The Belle Of Bon Accord

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE BELLE OF BON ACCORD (S4x32) 4C set J Drewry Deeside Bk 2

1- 8 1L and 3L cross down 1 pl and cast up on opp side into centre as 1M and 3M dance across and cast down into centre, 1s+2s and 3s+4s dance RH across
9-16 1s and 3s dance reel of 4 up and down centre of dance
17-24 1s and 3s ¾ turn RH to face up while 2s and 4s dance up on sides and turn in to face down and all set, all circle 4H round to left and end on sides
25-32 1s and 3s lead up between 2s/4s crossing over and cast down 1 place, 1s and 3s turn 2H and 1s lead down to 4th place as 3s cast up on own sides to 2nd pl

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

The Belle of Bon Accord
John Drewry   Deeside Book
Strathspey   4 x 32 bars   4 Couple Repeat   4 Couple Set   Lengthwise Set

3s dance as 1s, 2s dance as 4s for 30 bars:
1-4      1L cross down between 2s and cast up round 2M WHILE 1M cross and cast, finishing on the centre line, 1L facing down 1M up;
5-8      1s2s right hands across;
9-16    1s3s reel of 4 up and down;
17-18  2s dance up and face down WHILE 1s turn ¾ by the right to face up (on opposite sides);
19-20  2s1s set facing in lines across;
21-24  2s1s four hands round to the left;
25-28  1s half figures of 8 round 2s;
29-32  1s turn both hands and lead down to 4th place WHILE 3s turn both hands and cast up to 2nd place.

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

Dance Instruction Videos

Belle of Bon Accord - YouTube Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video
Performance of Belle of Bon Accord by the Plateau Scottish Country Dancers at the Seattle Highland games held in Enumclaw, Washington.

Dance Information

Belle - French for "beautiful"

The Bon Accord Free Church is a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland in Aberdeen.

Bon Accord, is also the motto of the city of Aberdeen and is French literally for "Good Agreement".

Legend tells that its use dates from the 14th century password used by Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence, when he and his men laid siege to Aberdeen Castle before destroying it in 1308 and massacring the English Garrison, retaking Aberdeen for the townspeople.

The secret phrase to initiate the campaign was "Bon Accord".

Armorial bearings of Aberdeen - Bon Accord

Dance Information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence.
Text from this original Bon Accord Free Church article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original Bon Accord Motto article on Wikipedia.

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