Bracken On Broughton Moor
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Bracken On Broughton Moor (R4x32) A 32 bar reel for four couples in a longwise set, Murrough Landon, 2017The dance starts with two chords: on the second chord 1st and 3rd couples cross over to the opposite side.
1- 8 1st and 4th couples take promenade hold and dance reels of three across the dance starting by giving right shoulder to 2nd and 3rd men respectively. 1st and 4th couples end in the centre facing each other while 2nd and 3rd couples end in 1st and 4th places.
9-10 1st and 4th couples dance half right hands across and finish facing the corners: 4th/1st couples face the opposite gender members of 2nd/3rd couples respectively.
11-16 1st and 4th couples turn that corner with the left hand, pass left shoulder on the sides (1st man passing 4th woman, 1st woman passing 4th man) then turn the other corner (same gender person) on the same side with the right hand, retaining hands until the end of the phrase, to finish facing them on the sidelines in the order 2,1,4,3 with 4th and 3rd couples on opposite sides.
17-24 All dance reels of four on the sides starting by passing right shoulder. On the last bar 1st and 4th couples half turn left hand instead of passing left shoulder to help them all end facing clockwise.
25-28 All chase clockwise half way round the set.
29-32 1st and 4th couples dance half rights and lefts in the centre while 2nd and 3rd couples, giving right hands, turn one and a half times at the ends, optionally remaining joined in the centre ready to start again in promenade hold. The final progressed order is 3,1,4,2 with 3rd and 4th couples on opposite sides.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA Jan 2017)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
Bracken On Broughton Moor - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This reel was devised using some figures derived from the dance Pulling Bracken by Anthony Bulteel.The dance title arose from a journey from Wasdale across Broughton Moor in Cumbria during the New Year period. The route passed through extensive areas of bracken covering the moorland.
An impressionistic drawing of the scene was later produced by Ivan Cartwright (see .pdf, linked below) and depicted the red-brown bracken seen on the journey.
Broughton is a common place-name in Britain, but in this case the reference is to the village of Broughton in Cumbria. In local pronunciation, the place name Broughton rhymes with "Orton".
Recommended music: Suggested tune As for Pulling Bracken; suitable recording the video used The Hills of Alba (Colin Dewar and his Scottish Dance Band: A' the best fae Banffshire).
(Dance information from notes supplied by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA Jan 2017)
"Autumn Landscape With Bracken", Frederick Golden Short (1863-1936), Oil On Canvas, c. 1863-1936
Published in Bracken On Broughton Moor, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon. Licensed under CC BY-SA.
Published in Woodhall Book 6 - Locality, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon. Licensed under CC BY-SA.
Image from Frederick Golden Short, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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