Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

The Borrower

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

The Borrower
Craig I Houston-Donald 2017
Reel 8 x 32 bars 3 Couple Repeat 4 Couple Set Longwise Set

  1-8   1s2s set and rotate, finishing 2s facing down and to the left, 1s up and to the left;

  9-16 parallel reels of 3 on the sides, 1s2s giving right shoulder to start, finishing 2s1s3s on own sides;

17-18 2s1s3s take hands on the sides and set to partner;

19-24 all dance la baratte:

19-20 all cross by the right with partner and retain hold with arms fully extended;

21-21 all cross halfway back, raising right arms so that each L can dance under partner's right arm and taking left hands with partner, finishing on the centre line, Mn behind partners, all facing down;

22-22 all continue to cross, releasing right arms and raising left hands so that each L can dance under partner's left arm, finishing by retaining left hand hold with arms fully extended;

23-24 all cross by the left, finishing 2s1s3s on opposite sides;

25-26 taking nearer hand with partner, 3s, followed by 1s 2s lead down;

27-28 all raise hands and cross, each L under partner's arm, finishing facing up with nearer hands still joined;

29-30 2s, followed by 1s 3s lead up;

31-32 2s1s3s take hands on the sides and set to partner.

(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)

Dance Notes

  1-1   Take hands on the sides for the right foot step.

  2-2   Release hands and turn on the spot clockwise on the left foot step to finish facing clockwise around the rectangle demarcated by 1s2s places.


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Instruction Videos

The Borrower - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

This dance was devised by Craig I. Houston-Donald, in November 2017 for Aileen Napper who lives on the Isle of Wight.

Because of the difference in height between Aileen and Craig, Craig would often joke that dancing with Aileen felt like dancing with a Borrower! Bars 19-24 of the dance work particularly well with this height contrast.


"The Borrowers" is a children's fantasy book written by Mary Norton from England. It came out in 1952 and tells about a small family who lives in a house, hidden in the walls and floors. They borrow things from the big people to survive. The term "The Borrowers" also includes a set of five books, which includes the first one and four more stories about the same family after they move out of "their" house.

The Book won a prize called the Carnegie Medal in 1952. This medal is given to the best children's book by a British author for that year. In 2007, during the 70th anniversary celebration of the medal, "The Borrowers" was chosen as one of the top ten winning works.

There have been several adaptations of The Borrowers in television and film.



Published in https://craigellachie-band.co.uk/teacher-resources/new-dances-resource-the-borrower The Craigellachie Scottish Dance Band, dance resources.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original The Borrowers article on Wikipedia.

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