Arthur's Cheery Grin
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Arthur's Cheery Grin (R4x48) A 48 bar reel for four couples in a square set, Devised By Murrough Landon (2023).1- 4 All turn their partner one and a half times with the right hand to end in their partner's original place facing the corners.
5- 8 All turn that corner person once round with the left hand. 1st couple face each other.
9-12 1st couple set to each other, then half turn with the right hand to their original place.
13-16 1st man with 2nd, 3rd and 4th women (all those in men's places) dance left hands across and keep left hands joined in the centre ready to join right hands with their partner.
17-22 1st man with 2nd, 3rd and 4th women dance six bars of a double Spoke:
17-18: set on the right touching right hands with their partner, then set on the left with those on the inside advancing to the next side anticlockwise, left hands still joined;
19-22: repeat twice more on the next two sides to face the last side and release hands.
23-24 1st and 2nd men, 2nd woman and 3rd man, 3rd woman and 4th man, also 4th and 1st women, all half turn with the right hand to change places and join left hands in the centre.
25-30 1st woman with 2nd, 3rd and 4th men repeat the double spoke figure for six bars to end right shoulder to their partner. The order is now 4,1,2,3.
31-32 All turn their partner three quarters with the right hand to end on the sides.
33-36 1st woman with 2nd, 3rd and 4th men (again all those in men's places) dance left hands across ending on the sides where they started (1st woman in 2nd man's place).
37-40 1st couple set to each other, then half turn with the right hand.
41-48 All circle eight hands round to the left and back. The final order is 4,1,2,3.
Murrough Landon CC BY-SA August 2023 (revised June 2025)
Dance Instruction Videos
Arthur's Cheery Grin - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This is for Arthur Reilly who is a regular attender of the Gay Gordons residential dance events in Cober Hill.He lives in Hamilton near Glasgow so we rarely see his cheery grin at other times. In this dance 1st couple meet all those in their own gender role while the others meet those in the opposite role.
Recommended music: Suggested tune: Fingal's Cave, The Storm (Colin Dewar).
Suitable recording: Fingal's Cave, The Storm (The Colin Dewar Trio: The Tullich Collection).
(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA August 2023 (revised June 2025))
Published in Arthur's Cheery Grin, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon. Licensed under CC BY-SA.
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