Cuil An Duin
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Cuil An Duin A thirty-two bar Strathspey, thirty two bar Reel Medley for demonstration by four couples in a longwise set. On the second chord third and fourth couples cross to opposite sides. Strathspey Devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 16.Strathspey
1- 2 First and fourth couples set.
3- 4 First and fourth couples turn three quarters with the right hand.
5- 8 First and second couples dance right hands across in a wheel, at the end of the wheel first couple slip in back to back facing second couple (first man facing second lady and first lady facing second man); fourth couple do the same to finish facing third couple. Note: this is facilitated if each of first and fourth ladies and men retains the right hand of the dancer behind him/her in the wheel, so as to turn into position.
9-16 Reels of four across the set, first couple with second couple and third couple with fourth couple; all finish in lines across the set facing down with nearer hands joined.
17-24 All dance down the middle.
25-32 Reels of four across the set, first couple with second couple and third couple with fourth couple; on bar 32 all clap twice. Reel
Reel
1- 2 All set.
3- 4 First man and second lady turn three quarters with the right hand, fourth man and third lady do the same. Meanwhile first lady and second man turn three quarters with the left hand and third lady and fourth man do the same.
5- 8 First couple dance half a figure of eight round second couple crossing up to commence, whilst fourth couple dance half a figure of eight round third couple crossing down to commence.
9-12 First and fourth couples dance right hands across in a wheel.
13-16 First and fourth couples dance half rights and lefts; the men do not complete the polite turn.
17-24 Reels of four on the sides of the set.
25-32 Eight hands round to the left in a circle and back to the right, on bar 32 all clap twice as they dance out to the sidelines. Finish in the order 2,4,1,3 with first and third couples on the opposite side ready to start again.
Repeat with new top couple, but in the Strathspey at bar 16 all finish facing up and on bars 17-24 all dance up the middle.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Dance Information
If by any chance this should mistakenly appear on a ballroom programme a permissible variation is to dance down the middle and back on bars 17-24 of the Strathspey each time through.Recommended tunes: Strathspey: Cuil An Duin; Reel: Willie Davie.
(Dance information reproduced from The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 16, by John W Mitchell, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell; instructions reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).
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