The Golden Fantail

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 4 "Flirt and Cast":
 1L+2M also 4L+5M dance towards each other (1 step), pull back RSh, dance back to sides and cast right as partners dance 1 place to right, pull back RSh to face in
5- 8 2s+1s also 5s+4s dance RH across. 21354
9-16 1s+5s dance ½ R&L (omit polite turn) while bars 11-12 3s advance and retire (1 step each); 1s+5s turn partner 1½ RH to end 25314 (1s face out)
17-24 3s+1s+4s (bottom 3 couples) dance Promenade (Chaperoned) Chain progression:
 17-18 3s and 4s ¾ turn partner RH into middle while 1s dance clockwise ¼ round the set picking up 3L/4M...
 19-22 who promenade ½ way clockwise while middle people (3M + 2L) turn LH 1½
 23-24 3s and 4s turn partner RH ¾ to own sides while 1s dance clockwise ¼ round to end in 2nd place. 25413
25-32 2s+5s+4L also 4M+1s+3s circle 5H round to left (2 bars), all set; all continue 5H round to left. 25413

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

1-4 Flirt and Cast:
 1W+2M and 4W+5M dance diagonally towards each other One Step, then pulling back RS, they dance back out to the side-lines and cast to their right (1+4W down 2+5M up) as they are casting (their partners 1M+2W and 4M+5W) dance to their right through the middle and curve into their own side-lines, ready to dance straight into...
5-8 RH across all the way round, 2C with 1C and 5C with 4C Order now 2,1,3,5,4.
9-12 l+5Cs dance half R&Ls, without polite turn, (on bars 11 and 12 3C advance and retire 1 step in, 1 step out).
13-16 1+5Cs turn partners RH 1½ times, 5C finish in the side-lines in 2nd place, while 1C finish facing out in 4th place. Order now 2,5,3,1,4.
17-24 Bottom 3Cs (3,1,4) dance the Chaperoned Chain Progression, on bars 23 and 24, as 4C reach 3rd place, they half turn, then turn on the spot (2 bars), to finish in the centre, 4M facing down 4W facing up.
 Order now 2,5,4,1,3.
25-32 4W with 2+5Cs, and 4M with 1+3Cs, dance a circle to the left for 2 bars, retaining hands in the circle, everyone sets, then continue the 5 hands round to the left to finish back on own side-lines, order 2,5,4,1,3.

Repeat with a new top couple.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Gaye Collin, 2021)

Dance Notes

(Dance notes by the deviser, Gaye Collin, 2021)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

The Golden Fantail - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

Upper Hutt features the piwakawaka, or pied fantail, as its city symbol, with the bird appearing on street signs and the city badge.

It has four subspecies: R. f. fuliginosa in the South Island, R. f. placabilis in the North Island, R. f. penita in the Chatham Islands, and the now-extinct R. f. cervina formerly on Lord Howe Island.

It is also known by its Māori names, pīwakawaka, tīwakawaka or piwaiwaka; the common pied morph is also known as pied fantail.

This fantail is mid to dark grey or grey-brown above, yellowish/orange below, with a dark band across the chest below a white throat, white markings over the eye, and (depending on the race) either white-edged or entirely white outer tail feathers. It grows to 16 cm (6.3 in) in length, of which half is the tail, which, as the name implies, is often displayed fanned out.

The Golden Fantail
J. G. Keulemans Illustration For Bullers Birds, 1888

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