Cramond Island

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Cramond Island (R4x32) 4C, Andrew Cook 2011

1 - 8 All join hands in a circle and dance eight steps to the left then eight steps back to the right.
9-16 1st couple face down their own sides. They dance down weaving in and out between the other dancers, passing by right with 2nd couple to start. Other dancers stay in their places.
At the bottom of the set the 1st couple cross on to the opposite side and weave up between the dancers to the top then cross back onto their own sides into their original position.
17-24 1st couple cast off on their own side and everyone follows. When the 1st couple reach the bottom they join both hands to form an arch for everyone else to dance under as they head up the set. 1st couple finish in 4th position at bottom of the set.
25-32 Couples in 1st and 3rd positions face down whilst those in 2nd and 4th position face up. Join near hands with your partner.
All dance in the direction you are facing. Those facing up (2+4) raise your arms for the others (1+3) to dance under then alternate so you are going up and down like waves. When dancers reach the top and bottom of the set turn round and rejoin the waves in the other direction. All finish back where you started this phrase.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Andrew Cook, 2011)

Dance Notes

1 - 8 Shape of the island.
9-16 Represents the water weaving round the concrete pillars of the causeway.
17-24 This is the Forth Bridge that you can see clearly from Cramond Island.
25-32 Waves in the Firth of Forth.

(Dance notes by the deviser, Andrew Cook)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Cramond Island - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Cramond Island - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

This reel, Cramond Island, was written by Andrew Cook to celebrate the very first visit by the Méaudre Reel to Scotland in 2011.

A group of dancers from Edinburgh (including Andrew Cook) met the "Scottish" dancers from a tiny little village in the French Alps in May 2009: the Méaudre Reel. They were so amazed to see French children enthusiastic about SCD that they invited all of them in Scotland. After raising funds, the Méaudre Reel's first tour to Scotland took place in 2011.

Cramond is a district in the north west of Edinburgh but was once a separate, ancient village dating back to Roman times. Cramond Island is approximately 8 hectares and lies 1.5km off the foreshore. Being a tidal island it can be reached at low tide by a causeway - so we all walked out and had a picnic on the Island, after having fun with a treasure hunt through Cramond Village.

The suggested tune for this dance, Cramond Island, is Cramond Island - Reel By Seonaid Lynn - Music Full Size

(Dance information by Sophie Marchand)

Here is the original crib for Cramond Island, published in Méaudre Reel 2021, also available as a .pdf Cramond Island (Portable Document Format).

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