Lady Sophia Lindsay

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

LADY SOPHIA LINDSAY (R4x32) 4C set 3s and 4s on opp sides J Attwood Alexander Leaflet 6

1- 8 2s+3s dance RH across once round, 2s (Lady leading) dance out and cast up round 1st Lady while 3s dance out and cast down round 4th Lady
9-16 2s with 1st Man and 3s with 4th Man, dance RH across once round, 2s with 1st Lady and 3s with 4th Lady, dance LH across once round
17-24 2s and 3sl dance Tandem reels of 3 on sides (2s dance down and out on Men's side as 3s dance up and out Ladies side). At the end of reel 2s dance across top of dance ending in 1st place on own sides as 3s dance across bottom of dance ending in 4th place 1s end in 2nd place own side facing down and 4s in 3rd place opp side facing up
25-32 1L+4M also 1M+4L set on sides, change places RH, 1s+4s set to partners and cross to other side RH. 2 4(1)(3)

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

Lady Sophia Lindsay
Jean Attwood   Alexander Leaflet 6
Reel   4 x 32 bars   4 Couple Repeat   4 Couple Set   Lengthwise Set
3s and 4s cross on second chord.

1-4      2s3s right hands across;
5-8      2L followed by 2M cast up round 1L WHILE 3L followed by 3M cast down round 4L (on M's side);
9-12    2s1M 3s4M right hands across;
13-16  2s1L 3s4L left hands across;
17-24  2L followed by 2M (as one person) reel of 3 with 4L (left shoulder) and 1M WHILE 3s similarly reel of 3 with 1L4M, finishing 2s (at top), 1s (facing down), 4s (facing up on opposite sides), 3s (at bottom, opposite sides);
25-28  1M4L 1L4M set and cross by the right on the sides;
29-30  4s1s set on the sides;
31-32  4s 1s cross by the right.

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

Dance Information

The Lady Sophia Lindsay on whom Jean Attwood based this dance was a later member of the Lindsay family (possibly the daughter of Alexander Lindsay, the first Earl of Balcarres, see below) who was married to Charles, son of Archibald Campbell, the ninth Earl of Argyle, whom she helped to escape from Edinburgh Castle in 1681; see www.oldandnewedinburgh.co.uk/volume1/page70 and page71/ for the story.

The tandem chase and hands across in bars 5-16 are supposed to be Lady Sophia and her page arriving and going up the spiral staircases with the guards, the tandem reels in bars 17-24 are supposed to be Lady Sophia and her father-in-law (in the page's clothes) making their way out past the guards and bars 25-32 are supposed to represent the guards hue and cry after the Earl's escape was discovered.

Sir David Lindsay, 1st Lord Lindsay of Balcarres (baptised 17 March 1587, died March 1642) was a Scottish nobleman. He was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Lindsay of Balcarres, Lord Menmuir and Marion Guthrie.

He married Lady Sophia Seton, daughter of Alexander Seton, 1st Earl of Dunfermline and Lilias Drummond, on 16 February 1612, in Dunfermline, Fife. Invested as a knight in 1612 and created Lord Lindsay of Balcarres on 27 June 1633, he was a staunch royalist. He was buried in the Chapel at Balcarres, Fife and had one son, Alexander, later the first Earl of Balcarres, and a daughter Sophia, who died in childbirth following her marriage to Robert Moray.

Dance Information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence.
Text from this original Sir David Lindsay article on Wikipedia.

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