running

of Ian Thompson's event pages, whichhas given me the incentive to get the firs

version of my event forms/CGI script

finally working - it now also backs Ian's


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forms.

If you have any comments, or if

ou have any information you would lik

me to publish here, please drop me aine - mail address

[email protected]. I am particularly

ooking for information on forthcoming

events in Edinburgh, and on Scottish

dance groups (Ceilidh, Scottish country,

RSCDS, Highland, Step or Reeling, I

don't care) and Scottish bands around inhe world. If there is anything else you

would like to see here, let me know and

'll see what I can do.

Please note these pages are run ona voluntary basis, and are not tied to any

particular group. In particular, they are

not the pages of the RSCDS or of


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RSCDS Edinburgh Branch (although I

am a personal member of Edinburgh

branch). Obviously the groups I dance

with will be better represented, simplybecause I have more access to the

nformation. I have tried to flag all items

which are subjective - these are all

based on my own experience unless I

say otherwise, and I have tried to be as

fair as I can. Basically what I am saying

s all opinions are my own, and are justopinions. You may disagree. That's the

nature of opinions. (If you do disagree,

ell me and I may include your counter-

opinion as well).This site is a member of various web

rings - follow the links for related sites.

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REPLACE_ME Creative Commons

License

Except where otherwise indicated, allcontent on this site (including text,

mages, dance descriptions and any othe

original work) is licensed under a

Creative Commons License. This page

s maintained by Ian Brockbank

[email protected]

dinburgh, Scotland This websiteuses Google Analytics, a web analytics

service provided by Google, Inc.

Google). Google Analytics uses

cookies, which are text files placed oour computer, to help the website

analyze how users use the site. The

nformation generated by the cookie


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about your use of the website (including

our IP address) will be transmitted to

and stored by Google on servers in the

United States . Google will use thisnformation for the purpose of evaluatin

our use of the website, compiling

reports on website activity for website

operators and providing other services

relating to website activity and internet

usage. Google may also transfer this

nformation to third parties whererequired to do so by law, or where such

hird parties process the information on

Google's behalf. Google will not

associate your IP address with any otherdata held by Google. You may refuse the

use of cookies by selecting the

appropriate settings on your browser,


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however please note that if you do this

ou may not be able to use the full

functionality of this website. By using

his website, you consent to theprocessing of data about you by Google

n the manner and for the purposes set

out above.

scottishdance.net

Ceilidh Dance instructionsscottishdance.net

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Saltire SPECIAL_IMAGE-

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REPLACE_ME Lorna and Stuart

SPECIAL_IMAGE-


REPLACE_ME Creative CommonsLicense This is a collection of ceilidh

dances I know, saying how to dance

hem and what music they need. This

s by no means exhaustive yet, but I

welcome suggestions, comments and

further tips. Just drop me a mail at

[email protected] explain some of the terminology

below.

At the moment I have the

following dances:You may also like to try the

following dances:


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Musicians

Notes for musicians wanting

guidance on what to play. I have tried togive an indication of suitable tunes alon

with each dance, together with number

of bars and number of repetitions wherehis matters.

In general, the dancers continue

until the band take pity, but if not

specified, a good length for the 16-bardances is probably 4-6 times 32 bars

i.e. 8-12 times through the dance); for

32-bar dances like The Dashing White

Sergeant, Pride of Erin, Circassian

Circle, Lucky Seven it would be 6-8

imes through; for set dances like Strip

he Willow, continue until the original


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couple is back to the top (should be

roughly 8x32 for a 4-couple set).

There is a tradition at ceilidhs of

repeating each dance; if you do this, erron the side of fewer repetitions in each

set, so maybe 8 times through the 16-bar

dances (4x32), 6 times through the 32-

bar dances, etc.

A good source for suitable tunes i

Taigh na Teud's Scottish Ceilidh

Collections - these are available fromAmazon, Scotland's Music and good

Scottish music stores around the country

The Britannia TwostepFormation:in threes around the

room facing anti-clockwise, man


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between two ladies.

