The Bees Of Maggieknockater

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE BEES OF MAGGIEKNOCKATER (J4x32) 4C set J Drewry Canadian Bk

1- 8 1s cross RH and cast 1 place, dance RH across with 3s and end 1M+3L also 1L+3M in prom hold facing out to pass corner person RSh
9-24 All dance 4x½ Reels of 3 on sides (to right to start, then left, right and left) with 1s+3s changing partners in centre at end of each ½ Reel to progress Men clockwise and Ladies anticlockwise. End in centre 1s facing down and 3s facing up
25-32 1s dance between 3s turning 3s with nearer hand 1½ times, crossing over to own sides and turn 4th person 1½ times (Men RH and Ladies LH)

(MINICRIB, Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton. Deeside Caledonian Society.)

The Bees of Maggieknockater
John Drewry   Canadian Book
Jig   4 x 32 bars   4 Couple Repeat   4 Couple Set   Lengthwise Set

1-4      1s cross and cast;
5-8      1s3s right hands across;
9-12    1M3L (promenade hold) half reel of 3 on Ls' side WHILE 1L3M half reel of 3 on M's side (both going to the right);
13-16  repeat with own partners (going to the left);
17-24  repeat bars 9-16, finishing with 1s facing down between 3s;
25-28  1L3M turn by the right 1½ times WHILE 1M3L turn by the left 1½ times;
29-32  1L4L turn by the left 1½ times WHILE 1M4M turn by the right 1½ times, finishing 2s3s4s1s.

(MAXICRIB, Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle.)

Dance Notes

9-24    Right with the wrong "partner", left with the right one is a good mnemonic.
           Half reels with a promenading "couple" are difficult to make neat; corners must be especially helpful.
           Cover should be diagonally.
28       3s finish in 2nd place.

Bars 9-12 and 17-20, dancing couples dance out through the sides to their right, with the 'wrong' (not your partner) person.

Bars 13-16 and 21-24, dancing couples dance out through the sides to their left, with the 'right' (your partner) person.

First man dances clockwise around whole set starting round 4th lady's position

First lady dances anti-clockwise around whole set starting round 1st man's position

Dance Instruction Videos

The Bees Of Maggieknockater - YouTube Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video
Performance of The Bees Of Maggieknockater, the fourth of five demonstration dances performed by the Plateau Scottish Country Dancers at the 63rd Pacific Northwest Scottish Highland Games and Clan Gathering.

Dance Information

Maggieknockater (Magh an Fhucadair in Scottish Gaelic) is a hamlet on the A95 road between Craigellachie and Mulben in Scotland in the Moray council area, in the former county of Banffshire.

Until the early 1970s there was large apiary which was well known in the region and has lived on in the Scottish country dance "The Bees of Maggieknockater". The meaning of Maggieknockater is "field of the fuller" or "plain of the hilly ridge" and has nothing to do with a woman called Maggie. At nearby Gauldwell Castle (now only with one partial wall left standing) Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have spent the night. The school was closed in the 1960s and the chapel was turned into a home in the early 1970s. What was once a smithy is now a garage still in the hands of the Maclean family. Maggieknockater formerly had a post office; it opened in June 1876 and closed in 1940.

Maggieknockater

Dance Information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence.
Text from this original Maggieknockater article on Wikipedia.
Image Copyright Anne Burgess under this Creative Commons Licence.

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