TurningThis Turning section covers those Figures in which two Scottish Country Dancers Take hands and rotate either clockwise or anticlockwise around each other. Unless specified otherwise for the individual forms, the step used is Skip change or the Strathspey travelling step according to the tempo of the dance. The extent of the rotation is usually counted in whole Turns or fractions of a Turn; a whole Turn is a rotation of 360° and so the dancers Finish the Turn in their Starting Positions. Alternatively, the extent may be determined by the Finishing Position, expressed either explicitly or even implicitly by the requirement of the subsequent Figure; for example, bars 5-8 of Duke of Perth can be expressed as, "1s Turn by the left to Face First corners", where the amount of the Turn is really about 7⁄8 rather than a full Turn. Turn halfway means that the dancers Exchange positions; it is a synonym for the first meaning of Cross. When starting from their Own side lines of a Longwise set, Turn ¾ By the right means that the dancers Finish on the Centre line, Lady Above the Man. The way in which the dancers Take hands depends on the Time available for the rotation required; details of the various Holds including their suitability for Quick or slow turns are covered in Hand positions. When 2 bars are allocated for a full Turn, the Quick turn grip (or, more casually, Elbow grip or Birl hold) is necessary; when 4 bars are allocated for a full Turn (or pro rata for a fractional Turn), a much more Open hold is appropriate. The Finishing Positions after a Turn are strongly dependent on the immediately following Figure, if any. For example: if they are not involved in the next Figure, the dancers normally return to Standing places, in the Side lines of a Longwise set or at the vertices of a Circular set, Facing Inwards; if it is Cast, they return to the Side lines of a Longwise set or to the vertices of a Circular set, Facing Outwards; if the next Figure is Allemande or Promenade or some such, they stay on the Centre line of a Longwise set. For example, here are some Scottish Country Dances in which the term, Turning, is used in either the Minicrib or the Maxicrib Dance instructions or both -
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