Dances for January 27, 2020 - Ottawa Dance Scottish

The Glasgow Highlanders (Strathspey)
Book II – No. 3
On the second chord, 1st woman crosses over to the right hand side of her partner. 2nd man takes his partner’s place while she moves up to the top. Fig. 1.

MUSIC DESCRIPTION
Bars
1 – 8 1st and 2nd couples right and left, giving right hand to dancer opposite to begin. On bar 7, 2nd man gives his left hand to his partner and dances diagonally down into the middle, offering his right hand to 1st woman, who has been handed over to him by 1st man.

9 – 12 2nd man between 1st and 2nd women, with hands joined, dance down the middle followed by 1st man. Fig. 2. Release hands, all turn to face top, 2nd man turning 1st and 2nd women towards him, while 1st and 2nd men turn right about.

13 – 16 1st man gives left hand to his partner and right hand to 2nd woman, all three dance up the middle, 2nd man following. Finish at the top in a line of four across the dance and facing partner, men back to back in the middle, women on the side lines.

17 – 24 1st and 2nd couples set to partner with simple Strathspey steps.

25 – 32 1st and 2nd couples dance a reel of four across the dance. On bars 31-32, 1st woman progresses down to third place on men’s side of dance, 1st man follows, progressing to second place, 2nd man dances round 1st man, passing left shoulders, to top place on men’s side of dance, 2nd woman dances to top place on women’s side of dance. 3rd woman steps up to second place and 3rd man moves across to his partner’s original place.

Repeat, having passed a couple.

Suggested Strathspey step: – Step forward on right foot and hop; step back on left foot and hop; step behind with right foot; step on left foot, them step slightly forward on right foot and hop.

Note: Each man, having in turn crossed to the side of his partner, stays on the women’s side of the dance until he reaches the top. He and his partner then stand still on their own sides for one turn, at the end of which the woman crosses over to her partner’s right hand side, and they dance all the way down on the men’s side. At the bottom, each couple stands on own sides for one turn before the man crosses over to his partner to progress up to the top again.

Tune: The Glasgow Highlanders

The Manual of Scottish Country Dancing
Bars 7-8 As 2nd man gives left hand to his partner on bar 7 he must dance diagonally into the centre of the dance, while 2nd woman dances left about to finish facing down the set, her right hand in her partner’s left. At the same time, as 1st couple give left hand, 1st man dances diagonally into the centre to finish behind 2nd man, also facing down. He hands 1st woman in to finish with her left hand in the right hand of 2nd man.
Bars 25-32 The reel of four must be completed in six bars to leave the last two bars for the progression. The progression is made by 1st couple dancing down the man’s side ready to face 3rd couple, 3rd man having crossed over and 3rd woman having stepped up. 2nd couple finish in top place on their own sides.

TACNotes:’
7-8 2nd woman aids partner towards middle & finishes with polite turn, giving her RH to him at end of bar 8.
1st man, giving LH to partner, dances diagonally up into the middle, turning L about to face down & handing prtnr to 2nd man.

13-16 On bar 15, 1st man directs 2nd woman towards 1st place on women’s side. On bar 16 he places partner in 1st place (men’s side) as he & 2nd man finish in middle, each facing own partner.

Answer to Dance Query found on RSCDS website:
Question:
How should the dancing couples finish the last turn of the dance? Should everybody progress down/up the sides as though ready to start another turn of the dance, or should the dancing couples finish with the men on the men’s side and the women on the women’s side?
Answer:
Glasgow Highlanders ends exactly as most 8x dances do, i.e. the finishing order is actually 1, 2, 4, 3, with everyone on their own side.
Only the 2nd and 4th couples contest the last 32 bars. 1C are already back home, own side, at the top, after 7 repetitions, 1W curving left into top place, own side, on the last two bars, 1M pulling L shoulder sharply back after passing 4M L shoulder for the 2nd time, at the end of bar 22. 3C, likewise, are already finished, in fourth place, own side.
At the end of bar 24, 2C and 4C are in a line across the centre of the set, facing partners, men back to back, 2C occupying the “women’s side” end of the line, 4C, the “men’s”. After a 6 bar reel of 4, 2W curves left up to 2W’s place, 4W curves left across the dance to 3W’s place, 4M follows her to 3M’s place, and 2M pulls his LS sharply back immediately after passing 4M LS for the second time, and curves left about into 2M’s place.
The key to everything is that it MUST be a six bar reel of four every time. For the men that is out (1 bar), right about (1 bar), in and pass other man L Shoulder (1 bar), out (1 bar), right about (1 bar), in and pass other man L Shoulder (1Bar). Nothing less will do. Unfortunately, a six bar reel of four is very rare, and most are taken by surprise by the speed necessary. Particularly the “Working Up” woman !! For her, it does not have to be a six bar reel. A standard 8 bar reel will suffice for her, as she is more or less in the right place after 24 bars. A majority of “Working Up” women thus tend to dance a standard 8 bar reel of four, oblivious of the pile up behind them as everyone else scrambles desperately to cover far more ground.

The Glasgow Highlander’s Progression instructions.
2 chords. On the first chord, all honour your partner. On the 2nd chord, 1st man stands as 1st lady crosses diagonally to stand beside her partner, 2nd lady steps up, 2nd man crosses to his partner’s place.
Note: Dancing couples finish each repetition by dancing down the men’s side moving one place on at a time, and then moving up the ladies side. When you are at the bottom or the top of the dance on your own side, you stand for one repetition of the dance.

1st Repetition – (1st & 2nd) Top Couples – Last 2 bars of the dance after the 6 bar Reel:

1st couple dance down the men’s side to 2nd and 3rd place.
2nd couple finish on own side in 1st place.
3rd lady steps up.
3rd man crosses to opposite side.