Music:6/8 pipe march.Bars: Description

1:Nearer hands joined, touch the leftheel then the left toe to the floor,

bouncing on the right foot with each

ouch.2: All skip to the left for one step.3-4: Repeat 1-2 with the opposite feet.5-8: Skip forward for two steps, then

backwards for two steps.9-10: Set on the spot facing forwards.11-12: Still setting, the man raises hisarms and the ladies turn underneath.

13-16: Skip forward for two steps, thenbackwards for two steps.

Repeat ad lib.


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The Canadian or HighlandBarn Dance

Formation:couples around theroom facing anti-clockwise, ladies on

he right.

Music:2/4 or 4/4 pipe march (no6/8) or scottische.

Bars: Description1-2: Starting with the outside foot, walkforward for three steps and hop (or

kick).

3-4: Walk backwards for three steps and

hop.5-6: Skip sideways away from yourpartner (men towards the centre of the

room, ladies towards the edge) for two


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steps and clap.

7-8: Return to partner and join inballroom (waltz) hold.

9-12: In ballroom hold, skip sideways the man's left, lady's right for two steps

hen back again.

13-16: Use four step-hops to polka anti-clockwise round the room.Repeat ad lib.

The Circassian CircleFormation:Large circle round the

room, ladies on the right of their partner

Music:32 bar Reels.Bars: Description1-4: Hands joined in a circle, all

advance for four steps, retire for four


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steps.

5-8: Repeat.9-12: Drop hands, ladies advance andretire.13-16: Men advance, turn round andwalk out to the next lady CW (the one

who was on their left; the one who isnow to the right of their partner as they

view).

17-24: All spin with new partners

25-32: Hands crossed in front (right toright and left to left), ladies on the

outside, promenade ACW around the

room.

Repeat ad lib.

The Cumberland Square


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Eight

Formation:four couples arrangedaround a square, lady on the right of the

man. Couple with their backs to the

music are couple number 1, couple on

heir left number 2, couple oppositenumber 3 and couple on the right numbe

4 (ie numbering clockwise).

Music:This is normally danced to

unes in common time (32 bar and thedance is 64 bars long) but can be and is

sometimes done to jigs (6/8 tempo).

Bars: Description1-8: End couples (1 and 3) takeballroom (waltz) hold and dance across

he set, men passing back to back, then

dance back again, ladies passing back to


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back.

9-16: Side couples (2 and 4) repeat.17-24: End couples dance right handsacross in a star (wheel), then left handsback again.

25-32: Side couples (2 and 4) repeat.

33-40: End couples dance the basket:make a small circle in the middle, menoining hands behind ladies' backs,

adies' arms on top of men's. In this

formation, circle round to the left. Withsufficient speed, the ladies' feet can lift

off the floor (there's a good video of it

on YouTube).

Remember to leave time to land and getback to place!

41-48: Side couples (2 and 4) repeat

getting the hang of this?).


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49-56: All join hands and circle roundo the left and back.

57-64: Take promenade hold withpartner (right hand in right, left in left,both in front of you) and dance

anticlockwise once round the set.

Repeat ad lib.

Note: sometimes the circle is to

he left only; in this case it is for the full

eight bars.

Note: sometimes the caller missesout the promenade to allow 24 bars for

he basket - this allows time for landing

and changing over...

The Dashing WhiteSergeant


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Formation:three facing threearound the room, man between two

adies or lady between two men.

Music:The Dashing WhiteSergeant- 32 bar reels, starting and

ending with "The Dashing White

Sergeant".

Bars: Description1-8: Join up in a circle of 6 and circleround to the left for 8 steps (4 bars) and

back to the right.9-12: The person in the middle turns tohe person on their right and sets to them

hen turns them once round right hand

variation - both hands). The other

partner stands still.

13-16: Repeat with the other partner.

17-24: Using elbow grip, turn 1st


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partner, then 2nd partner, then 1st

partner, then 2nd partner. (Variation -

dance a reel of three, giving left

shoulder to 1st partner to start).25-28: In the lines of three, advanceowards each other (two skip steps) and

retire.

29-32: Both lines dance forwards, oneine raising their hands in an arch and th

other line dancing underneath, and dance

on to meet the next set of three coming inhe other direction.

Repeat with new three.

The Eightsome Reel

Formation:four couples arranged

around a square, lady on the right of the


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man. Couple with their backs to the

music are couple number 1, couple on

heir left number 2, couple opposite

number 3 and couple on the right numbe4 (ie numbering clockwise).

