Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Creetown Lassie

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Creetown Lassie (S3x32) 3C set Lewis N Derrick 1989

1-4 Giving nearer hands, the 1st couple dance down two places, divide below the 3rd couple and cast up one place on own sides; the 2nd couple cast up to top place on bars 1-2
5-8 Joining nearer hands, the 1st and 3rd couples cross over, the women dancing under an arch formed by the men, then the 1st and 3rd men and 1st and 3rd women turn once round on the sidelines giving both hands
9-12 The 1st and 3rd couples repeat bars 5-8 back to own sides
13-16 The 1st and 3rd couples set on the sidelines then while the 1st couple cast off one place the 3rd couple dance up one place and face out
17-20 Giving nearer hands, the 1st couple dance up two places, divide above the 1st couple and cast off one place on their own sides; the 3rd couple cast down to original places on bars 17-18
21-28 The 2nd and 1st couples repeat bars 5-12
29-32 The 2nd, 1st and 3rd couples set on the sidelines then while the 1st couple cast to third place the 3rd couple dance up to second place to end facing out and up

Repeat twice more from new positions each time

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Lewis N Derrick 2020)


Dance Notes

On the second and third repetitions the 3rd couple dance up on bars 31-32 and then cast up on bars 1-2 in a continuous movement.

Dance Information

This strathspey, Creetown Lassie, was devised to commemorate my grandmother, Agnes Pirie, who was brought up in the Police House at Creetown, Dumfries and Galloway.

Suggested tune: The Wonder Hornpipe.

Devised 1989, first published electronically 2020.

Copyright 1989, 2020 Lewis N. Derrick.

(Dance information from The McGhie Scottish Country Dance Sheets #14, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Lewis N Derrick)


Creetown is a small seaside town in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, in Galloway in the Dumfries and Galloway council area in south-west Scotland.

With a population of about 750 people, it is situated near the head of Wigtown Bay, 18 miles (29 km) west of Castle Douglas.

The town was originally named Ferrytown of Cree as it formed one end of a ferry route that took pilgrims across the River Cree estuary to the shrine of St Ninian at Whithorn.

Creetown
Creetown


Published in The McGhie Scottish Country Dance Sheets, Collection 2, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Lewis N Derrick.
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Text from this original Creetown article on Wikipedia.
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