Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Bonnie Doon

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Bonnie Doon A thirty-two bar Jig for three couples in a four couple longwise set, devised by John W Mitchell, Published In Whetherly Book 3.

1-4 First couple advance and retire.
5-8 First couple cross over giving right hand in passing and cast off into second place on the opposite side, second couple step up on bars 7 and 8.
9-24 Second and third couples dance an interrupted rights and lefts: they cross over giving right hand and set (one pas-de-basque to the person they just crossed with, turning a quarter facing the next person for the second pas-de-basque) ; they change places on the sides with the left hand and set; this movement is repeated back to place. Meanwhile:
 9-10 first couple turn three quarters with the right hand;
 11-16 first man dances up to the top, casts off on the ladies' side to below third place and dances up the middle; whilst first lady dances down below third place, casts up to the top and dances down the middle;
 17-18 first couple turn with the right hand once round;
 19-24 first lady dances up to the top, casts off two places on her own side and dances up the middle; whilst first man dances below third place casts up to the top on the men's side and dances down the middle.
25-26 First couple turn three quarters with the right hand to finish in second place on own side. 27-32 All three couples dance six hands round to the left in a circle.

Repeat from second place.

(Dance crib compiled by Alison Mitchell, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, 2020)


Dance Notes

A variation to simplify the dance for beginners should omit the interrupted rights and lefts on bars 9-24.

(Dance notes compiled by Alison Mitchell, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, 2020)


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Instruction Videos

Bonnie Doon - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

Recommended tune: Bonnie Doon.

(Dance information by Alison Mitchell, under the CCA NoDerivatives 4.0 International License, 2020)


Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 3, reproduced here under this Creative Commons Attribution - NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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