Music:Lively reels, played 40bars for the first time through, plus 8 lot

of 48-bar repetitions (phrased 24+24),

plus a final 40 bars. So that's 464 bars:

40 + 8x48 + 40. "The Deil Amang the

Tailors" is commonly used for the firstand last 40 bars; other tunes often used

nclude "Soldier's Joy", "Mrs MacLeod

of Raasay", "The Fairy Dance", "The

Mason's Apron".

ars: Description

Chorus:


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1-8: All join hands in a circle

and circle round to the left

or 8 steps (four bars) andback.

9-12: Ladies join right hands

in the middle, and hold

artners around waist, and al

dance right hands across in atar (wheel).

13-16: Swing round (couples

till holding around the waist)o the men join left hands,

and dance back with a left


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hand star.

17-20: Face partners and set

twice.21-24: Spin partners (turn

H).

25-40: Giving right hands to

artner to start, dance a

rand chain around the set(keep going in the same

direction and give right hand,

then left hand, then righthand, ... until you get back to

lace). If you get back early,


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pin until the end of the

hrase.

Figure - repeat 8 times1-8: 1st lady goes into the

centre of the set and sets

while the others circle round

to the left and back.

9-16: 1st lady sets to partner,turns him, sets to opposite

man and turns him.

17-24: 1st lady turns partner,opposite man, partner,

opposite man (variation -


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dance a reel of three with

artner and opposite man,

iving left shoulder to partnerto start).

25-32: Repeat bars 1-8.

33-48: Repeat bars 9-24 with

ide men.

epeat Figure with 2nd lady,3rd lady, 4th lady, 1st man,

2nd man, 3rd man, 4th man

in the centre.Chorus: Repeat the 40 bars o

the start of the dance.


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The Flying Scotsman

There are several versions of this

but one common one is:

Formation:Longwise sets of 4

couples, men on the right and ladies onhe left as viewed from the band.

Couples number from nearest the band.

Music:32-bar Reels, either 4x32or 8x32 - Freeland Barbour wrote

"Duncan's Return" for it, but I don't think

t's official.

Bars: Description1-8 1st lady, followed by 2nd and 3rdadies, dances across the top of the set,

behind 1st man, in front of 2nd man,

behind 3rd man and across the bottom


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and back to place. 9-16 1st 3 men repeaaround the ladies. 17-24 1st couple joinboth hands and side-slip (gallop) down

he room for 8 slip-steps (4 bars), thenback up again TO THE BOTTOM OF

THE SET (4th place). 25-32 All join

hands on the sides and sideslip down theroom and back up again. Finish in

he order 2, 3, 4, 1, ready to start again.

The Gay GordonsFormation:couples around the

room facing anti-clockwise, ladies on

he right.

Music:2/4 or 4/4 march. E.g."Scotland the Brave", "The Gay

Gordons".


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Bars: Description1-2: Right hands joined over lady'sshoulder (man's arm behind her back)

and left hands joined in front, walkforward for four steps, starting on the

right foot.

3-4: Still moving in the same direction,and without letting go, pivot on the spotso left hand is behind lady and right

hand is in front) and take four steps

backwards.5-8: Repeat in the opposite direction.9-12: Drop left hands, raise right handsabove lady's head. Lady pivots on the

spot. (The man may set).

13-16: Joining hands in ballroom hold,polka round the room.

Repeat ad lib.


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For scottish country dancers, the

grip in the first eight bars is allemande

hold.

Highland Schottische

Formation:couples in a circlearound the room, ladies on the outside,men on the inside, joined in ballroom

hold with partners.

Music:Schottische.Bars: Description1-2 Men with left foot, ladies with rightpoint toe in 2nd, bring foot up in front of

shin (3rd aerial), point in 2nd and bring

foot up behind calf (3rd rear aerial).

Bounce on supporting foot on each of

hese four beats.


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3-4 Step onto that foot, close other footbehind, step onto the original working

foot again, and close original supporting

foot behind calf.5-8 Repeat 1-4 with other leg.9-10 Repeat 3-4 (ie step, close, step,

hop).11-12 Repeat 7-8 (ie 9-10 in otherdirection).

