Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Auchencairn (Keppie)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Auchencairn (Keppie)
Maggie and Duncan Keppie Haliburton School Of Arts SCD Book 5:
3x32 bar Jig
3 couple Longways set

  1-8   SET, CAST AND TURN: 1st couple set, cast off one place (2nd couple stepping up) turn 1¼ left hands to end 1st woman facing 2nd couple (nearer hands joined) and 1st man facing 3rd couple (nearer hands joined);

  9-24 CAIRN:
9-12: 1st couple dance through the arch and cast to right ¼ way round the set AS 2nd and 3rd couples make an arch and dance towards each other, then ¾ round other couple passing right shoulders to end facing out the side,
13-16: 1st couple dance through arch and turn each other ¾ with left hands, AS 2nd and 3rd couples dance out the sides of the set, drop hands and chase to the left ¼ way round the set to top and bottom places (3rd couple at top and 2nd couple at bottom);
17-20: 1st couple dance through the arch and cast to right ¼ way round the set AS 3rd and 2nd couples make an arch and dance towards each other and ¾ round other couple passing right shoulders to end facing out the opposite side,
21-24: 1st couple dance through arch and cross over with left hands and stay facing out, AS 2nd and 3rd couples dance out the sides of the set, drop hands and chase to the left ¼ way round the set to original places;

25-32 CAST, CROSS AND CAST: 1st couple cast anticlockwise halfway around the set, cross by the right and cast to 3rd place (3rd couple stepping up).

Repeat twice.

(Dance crib compiled by the devisers, Maggie and Duncan Keppie)


Dance Information

Also see the dance Auchencairn (Foss) by Hugh Foss.

Auchencairn is a village in the historical county of Kirkcudbrightshire in the Dumfries and Galloway region of Scotland, located on the coast of the Solway Firth at the head of Auchencairn Bay between the town of Dalbeattie to the east and Kirkcudbright to the west.

The name Auchencairn comes from the Scottish Gaelic "Achadh an càirn" or "Achadh nan carn" which translates as "the field of the cairn".

Auchen is Scots for "field" and Cairn is Scots for "mound of rough stones" typically built as a memorial or landmark, on a hilltop or skyline.

Auchencairn in the county of Kirkcudbrightshire
Auchencairn Centre
The "Jubilee Lamp" Was Erected By Public Subscription In 1897 To Mark The Sixtieth Year Of Queen Victoria's Long Reign.


Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Auchencairn article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Neil Theasby under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.

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