Dr Finlay
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Dr Finlay A thirty-two bar Jig for three couples in a longwise set. Devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 16.1- 2 First couple cast off into second place, second couple step up.
3- 6 First couple dance half a figure of eight round second couple, crossing up to commence.
7- 8 First couple turn with the right hand to face second corners.
9-12 First man dances half a reel of three with second couple, whilst first lady does the same with third couple, first couple pass their second corners by the left shoulder to commence; first couple finish facing first corner positions.
13-16 First couple dance half a reel of four with third man and second lady; first couple finish back to back facing own side of the set.
17-24 "Ruptured Triangle":
17-18 all join hands in triangle formation and set;
19-22 first man casts up to the top behind third man and dances down the middle, whilst first lady casts off behind second lady and dances up the middle, they pass by the left shoulder to finish back to back, first lady facing the top; second and third couples dance half rights and lefts, the ladies finish at the top facing down and the men in third place facing up;
23-24 all join hands in triangle formation and set.
25-28 First couple dance half a reel of four with second man and third lady (in second corner positions); first couple pass by the left shoulder to face first corner positions.
29-32 First man dances half a reel of three with third couple passing third man by the left shoulder to commence, whilst first lady dances half a reel of three with second couple passing second lady by the left shoulder to commence; first couple finish by crossing to own side giving left hand and face out ready to repeat.
Repeat from second place. At the end of the repeat first couple cast to the foot as the next top couple starts. Recommended tune: Dr Finlay
(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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