La Marmotte
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
La Marmotte (J8x32) 32 bar Jig for 3 Couples in a 4 Couple Set, devised by Kristian Vestli (2025), Published In Dancing in the Vercors.1- 4 1st couple set, and cast off one place as the 2nd couple step up.
5- 8 1st woman with 2nd couple and 1st man with 3rd couple dance right hands across ending with 1st woman facing 2nd woman with 1st man behind her.
9-12 1st couple dance half a reel of three in tandem across the dance with 2nd couple, passing 2nd woman by the right shoulder to begin.
13-16 1st woman turns 2nd woman giving left hand (2nd woman dances for 4 bars) while 1st man dances right shoulder round 3rd man ending with 1st man facing 3rd woman with 1st woman behind him.
17-20 1st couple dance half a reel of three in tandem across the dance with 3rd couple, passing 3rd woman by the right shoulder to begin.
21-24 1st man turns 3rd woman giving left hand (3rd woman dances for 4 bars) while 1st woman dances right shoulder round 2nd woman ending 1st woman between the 2nd couple facing down, and 1st man between the 3rd couple facing up.
25-26 All set in lines across.
27-28 2nd and 3rd couples cross right hand with their partner while 1st couple turn right hand once round. 29-32 1st couple dance out the top and bottom of the set and cast to their right into 2nd place on their own side.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Kristian Vestli, Oslo Scottish Country Dance Group, France, 2025)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
La Marmotte - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
'La Marmotte' is French and literally means 'the marmot'.A marmot (Marmota marmota) is a large ground-dwelling squirrel found mainly in mountainous regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, particularly the Alps.
In everyday French, 'faire la marmotte' or references to 'la marmotte' can also carry a figurative sense. Because marmots hibernate for long periods, the word is sometimes used informally to suggest sleeping heavily, being slow to wake, or disappearing for a long time.
In names and titles, 'La Marmotte' is often chosen for its Alpine associations, suggesting mountains, endurance, or something quietly persistent. That is why it commonly appears as the name of mountain chalets, cycling events, cafés, or accommodation in Alpine regions.
The Deviser, Kristian Vestli And La Marmotte
La Marmotte - The Marmot
Published in La Marmotte, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Kristian Vestli.
This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources.
Text from this original Marmot article on Wikipedia.
Upper image copyright Kristian Vestli, reproduced here with kind permission, 2026.
Lower image copyright © Giles Laurent, gileslaurent.com, License CC BY-SA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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