THE GIANTS OF FOUDLAND

Reel, 3 x 48 (Triangular set)

1-8	1st lady dance RH across with 3C while 1st man dance LH across with 2C; all set once to partner and turn RH once round.
9-16	Men dance round partners (RS), back to place, then dance RH across back to place.
17-24	Ladies dance round partners (LS), back to place, then dance LH across back to place and stay facing out.
25-40	All dance Schiehallion reels.
41-48	All dance 6 hands round to left & back

Devised by Alison Smith (inchgower [at] talk21.com)

Note from Alison: Inspired by the newly constructed Foudland wind turbines, seen turning for the first time in April 2005

On Strathspey Server

JUST A LARK

64 bar Reel for 2 Couples in a 2-couple set

Danced as a Medley with
Bars 1-32 as English Country Dance and
Bars 33-64 as Scottish Country Dance,
or else done with both halves the same.

1-2	1M smoothly step LEFT advancing, then 1W (reach out Left foot, close with Right foot)
3-4	1s 1/2 turn BH and face down with NH joined; 2s face up on Bar 4
5-6	2s smoothly step RIGHT advancing, then 1s (dropping hands)
7-8	All turn 3/4 LH (Women finish back-to-back in center)
9-16	All LS hey [reel] for 4 across the set
17-18	All Skip right advancing, then left advancing [for SCD do Skip Change]
21-22	All skip right advancing, then left advancing
23-24	All cast back over RS (skip, to face partner down/up side lines)
25-32	All poussette half way, down/up and counter-clockwise (Men start on Left foot, with Push). All turn twice and retire facing partner down/up [SCD: omit turns, poussette takes longer]. 2M do NOT change feet before continuing
33-64	Repeat Bars 1-32 with 2s as the active couple, from new positions oriented up/down.

Note: at Bar 36, all will be 90 degrees rotated clockwise from position at Bar 1.

Suggested Tune: "Just a Lark". The sheet music (PDF or ABC format) is available upon request from the deviser.

Tune and Dance written and Copyright 2005 Helen Powell (leap [at] mindspring.com)

See on Strathspey Server

HASTEN TO YOUR FEET

3x32 Jig for 3 couples in a 3-couple set

1-8	1st cpl cross giving right hands, cast, and dance a half figure of eight around the 2nd cpl. (2nd cpl step up on bars 7 & 8.)
9-16	1st cpl cross giving right hands, cast down, and dance a half figure of eight around the 3rd cpl. (3rd cpl step up on bars 15 & 16.)
17-20	Cpls 2, 3, 1 advance and retire.
21-24	Cpls 2, 3, 1 turn by the right.
25-32	Circle 6 hands round and back.

Suggested tune: Bonnie Dundee.

Suggested recording: The Dancing Master on Jig for Joy by the Music Makars

Devised by Doug Schneider, St. Louis, Missouri (paradiseMO [at] aol.com )

Notes from Doug: Dedicated to Bonnie Dickson of Ames, Iowa. The title is taken from a poem that Bonnie wrote about Scottish country dancing.

See on Strathspey Server

 BRAMBLE JELLY

8x32 Jig for 3 couples in a 4-couple set
Variation on RSCDS Book 25 #3

1-8	1st couple cross giving RH, cast off one place, lead up and cross through the 2nd couple and cast off to 2nd place, own side.
9-12	1st couple dance RH across 1st Lady with 2nd couple and 1st Man with 3rd couple.
13-16	1st couple turn LH 1+1/2 times to finish facing 2nd corners.
17-24	1st couple turn 2nd corner RH, partner LH, 1st corner RH and partner LH to finish on own side in 2nd place, Lady facing up and Man facing down.
25-28	1st and 2nd Ladies & 1st and 3rd Men set and turn RH
29-32	1st and 3rd Ladies & 1st and 2nd Men set and turn LH

Devised by Ron Mackey, Mottingham, London ( Ron.Mackey [at] btinternet.com )

Notes from Ron:
In the last few weeks of class I tried out The Bramble Bush. It has such nice music but I thought that it would have been a little different if devised recently. One of the problems for our newcomers was to dance the CPCP at the required speed. So I re-devised it and tried it out as 'Bramble Jelly'. It seemed to be appreciated so I offer it here for your judgement.

See on Strathsepy Server

OOT DANCING

4x32 reel for 4 couples in a 4 couple longwise set

1-4	Joining hands on the sidelines, all advance and retire.
5-6	All turn partners half way with right hands, finishing in the middle of the set, facing partners.
7-8	Dropping hands, all cast to the opposite sidelines.
9-12	All chase clockwise half way round the set.
13-16	All dance back to back with partners.
17-24	All dance back to back with partners.
25-32	1s join nearer hands and dance to the top of the set. They then make an arch and dance down to the bottom of the set over the 4s, 3s and 2s. 4s, 3s and 2s dance up underneath the arch; when they reach the top of the set they form their own arch and start dancing down the set over the remaining couples.
	Finish in the order 2, 3, 4, 1, ready to start again.

Note: Bars 25-32 are deliberately not broken down. 4+4 doesn't work well - the lead up is too slow and the arches too frantic. I suspect 2+6 may be the opposite and 3+5 be about right, but play around and see what works for you in your set - and don't worry if it varies!

Tune: The Clumsy Lover, by Neil Dickie

(cc) Ian Brockbank, March 2005 ( ian [at] scottishdance.net )

The definitive version of this dance is available on Grand Chain, Ian Brockbank's Scottish country dance web site.

Notes from Ian:
When my son Stuart was first born, his sister Lorna called him "Oot". This then progressed to "'Ua't" and then "S'ua't". This dance was written just before Stuart's first birthday, and is dedicated to him.

See on Strathspey Server