The Great Teddy Bear Hunt

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

The Great Teddy Bear Hunt 32 bar Jig for 4 couples Rod Downey The Golden Bear Collection
A 32 bar jig in a 4 couple set.

1-8 1C dance a figure of eight around 2C, crossing between 2C to begin.
9-16 2C followed by 1C dance a figure of eight similarly around 3C, finishing with 2C in first place, and 1C in second facing in and down. The order for the crossings should be 2L, 2M, 1L, 1M.
17-28 1C, 3C and 4C dance 1½ mirror double crossover reels on the sides. To wit: 1C dancing crossing to opposite sides on bars 17 and 18 through third place, 3C out and up, crossing over on bars 19 and 20 and 4C in and up (4C do not cross in these reels). 1C cross back to own sides on bars 25 and 26 and 3C on bars 27 and 28, 3C finish facing out and down 1C facing in and up. Finish with the set in order 2C, 4C, 3C, and 1C.
28-32 1C and 3C turn 1½ times, with LH on the men's side and RH on the ladies side.
Finishing order 2,4,1,3.

Repeat with a new top couple.

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

Dance Notes

Obviously this is a fugue and may take a wee bit of work especially with the reels.

These should be thought of as "Last of the Laird" reels except for the bottom couple.

The tandem figure of eight movement need the second couple not to be tardy.

(Dance notes by the deviser, Rod Downey)

Dance Information

This jig, The Great Teddy Bear Hunt, was devised on 4/3/2020.

Whilst in covid-19 lockdown houses have put teddy bears into windows and around houses in New Zealand motivating the "great teddy bear hunt."
The figures reflect the various COVID-19 Levels of shutdown in New Zealand.

1-8 is level 4, where we can only be in our own house bubble (Kristin (my wife) and I), 9-16 is level 3, where we can involve others but only a slightly bigger bubble, in this case my youngest son and his fiancée (although we also involved Loralee, but deviser's licence), 17-28 is level 2 where we come out of our houses and can involve small groups, and 29-32 is level 1, where we can touch others, and don't have social distancing.

The recommended tune is "The Teddy Bear's Picnic" (John W. Bratton) composed in 1907.

There is a nice recording called "Fete Champetre" by David Hall and his band and another called "Pink Panda's Picnic" by Gordon Shand and his Scottish Dance Band.

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

The Great Teddy Bear Hunt
Covid-19 Teddys In Shop Window, Brooklyn, Wellington, April 2020

Published in The Golden Bear Collection, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Rod Downey.
Image copyright Alan Tennyson, Creative Commons Licence 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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