La Mezquita De Cordoba

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1-4 1st couple dance half a figure of eight down round 2nd couple to end in 1st place on the opposite side.
5-8 All half turn their partner with both hands, opening out so that 1st couple face down while 2nd and 3rd couples face up. All set retaining nearer hands.
9-12 1st couple dance down under arches made by 2nd and 3rd couples, then cast in tandem to their left, just in from the women's side, following 3rd man, to end in 1st and 2nd places facing in.
 Meanwhile 2nd and 3rd couples dance up and cast off on the nearest sides. 2nd and 3rd men end just outside the women's side behind 1st couple, 2nd and 3rd women end on the men's side in 2nd and 1st places.
 All are now facing across and join nearer hands again: 1st couple with their partner, 3rd and 2nd men behind 1st couple, and 3rd and 2nd women facing 1st couple.
13-16 All repeat the pattern of bars 9-12 across the dance.
 3rd and 2nd women dance under arches made by 1st couple and 3rd and 2nd men. They then cast in tandem to their right, following 2nd man, to end in 2nd place facing up.
 Meanwhile 1st couple, followed by 3rd and 2nd men, dance across to the men's side, cast away from each other and then cross back to end just in from the sides. 3rd man and 1st woman face down in 1st place, 2nd and 1st men face up in 3rd place. All take nearer hands again.
17-24 All repeat the pattern of bars 9-16, first up and down the set, then across the set. The pair who dance under the arches cast to their left when dancing down and to their right when dancing across. The arches are made by those dancing up and those dancing across from the men's side.
 All end on the sidelines in the same order (1,2,3) as at the start of bar 9. 2nd and 3rd couples are on opposite sides and 1st couple are on their own sides.
25-28 1st and 2nd couples dance half rights and lefts.
29-32 1st and 3rd couples dance half rights and lefts. The final order is 2,3,1.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA June 2024)

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

The figure in bars 9-24 was inspired by this unique building.

Recommended music:
Preferred tune: Marchioness Of Huntly (William Marshall).
Recording: Mrs May Anderson's Strathspey (Gordon Shand and his Scottish Dance Band: Reels And Wheels).

(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA June 2024)

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