Chasing

The specified dancers all Face clockwise or anticlockwise, usually in a Circular set or around the rectangle formed by either adjacent Places or the Corner positions of a Longwise set, and dance round The set, normally passing through each Place in turn. However, if there are Standing dancers in some Places, the Chasing dancers should Dance Outside them unless otherwise specified.

The Figure is normally allocated 8 bars and the dancers should Finish in their Starting Places. In a Circular set, it is acceptable for the path to be circular; in a Longwise set, the path should follow the sides of the rectangle and 2 bars should be allocated to each side.

The expression is used more generally, with appropriate qualification, to represent any "follow my leader" movement as, for example, for the 2nd and 5th Couples in bars 9-16 of Polharrow Burn. Individual Scottish Country Dancers may be replaced by Couples taking any Hold including Allemande and Promenade.

For example, here are some Scottish Country Dances in which the term, Chasing, is used in either the Minicrib or the Maxicrib Dance instructions or both -
Dark Mile
Drummond Castle
Entente Florale
Epping Hundred
Fireside Strathspey
Forteviot Jig
Fugal Fergus.
Peterhead Express
Shieling.
Stone Of Destiny


Links to Pages Related to 'Chasing'
Figures
Arches
Casting
Chains
Chasing
Cross And Cast
Crossing
Dance
Drop
Exchange Places
Exchange Positions
Figure Of Eight
Figures Of Eight
Hands Across
Hands Round
On The Spot
Petronella Movements
Polite Turn
Poussette Movements
Pull Left Shoulder Back
Pull Right Shoulder Back
Reel
Reel(s) Of Four
Reel(s) Of Three
Set And Cast
Setting
Standing
Step Down
Step Up
Tandem
Travelling
Turn And Cast
Turning
While

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing 'Chasing' page