13-16Polka as in Canadian barn dance -

step, hop, step, hop - rotating clockwiseand following line of dance

anticlockwise around the room.

Repeat ad lib.

There follow chapter, verse,

chorus and encore on the "Schottische"

for whom it may concern !) from

Charles Gore:


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The Highland Schottische was

ntroduced in 1855 and was known by

he name of "the Balmoral Schottische"

Robbie Shepherd, who knows all theres to know - and quite a lot besides -

about Scottish Dancing)

Scott Skinner published a

"Balmoral Schottische" in his Elgin

Collection (1884); on the same page of

his collection is a tune of his called

"Glenlivet" which describes asStrathspey or Highland Schottische.

[From a Dictionary of Music];

"Schottische (English !), Schottisch

German "Scottish", a misnomer sincehere is no evidence of Scottish origin);

he German Polka, a round dance of the

mid-19th cent. Some books confuse it


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with the Ecossaise, which is a country

dance and thus very different. Both are

n simple duple time.

[From Caoimhin Mac Aoidh,"Between the Jigs and the Reels"]: The

Berlin Polkey was a popular dance in

Donegal maybe in the late 19th c. and up

o 1930 or so. The Highland is special t

Donegal; though universally so called "i

appears to have originated from the

Schottische, a dance of German origin"."The Highland as commonly performed

hroughout Donegal today is a couple

dance (ie. a girl and a boy)", dancing

first side by side, then face to face. Theerm "Highland Schottische" appears to

have arisen to differentiate it from a

"German Scottische". "A Barn Dance in


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Donegal has the unusual title of the

"german". [Are you still with me ?]

There is no precise equivalent in

Gaelic.Highland Scottisches seem to have

been danced (traditionally) to tunes like

"Orange and Blue", "Lad wi' the

Plaidie", "Cathkin Braes" and "John

MacAlpine" (aka: Oft in thStilly Night).

They all look like strathspeys to me!

Charlie Lucky Seven

Formation:Large circle round theroom, ladies on the right of their partner

Music:32 bar Reels or Jigs.Bars: Description

1-8: Hands joined in a circle, circle


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round to the left (8 bars/16 steps).

9-16: Advance into the centre and retirewice.

17-24: Dance a grand chain around thecircle, starting giving right hand to

partner, left hand to the next person, righ

o the next, and so on, continuing in the

same direction around the circle and

counting aloud until you reach "seven".

When you reach seven, do not pass, but

stop with that person. Men are travellinganti-clockwise, ladies clockwise.

25-32: Spin that new partner, finishingback in the large circle, lady on the righ

ready to start again.Repeat ad lib.

Once the dancers have the hang of

he dance, the caller often varies the


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number of hands, 8, 9, 10, etc.

The Military Twostep


he right.

Music:6/8 pipe march.Bars: Description1-2: Lady with hand on man's shoulder,man with arm around waist, touch heel

hen toe of outer foot to ground twice,bouncing on the inner foot with each

ouch.

3-4: Walk forward for three steps thenurn towards each other to face in theopposite direction.

5-8: Repeat in the opposite direction.

9-10: Facing partner and joining both


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hands, bounce on both feet, then kick the

right foot across the body (to the left),

followed by the left foot across the body

to the right).11-12: The man raises his left hand andhe lady turns underneath (dropping the

other hand).

13-16: Polka around the room.Repeat ad lib.

The Pride of Erin Waltz


he right.

Music:32 bar waltzes.Bars: Description1-4:Nearer hands joined, swing the

nner leg (and joined hands) forward an


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back, then walk forwards.

5-8: Repeat in the opposite direction.9-10: Facing partner, both hands joinedand heading clockwise, cross trailing leover leading leg (ie right over left for

adies, left over right for men), then

point with leading leg.

11-12: Repeat in opposite direction.13-16: Take four steps anti-clockwise,pulling leading shoulder back to face

alternately away from and towards yourpartner with each step.

17-24: Joining both hands, swingogether (slightly to the right of partner)

and away, then change places, turning

he lady under the man's left arm while

doing so. Repeat.

25-28: In ballroom hold, take two steps


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anti-clockwise, then two clockwise.

