Charlotte's Web

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1-2 Second and fourth couples half turn giving right hands, and finishing staying in the middle with nearer hands joined facing third and fifth men respectively.
3-4 Second and fourth couple set to third and fifth men respectively.
5-8 Second couple and third man, fourth couple and fifth man dance right hands across with third and fifth men finishing in original positions, and second and fourth couples in original positions, but on opposite sides.
9-16 Second and fourth couples repeat 1-8, but use left hands and with the third and fifth women respectively. At the end the second man with his partner behind him finishes facing the first man, and the fourth man with his partner behind him finishes facing the third man.
17-20 Second couple, first man and third woman dance a lead change (tandem in the manual) half reel of three beginning by second couple giving right shoulder to first man. Second couple finish (lady in front of partner) facing third man's position (which will be occupied by fifth lady). Similarly fourth couple, third man and fifth lady, with fourth couple, lady in front, facing fifth man.
21-24 Second couple dance another lead change half reel of three, this time with the first lady and fifth lady, and similarly fourth couple with fifth man and first man. Second couple finish facing third lady's position, this time with man in front, and similarly fourth couple facing fifth lady's position.
25-28 Second couple dance a lead change half reel of three with fifth man and third lady, and fourth similarly with the third man and first lady. Second and fourth couples finish in the middle on own sides with nearer hands joined facing up.
29-32 Second couple cast (2) and dance to fourth place (2), and fourth cast (2) and dance to fifth place (2). Third couple dance up to second place and fifth couple up to third place on bars 31 and 32.
Finishing order 5,3,1,2,4.

Repeat with a new top couple.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser Rod Downey, Johnsonville SCD Club Tutor)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Charlotte's Web - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

The first 16 bars are taken from a dance devised by Iain Boyd (which it turns out borrows from an earlier idea of Alec Hay).

Recommended music is "Colonel L. Stewart's Reel" (William Marshall) played AABB, or ABAB and an acceptable alternative tune would be "Miss Forbes' Farewell to Banff" (Isaac Cooper), is the lead for any reasonable recording of the dance "Earlstoun Loch".

(Dance information from The Tuatara Collection Of Scottish Country Dances, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Rod Downey)

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