The Bees Of Maggieknockater
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE BEES OF MAGGIEKNOCKATER (J4x32) 4C set John Drewry Canadian Book1- 8 1s cross RH and cast 1 place, dance RH across with 3s and end 1M+3L also 1L+3M in prom hold facing out to pass corner person RSh
9-24 All dance 4x½ Reels of 3 on sides (to right to start, then left, right and left) with 1s+3s changing partners in centre at end of each ½ Reel to progress Men clockwise and Ladies anticlockwise. End in centre 1s facing down and 3s facing up
25-32 1s dance between 3s turning 3s with nearer hand 1½ times, crossing over to own sides and turn 4th person 1½ times (Men RH and Ladies LH) 2341
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
The Bees of Maggieknockater
John Drewry Canadian Book
Jig 4 x 32 bars 4 Couple Repeat 4 Couple Set Longwise Set
1-4 1s cross and cast;
5-8 1s3s right hands across;
9-12 1M3L (promenade hold) half reel of 3 on Ls' side WHILE 1L3M half reel of 3 on Men's side (both going to the right and giving right shoulder);
13-16 repeat with own partners (going to the left and giving left shoulder);
17-24 repeat bars 9-16 on opposite sides, finishing with 3s in 2nd place, 1s facing down between them;
25-28 1L3M turn by the right WHILE 1M3L turn by the left, 1s crossing down to finish between 4s;
29-32 1L4L turn by the left 1¼ times WHILE 1M4M turn by the right 1¼ times, finishing 2s3s4s1s.
(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)
Dance Notes
9-24 Right with the "wrong partner", left with the right one is a good mnemonic when about to promenade out through the sides.
1M dance clockwise around the whole set starting around 4L's position.
1L dance anticlockwise around the whole set starting around 1M's position.
Half reels with a promenading "couple" are difficult to make neat; corners must be especially helpful.
Covering should be diagonally and so hands should not be taken.
-28 Even if not actually in the sidelines, 3s must leave enough room for 1s to finish between them.
29-32 As an aide-mémoire, 1s use the opposite hand for this turn.
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Instruction Videos
The Bees Of Maggieknockater - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
Maggieknockater (in Scottish Gaelic "Magh an Fhucadair") is a hamlet on the A95 road between Craigellachie and Mulben in Scotland in the Moray council area, in the former county of Banffshire.Until the early 1970s there was large apiary which was well known in the region and has lived on in the Scottish country dance "The Bees of Maggieknockater". The meaning of Maggieknockater is loosely translated from the Gaelic "Magh An Fhucadair", "field of the fuller" or "plain of the hilly ridge", and has nothing to do with a woman called Maggie.
At nearby Gauldwell Castle (now only with one partial wall left standing) Mary Queen of Scots is reputed to have spent the night. The school was closed in the 1960s and the chapel was turned into a home in the early 1970s. What was once a smithy is now a garage still in the hands of the MacLean family. Maggieknockater formerly had a post office; it opened in June 1876 and closed in 1940.
Maggieknockater - Information Video

Maggieknockater
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Maggieknockater article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Anne Burgess under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.
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