29-32: Waltz round the room.Repeat ad lib.

The Sausage Machine

Formation:Longwise sets of 4

couples, men on the right and ladies onhe left as viewed from the band.


Music:32-bar 4/4 reels or 6/8

igs.Bars: Description1-8: 1st couple cast behind their lines to

below 4th couple, turn once round by thright hand, and cast back up behind their

ines to original place.

9-16: 1st couple with 2nd couple, and

3rd couple with 4th couple dance right


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hands across in a wheel (star) and back

with the left.

17-24: All join hands in a circle. 1C

dance down under an arch made by 4C,hen cast back up to the top, making an

arch over the other dancers. Other

dancers follow as appropriate.Keep

hands joined throughout this

movement!25-32: 1st couple cast behindhe lines to the bottom of the set (below

4th couple) and turn by the right hand tohe end of the phrase

Repeat with a new top couple.

The St. Bernard's WaltzFormation:couples around the

room in ballroom hold heading anti-

clockwise, ladies on the outside.


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Music:waltzes.Bars: Description1-4: In ballroom hold, take three stepssideways towards the lady's right, man'seft, then stamp both feet.

5-6: Take two steps sideways in the

opposite direction.7-8: Take two steps towards the centreof the room (lady heading forwards with

right foot then left foot, man backwards

with left foot then right).9-10: Take two steps back out (samefeet).

11-12: Lady turns about on the spotunder the joined hands.

13-16: Waltz onwards round the room.Repeat ad lib.

Strip the Willow


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Formation:Longwise sets of 4 couplesmen on the right and ladies on the left as

viewed from the band. Couples numberfrom nearest the band. Music:6/8 or9/8 double jigs. E.g. "The Irish

Washerwoman", "The Curlew", "The Jig

of Slurs" for 6/8 and "Drops of Brandy"

for 9/8.

Bars: Description

1-8 1st couple spin RH.9-20 1st lady turns 2M LH, partner RH,3M LH, partner RH, 4M LH.

21-24 Spin with partner RH to the end ohe phrase.

25-36 1st man turns 4L LH, partner RH,3L LH, partner RH, 2L LH.

37-40 Spin with partner RH to the end o


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he phrase.

41-52 1st lady works down men, while1st man works down ladies, turning 2C

LH, partner RH, 3C LH, partner RH, 4CLH.

53-56 Spin with partner RH to the end ohe phrase.

Repeat ad lib.

Orcadian (or Shetland)

Strip the WillowFormation:Couples in a long line downhe room, men on the right and ladies on

he left as viewed from the band.Couples number from nearest the band.

Music:6/8 or 9/8 double jigs. E.g."The Irish Washerwoman", "The

Curlew", "The Jig of Slurs" for 6/8 and


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"Drops of Brandy" for 9/8.

Bars: Description1-8 1st couple spin RH.

9-... 1st couple work down the oppositeine (ie of the people of the opposite

sex) turning side person LH, partner RH

next side person LH, ...When 1st couple reach the bottom, they

spin to the end of the phrase, then join

he side lines. A new couple starts

every 16 bars.The Swedish Masquerade

Formation:couples around theroom in heading anti-clockwise, nearerhands joined, ladies on the outside.

Music:That tune...


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ars: Description

low march1-8 With nearer

hands joined, walk slowlyalong the line of dance

9-16 With nearer hands

oined, walk slowly against

the line of dance back to

tarting pointWaltz17-20 With nearer

hands joined, facing along

line of dance, balance awayrom partner and back

towards partner twice. 21-24


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Waltz along line of dance. 25

32 Repeat bars 17-24.

olka33-36 With nearerhands joined, facing along

line of dance, balance away

rom partner and back

towards partner twice. 37-40

olka along line of dance.41-48 Repeat bars 33-40. TheVeleta

Formation:couples around theroom facing each other, both hands

oined, ladies on the outside, men with

backs to centre.


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Music:waltzes.

ars: Description

1-2 Step to the side along lineof dance (man with left foot,

lady with right) and swing

other leg across. Step backand swing other leg across.

3-4 Step, close, step to the

ide along line of dance.

5-8 Repeat in the opposite

direction.9-12 Step, close, step to the

ide along line of dance and

then back again.


