Dovecote Park

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1-4 1C and 3C dance down taking nearer hands between 2C and 4C respectively, and cast back to original places.
5-8 Taking 2 hands and using pas de Basque, 1C turns 1¼ travelling down to finish between 2C and similarly 3C between 4C.
9-24 1C and 3C dance a "double spurtle" as follows.
 9-12 1C dances a half a reel of 4 with 2C (3 bars), finishing with 1M in the center, slighty below 3rd place and first woman slightly above 3rd place also in centre; then 2C dance up to first place on opposite sides, while 1C dance a wide 34 right hand turn to finish facing couple in 3rd place, which in this dance will be 4th couple, with 1M facing 4W and 1L facing 4M. (1 bar) Similarly, 3rd couple with 4th couple. 4th couple will finish in 3rd place ready to dance the next half reel with 1C. The 4th man will need to anticipate the right shoulder about to come on bar 13.
 13-16 1C dance a similar half reel 4C, and turn (1 bar) with 4C dancing up to second place (1 bar). 1C will finish as in 9-12, but in 4th place in the centre but this time facing each other.
 Similarly 3C with 5C. This time 5C finish in 4th.
 3C turn more strongly to finish in 5th place on opposite sides.
 17-20 1C dance a similar half reel of 4 with the 5th couple. 5C finish in 3rd place on own sides, and 1C similarly finish between the 3rd couple in 5th place.
 21-24 1C dance a similar half reel of 4 with 3C finishing with 3C on own sides in 4th place, and 1C turning strongly to finish in in 5th place on opposite sides, facing out.
25-26 2C casts off one place, 4C step up. 1C casts up one place and 3C step down.
27-28 1C and 2C cross over to own sides giving RH and face out.
29-30 1C casts to 5th place while 3C steps up, and 2C casts up to first place, while 4C steps down.
31-32 All take hands on the sides and set.
Finishing order 2,4,5,3,1.

Repeat with new dancing couples.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser Rod Downey, Johnsonville SCD Club Tutor)

Dance Information

Written for the recording of a 5 by 32 Jig of the same name by Jim Cameron and his band (Jim Cameron and his Scottish Band Vol. 2) for which I could find no written dance.

The set they use is excellent. Dovecote Park (James Braidwood), Midlothian Pipe Band (F Beaton), and The Quaker (Trad).

As best I can tell, the organization is 64 bars of Dovecote Park, Midlothian Pipe Band repeated twice and The Quaker once.

Given that this is not a widely known (nor owned) recording, acceptable alternative recorded music would include (preferably) the Muriel Johnston 5x32 recording of "The Campbells are Coming" in the Society's recording of Music for Book 24, and alternatively any good recording of Airie Bennan (e.g. Ron Gonella, Caber Feidh, Peter White, or McBain).

Finally if you lack such ancient recordings, the society's recording of "Vintage Simon" would work at a pinch.

(Dance information from The Golden Bear Collection Of Scottish Country Dances, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Rod Downey)

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