Laura Andrews
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Laura Andrews A forty-eight bar Reel for four couples in a longwise set. On the second chord second and fourth couples cross to opposite side. Devised by John W Mitchell, Published in Whetherly Book 11.1- 4 First couple dance a half figure of eight round second couple, crossing down to start, whilst fourth couple dance a half figure of eight round third couple, crossing up to start; at the same time on bars 1 & 2 second couple set turning to face down and third couple set turning to face up, then second and third couples turn half way with the left hand to change places on the sidelines.
5- 8 Second and third couples dance half a ladies' chain to finish with second couple on the ladies' side and third couple on the men's side.
9-16 First couple face down, second lady and third man face up, second man and third lady face down and fourth couple face up; the four couples dance half a grand chain, two steps to each hand, starting by giving right hands on the side of the set. All finish facing the person to whom they gave right hand to commence the chain (all facing up and down on the sidelines).
17-20 All set and turn the person they are facing with the right hand so that the ladies finish in the centre of the set and men at the outside corners.
21-24 The ladies dance left hands across in a wheel once round whilst the men dance clockwise half way round the outside of the set. Positions now are: first man in first lady's place facing third lady; second man in fourth lady's place facing first lady; third man in first man's place facing fourth lady and fourth man in own place facing second lady.
25-28 All turn one and a half times with the right hand to change places, with the person they are facing.
29-32 The four men dance left hands across in a wheel once round whilst the ladies dance half way round the outside of the set in a clockwise direction. Positions now are: first lady in first man's place facing third man; second lady in first lady's place facing first man; third lady in fourth man's place facing fourth man and fourth lady in own place facing second man.
33-36 All turn the person they are facing with the right hand to finish on the sidelines with the ladies on the men's left. Positions now are: first couple at the top on opposite sides; second couple on the ladies' side; third couple on the men's side and fourth couple in fourth place on own side. (Same positions as at the end of bar 8).
37-40 Second and third couples dance half a men's chain; men cross giving left hands to commence.
41-44 First couple cross giving right hand in passing and cast off behind second couple, who stand still.
45-48 First couple cross over giving left hand and cast off into fourth place; second, third and fourth couples join hands and step up on bars 47 & 48.
Repeat with new top couple.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
Recommended tune: Laura Andrews.Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 11, by John W Mitchell, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell; instructions reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).
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