2nd Repetition – (1st & 3rd) Middle Couples – Last 2 bars of the dance after the 6 bar Reel:

1st couple dance down the men’s side to 3rd and 4th place.
3rd couple dance up the ladies side to 1st and 2nd place.
2nd man stands in 1st place.
2nd lady crosses to 2nd man’s place.
4th lady steps up.
4th man crosses to opposite side.

3rd Repetition – (1st & 4th, 2nd & 3rd) Top & Bottom Couples – Last 2 bars after the 6 bar Reel:

1st couple finish in 4th place on own side.
2nd couple dance down men’s side to 2nd and 3rd place.
4th couple dance up ladies side to 2nd and 3rd place.
3rd couple finish in 1st place on own side.

4th Repetition – (4th & 2nd) Middle Couples – Last 2 bars after the 6 bar Reel:

2nd couple dance down men’s side to 3rd and 4th place.
1st lady steps up.
1st man crosses to 4th lady’s place.
4th couple dance up lady’s side to 1st and 2nd place.
3rd man stands in 1st place.
3rd lady crosses to 2nd man’s place.

5th Repetition – (3rd & 4th, 2nd & 1st) Top & Bottom Couples – Last 2 bars after the 6 bar Reel:

1st couple dance up lady’s side to 2nd and 3rd place.
2nd couple finish in 4th place on own side.
3rd couple dance down men’s side to 2nd and 3rd place.
4th couple finish in 1st place on own side.

6th Repetition – (3rd & 1st) Middle Couples – Last 2 bars after the 6 bar Reel:

3rd couple dance down men’s side to 3rd and 4th place.
2nd lady step up.
2nd man crosses over.
1st couple dance up ladies side to 1st and 2nd place.
4th lady crosses to 2nd man’s place.

7th Repetition – (4th & 1st, 3rd & 2nd) Top & Bottom Couples – Last 2 bars after the 6 bar Reel:

4th couple dance down men’s side to 2nd and 3rd place.
1st couple finish in 1st place on own side.
2nd couple dance up lady’s side to 2nd and 3rd place.
3rd couple finish in 4th place on own side.

8th Repetition – (4th & 2nd) Middle Couples – Last 2 bars after the 6 bar Reel:

2nd lady finishes in 2nd lady’s place.
2nd man finishes in 2nd man’s place.
4th lady finishes in 3rd lady’s place.
4th man finishes in 3rd man’s place.

Note: at the end of the dance the order is 1, 2, 4, 3 all couples on your own side.

TACNotes:’
17-24 1st woman is on her partner’s left to begin &, on bar 24, turns L about, with assistance from her partner,
to face her second corner.

Video : Red House

Red House or Where would Bonnie Annie lie?
Book 7 – No. 2
40-bar reel for two couples in a four-couple longwise set

Bars Description

1 – 8 1st couple set and cast off one place, set and cast up to original places.

9 – 16 1st man casts off below 2nd man, dances up between 2nd couple, round behind 2nd woman and crosses over to own side to finish below 2nd man. 1st woman follows her partner to finish below 2nd woman. (Fig. 1)

17 – 24 1st woman casts up above 2nd woman, dances down between 2nd couple, round behind 2nd man and crosses over to own side to finish in original place. 1st man follows his partner to finish in original place.

25 – 32 1st couple dance a reel of three with 2nd man on the men’s side of the set. 1st and 2nd men pass by the left to begin the reel. 1st woman dances across to enter the reel at 2nd man’s place. On bars 31-32, 1st and 2nd men change places passing by the left and 1st woman dances across to original place. (Fig. 2)

33 – 40 1st couple dance a reel of three with 2nd woman on the women’s side of the set. 1st and 2nd women pass by the right to begin the reel. 1st man dances across to enter the reel at 2nd woman’s place. On bars 39-40, 1st and 2nd women change places passing by the right and 1st man dances to second place on own side. (Fig. 3)

Repeat, having passed a couple.

John Walsh: The Compleat Country Dancing-Master, 1731. Also in Playford: The Dancing Master (9th Edition, 1695).

Original tune: Red House (Walsh’s Country Dances, 1731). 17th Century as The Red House.

Video: The Montgomeries’ Rant

The Montgomeries’ Rant
Book 10 – No. 1
32-bar reel for three couples in a four-couple longwise set

Bars Description

1 – 8 1st couple, giving right hands, cross over and cast off one place on opposite sides. 1st couple, giving left hands, cross over and 1st woman casts up one place while 1st man casts off one place. 1st woman finishes between 2nd couple facing 2nd man with 1st man between 3rd couple facing 3rd woman. 2nd couple step up on bars 3-4.

9 – 16 1st woman with 2nd couple and 1st man with 3rd couple dance reels of three across the set. 1st woman and 2nd man and 1st man and 3rd woman pass by the right to begin. On bar 16, 1st couple, with nearer hands joined, face 2nd woman.

17 – 24 1st couple set to 2nd woman. 1st couple turn towards each other and change hands to face 3rd man and set. 1st couple move round to face 3rd woman and set. 1st couple turn towards each other and change hands to face 2nd man and set. 1st couple finish facing second corners.

25 – 30 2nd, 1st and 3rd couples dance reels of three on the sides. 1st couple pass second corners by the right to begin.

31 – 32 1st couple, giving right hands, cross to second place on own sides.

Repeat, having passed a couple.

The Register of Dances at Castle Menzies, 1749. Original tune: Lord Eglintoune (John Riddell, c. 1766) but usually danced to Lady Montgomerie (Lord Eglintoune, 1796).

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TACNotes:’
17-24 1st woman is on her partner’s left to begin &, on bar 24, turns L about, with assistance from her partner,
to face her second corner.