Lochaber Gathering
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Lochaber Gathering A thirty-two bar Strathspey for three couples in a longwise set, devised by John W Mitchell, published in Whetherly Book 6.1- 8 Reels of three with nearer hands joined. To commence, first couple dance in and down passing under an arch made by second couple, then third couple dance up under an arch made by first couple. At the ends dancers turn towards their partners to change hands.
9-10 Third couple dance up to the top with nearer hands joined, to finish above first couple facing out at the sides.
11-12 First and third couples give nearer hands turning to commence a cast off, with third couple leading; second couple step up. Finish with first couple in second place and third couple in original places.
13-16 Second, first and third couples advance and retire.
17-24 First couple cross over giving right hand in passing, cast off behind third couple, lead up to the top crossing back to own side and cast off into second place.
25-30 Grand chain for three couples.
31-32 All turn partner with the right hand.
Repeat from second place, at the end of the repeat first couple cast to the foot of the set whilst the other couples are turning with the right hand.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Information
Editor's note to the 2020 edition The description of bars 9-10 has been simplified, as the movement of first couple is minimal. Correspondingly, the description of the cast in bars 11-12 has been expanded.Recommended tune: Lochaber Gathering.
(Dance information reproduced from The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 6, 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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