The Forth Bridge (Mitchell)
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
The Forth Bridge A thirty-two bar Strathspey for three couples in a three couple longwise set, devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 5.1- 4 First man dances a half reel of three with second couple, crossing down to commence.
5- 8 First couple take a promenade hold to commence a half reel of three with second couple, but on bars 7 & 8 first man casts off behind third man.
9-16 First man dances a reel of three across the set with third couple: on bars 9-10 first lady crosses down between second couple to join her partner in a promenade hold, as he reaches the ladies' side of the set, and continues to complete the reel with him. First couple finish the reel below third couple in the centre of the set facing up, third couple finish facing out.
17-20 First man passes third lady by the right shoulder to commence a half reel of three on the ladies' side of the set; first lady passes third man by the left shoulder to commence a half reel of three on the men's side of the set; third couple cast off and second couple dance in and down to start the reels.
21-24 First couple cross back to own sides to dance a second half reel of three on the sides with second and third couples; first couple finish in third place.
25-32 All three couples dance six hands round in a circle to the left and back to the right.
Repeat with new top couple.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 5, 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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