Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Derry Boat

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Derry Boat A thirty-two bar Jig for three couples in a longwise set. Devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 16.

1- 4 First couple dance half a figure of eight round second couple crossing down to commence.
5- 6 First couple cross giving right hand.
7- 8 First couple cast off into second place on own side, second couple step up.
9-10 Second, first and third couples join hands on the sides and set.
11-12 Second, first and third couples cross giving right hand.
13-16 Second, first and third couples dance six hands three quarters round to the left in a circle; finish with men facing down and ladies facing up.
17-18 All three couples retain hands in lines across and set.
19-20 All three couples change places with partners giving right hand.
21-24 Half reels of three across the set, to commence first and third ladies pass by the right shoulder, first and second men do likewise; the men finish facing up and the ladies facing down.
25-26 All three couples join hands in lines across and set.
27-28 All three couples change places with partners giving right hand.
29-32 All three couples dance six hands three quarters round to the left in a circle to finish on own sides.

Repeat from second place. Recommended tune: Derry Boat

(Dance crib 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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