Davy Nick Nack

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

DAVY NICK NACK (R8x32) 3C (4C set) Bob M Campbell Glasgow Assembly

1- 8 1s+2s+3s cross RH, set, cross back RH and set
9-16 1s turn RH 1½ times, cast 1 place and turn LH once to face 1st corners
17-24 1s change places RH with corners and set, change places with corner person RH and turn partner LH to face 2nd corners
25-32 1s change places RH with corners and set, change places with corner person RH and cross LH with partner to places

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Davy Nick Nack - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Davy Nick Nack - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

Bob Campbell, the author of Davy Nick Nack, lived in Oakville, Ontario, but he was from Glasgow.

In 1976 Bob's inspiration for this dance, Davy Nick Nack, was probably the old Glasgow street rhyme Nievie Nievie Nick Nack - Song, used as either a counting-out rhyme for choosing "It" or as a guessing game:

Nievie, nievie, nick-nack
Which hand will ye tak'?
Tak' the right, tak' the wrang,
I'll beguile ye if I can.

(Dance information by Rob Lockhart, Toronto)

Note: The Scottish word for fist is Nievie.

Davy Nick Nack (also known as "Davy-Davy Knick-Knack", "Darvy Knick Knack", "Neevie Neevie Nick Nack" and many other names) is also the name of a traditional tune (reel).

Davy Nick Nack Tune - Information Video

Children Playing A Modern Version Of The Counting Game "Nievie Nievie Nick Nack" - "Akkad Bakkad Bambe Bo", 2016

The Online Scots Dictionary Translate Scots To English.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Nievie Nievie Nick Nack article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Seema Periwal, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons.

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