La Crème De La Crème

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s+2s+3s set and dance La Baratte with partners:
 1-4 1s+2s+3s set, turn partner R hand ½ way and retain R hands
 5-6 All dance back retracing steps Lady turning Right under Man's arm briefly into Allemande hold (Man behind Lady facing Lady's original place) and releasing Lady's RH she turns under Man's left arm until almost in original places and couples change place LH to opposite side lines, Men facing up, Ladies facing down
9-16 1s+2s+3s chase anticlockwise to end 321; 1s set, cast up (2s step down) 312
17-28 3s+1s+2s dance R&L for 3 couples
29-32 3s+1s+2s turn partners RH once round

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

La Crème De La Crème - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

According to The Oxford English Dictionary it was coined around the mid 19th century to mean the pick of society, the elite. Simply put, it means the best.

Possibly the most famous British use of the expression is by the teacher Miss Jean Brodie in the novel The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark. The book was set in 1930s Edinburgh and in addition to being a successful novel in its own right, it also has been adapted for stage, film and television.

The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie - Information Video

Edinburgh - The Setting For The Prime Of Miss Jean Brodie
"Edinburgh The Dean" James Patterson, Watercolour, Before 1933

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'La Crème De La Crème' page