Dances for January 7, 2019 - Ottawa Dance Scottish

Miss Emily Gordon’s Jig
Dancing on Air, 12 new dances devised by Bill Zobel & Muriel Johnstone

1–2 1st, 2nd and 3rd couples turn with right hands half-way to face partner in the middle of the set, retaining right hands and joining left hands below the right.
3–6 1st, 2nd and 3rd couples slip down the middle for four steps, then slip back to the top.
7–8 Using two pas de basque, all three couples change places with partner, retaining joined hands but lifting right hands over the ladies’ heads to finish in allemande hold facing the top.

9–16 1st, 2nd and 3rd couples dance allemande. On bars 15 – 16, 1st and 3rd couples dance two pas de basque to finish in the middle of the set, 1st couple facing up and 3rd couple facing down with nearer hands joined.

17–18 3rd and 1st couples change places, 1st couple dancing through the arch made by 3rd couple.
19–20 1st and 3rd couples change sides, lady dancing under her partner’s arm.
21–22 1st and 3rd couples change places, 3rd couple dancing through the arch made by 1st couple.
23–24 3rd and 1st couples change sides, lady dancing under her partner’s arm to finish on own sides, 3rd couple in 1st place facing down and out, 1st couple in 3rd place facing up and out.

25–28 3rd, 2nd and 1st couples dance half reel of three on the sides, 2nd couple dancing in and down, 1st couple dancing out and up to begin.
29–32 1st and 2nd men turn 1 ½ times with left hand, 1st and 2nd ladies turn 1 ½ times with right hand.

Repeat having passed a couple.

Tune: Em’s Tattie Scones (Muriel Johnstone)

Dance devised by Bill Zobel for Emily, who has quietly supported Scottish Dance in Delta for decades and makes the best ‘Tattie Scones’ in Canada.

Note: the first figure of this dance was devised by Robert McOwen of Boston and used in his dance ‘Burns Night’, published in the Boston Branch book ‘Celebrate Fifty Years of Dancing’.

Video: The Dream Catcher

The Dream Catcher
RSCDS, Book 45
(96-bar Strathspey for four couples in a square set)

Part 1
1–8 All dance eight hands round and back.

9–16 The swirl

9–10 1st and 3rd couples turn partners with the right hand once round to finish in allemande hold facing across the set.

11–12 1st and 3rd couples dance round each other half way, men passing left shoulders, to finish in the middle of the set. On bar 12, 1st and 3rd couples release right hands and retain left hands.

13–16 1st and 3rd couples dance left hands across. On bar 16 they dance in and, pulling back left shoulder, dance on to finish back to back with partner facing the side couples. 1st woman and 3rd man face 2nd couple, 3rd woman and 1st man face 4th couple.

17–24 All dance reels of four across the dance, passing right shoulders to begin.

25–26 All set.

27–32 1st man with 3rd woman, 3rd man with 1st woman, retaining nearer hands, dance out between the 4th and 2nd couples respectively, cross and cast to places then, giving right hands, change places with partners.

Part 2
1–4 All four couples, joining nearer hands with partners, set then advance to join hands in a circle in the middle.

5–8 Releasing partners’ hands and retaining nearer hands with corners, all retire on the diagonal and set.

9–16 1st woman and 4th man, 2nd man and 3rd woman dance rights and lefts. To begin, 1st woman gives right hand to 2nd man and 4th man gives right hands to 3rd woman.

17–24 1st man and 2nd woman, 4th woman and 3rd man dance rights and lefts. To begin, 1st man gives right hand to 4th woman and 2nd woman gives right hand to 3rd man.

25–28 All four couples, joining nearer hands with corners, set then advance to join hands in a circle in the middle.

29–32 Releasing corners’ hands and retaining nearer hands with partners, all retire to original places and set.

Part 3
1–8 2nd and 4th couples repeat bars 9-16 of Part 1.

9–16 All dance reels of four up and down the dance, passing right shoulders to begin.

17–18 All set.

19–24 2nd man with 4th woman, 4th man with 2nd woman, retaining nearer hands, dance out between the 1st and 3rd couples respectively, cross and cast to places then, giving right hands, change places with partners.

25–32 All dance eight hands round and back.

Devised by Eileen Orr, RSCDS Royal Tunbridge Wells Branch and first published by that branch in the Silver Anniversary Book of Dances (2001). The swirl was devised by Alex Gray of South Wales Branch and first introduced in two dances published by Edinburgh Branch in Edinburgh Diamond Jubilee Dances 1984.

The dream catcher is like a spider’s web, decorated with beads, semi-precious stones, feathers and strips of leather. Native North Americans believe that good and bad dreams come from the night sky and that bad dreams are trapped in the web, allowing only good dreams to get through. The bad dreams then evaporate in the rays of the early morning sun.

Note:
The RSCDS Technique Committee has provided the following additional information:

Bars 9-10 1st & 3rd couples dance a complete turn RH, finishing in allemande hold, facing into the set.

Bars 11-12 1st & 3rd couples dance half way round each other, men passing left shoulder, to finish in the middle of the set, facing towards their original places (1st couple facing 1st couple’s place), – during bar 12 all release RH and join up LH in the middle.

Bars 13-15 1st & 3rd couples dance LH across, nearly once round (more than ¾).

Bar 16 1st & 3rd couples release LH and all pull back L Sh to turn completely round, moving slightly forward, (a “pirouette” movement), to finish ready for the reels of 4 across, 1st & 3rd couples are back to back with partner, 1M facing 4L, 1L facing 2M.

In practice the LH across is virtually all the way round and the pirouette is then almost on the spot.

Note: Although we have referred to it as a “pirouette”, a small travelling step is used to turn round.