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13-16 Take ballroom hold

and waltz along the line of

dance.The Virginia Reel

This seems actually to be a familyof similar dances - probably word-of-

mouth having lead to variations. One

variety is:

Formation:Longwise sets of 4couples, men on the right and ladies on

he left as viewed from the band.


Music:"Hoedown" reels, e.g."Turkey in the Straw".

Bars: Description

1-8 All advance and retire, then turn


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partners RH.

9-16 All advance and retire, then turnpartners LH.

17-24 All advance and retire, then turnpartners BH.

25-32 All advance and retire, then danc

back to back with partners (do-si-do).33-40 1st couple join both hands andside slip down the middle and back.

41-48 1st couple, followed by 2nd, 3rd

and 4th couples cast off to the bottom;1st couple make an arch and the other

hree couples dance up to new positions

Finish 2,3,4,1, ready to start again.

One variation has bars 33-40

expanded - slip down to the bottom (4

bars) and strip the willow back up again

12 bars), followed by the cast and arch


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figure on bars 49-56. Another has two

advance and retires to start, followed by

he three turns and do-si-do all together

n 16 bars (9-24). Another is advanceand retire, turn RH, turn LH, back-to-

back, followed by 33-48. There is also

64-bar version which I can't remember

at the moment.

The basic shape seems to be:

Start with advancing/turning/do-

si-do with partners (in various amounts)1s solo (various different

versions)

1s lead cast to the bottom, make a

arch and everyone else dances up underhe arch to progress (2341).

Comment from Sylvia Miskoe,

band leader in Concord, NH USA:


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In the US when you have a live

band and are doing it the American way

ou play a jig for the first part where

dancers are doing things with theirpartners. Usually 32 bars worth. Then

when the strip begins the music changes

o a reel like Rakes of Mallow of Mrs

McLeod. When the march/cast off/up the

center starts the music changes to a

march like Yankee doodle, Hail Hail the

Gang's All Here, or even Ode to Joy.The musicians have to pay close

attention to the caller and the dancers

because often the strip can take more

han 32 bars and the march can be short.

Terminology

Up/DownIn a longwise set, the couple


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nearest the band is numbered 1, and the

other couples are numbered 2, 3, 4 (and

5, ... if appropriate) working down the

ine. "Up" is towards the band, and"down" is away from the band.

Ballroom holdhas the man facing thady, lady's right hand in man's left,

man's right hand on lady's waist, and

ady's left hand on man's right shoulder.

Line of dance (LoD): the

direction a normal waltz (polka orwhatever) moves around the floor (anti-

clockwise around the room).

Anti-line of dance (Anti-LoD):he opposite to LoD.

Setting The basic idea of a settingstep is to spend two bars admiring your

partner (or someone else) while shifting


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he weight from foot to foot. To be more

precise (something alien to the ceilidh

dance ethos, but hey!) the step is the pas

de basque:

Bar 1: step onto the right foot

beat with the left foot in third

position (a "T" formation with your feet

eft heel in right instep), bringing the

right foot off the ground

step back onto the right footpause (if you're feeling ambitious,

go for the jett at this point)

Bar 2:Repeat with opposite

feet. Note the phrasing with 4 beats ihe bar, even though you only do things

on three of them. Best practised to a ree

4/4 - "egg and mustard") rather than a


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ig (6/8 - jiggety jiggety).

cast off or "cast to 2nd place" Acast takes you behind the standing

person/people (or where they would bef they were standing) - "off" takes you

"down" the set (away from the band,

owards the higher numbers), up takes

ou "up" the set. Unless otherwise

stated, you only move one place down o

up. eg:

--1M 1L--| | >2M 2L


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dancers facing out, outer dancers facing

n.

/ Out1 Mid1 Mid2 Out2 / / Bar 1:

Out1 & Mid1, and Mid2 & Out2 PassRS.

Bar 2:Out1 and Out2 pass LS whileMid1 and Mid2 turn around to face in.

Bar 3:Mid1 & Out2, and Out1 & Mid2Pass RS.

Bar 4:Mid1 and Mid2 pass LS while

Out1 and Out2 turn around to face in.Bars 5-8:Repeat (heading in oppositedirection) back to place.

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