Alfie's Team

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Alfie's Team (R8x32) A 32 bar reel for 3 couples in a 4 couple longwise set. Murrough Landon

1-4 1st woman (the captain) dances down below 3rd woman (inspecting her team) and casts back up to 2nd place as 2nd woman steps up on bars 3-4.
5-6 1st man (the football) sets and turns, pulling left shoulder back to face out on the 2nd setting step while 1st woman dances across to end behind him.
7-8 1st couple in tandem with 1st woman behind her partner (dribbling him along in front of her) cast and end facing 3rd woman as 2nd man dances up to face out.
9-16 1st couple dance a tandem diagonal reel of three on the 1st corner diagonal. 1st man keeps the lead for the first half, then 1st woman takes the lead to end just below 3rd man, taking nearer hands with him, while 1st man ends in 2nd place.
17-18 3rd man (now taking up the role of the football) and 1st woman, with nearer hands joined briefly, dance up diagonally and split to end with 3rd man in front of 2nd woman and 1st woman on the side in 2nd place. Meanwhile 2nd and 3rd women set turning slightly to face the oncoming dancers.
19-20 2nd and 3rd women, giving right hands, turn 3rd man and 1st woman three quarters to end with 3rd man in 2nd place on the side and 1st woman in front of 3rd woman.
21-24 1st woman taking left hand with 3rd man aims him through an arch made by 2nd and 1st men. 3rd man then casts back to 3rd place while 1st woman dances up and curves left to face in just above 2nd man, taking nearer hands with him. Meanwhile 2nd and 3rd women set and change places with high five right hands.
25-32 1st woman mostly repeats bars 17-24 with 2nd man, inverted top to bottom and with all using opposite hands. Except that on bars 31-32 1st woman dances down and casts up around 3rd place ending in 2nd place own side from where she repeats the dance. The final score is 4-0 for each woman, 16-0 for the whole dance.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA April 2017)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Alfie's Team - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Alfie's Team - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

For Alfie, a unique, outspoken and unforgettable member of the Gay Gordons community. She is also a former player, coach and manager for the Hackney Women's Football Club.

A light hearted dance to reflect Alfie's love of both women and football. The women get to have most of the fun while the men are relegated to be the supporting cast, acting as both the football and the goalposts. Women turning men should be taken as passing the ball while women turning women are helping their team mates into a good position for the next move.

Recommended music: Exuberant reel or hornpipe tunes including The Black Bear; suitable recording Tribute To Amanda (Marian Anderson: The Sunday Class Book 1).

(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA April 2017)

Alfie

Published in Alfie's Team, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.
Image copyright Alfie, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA April 2017).

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Alfie's Team' page