Mrs MacLeod (Of Raasay)
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
MRS MACLEOD (Of Raasay) (R8x32) 3C (4C set) RSCDS Book 61- 8 1s+2s dance RH across and LH back
9-16 1s lead down the middle and up to face 1st corners
17-24 1s set to 1st corners and turn 2H, set and turn 2nd corners
25-32 1s dance reels of 3 on opposite sides giving LSh to 1st corners and cross to 2nd place own sides
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Mrs MacLeod (of Raasay)
Anon RSCDS Book 6
Reel 8 x 32 bars 3 Couple Repeat 4 Couple Set Longwise Set
1-8 1s2s right hands across and back;
9-16 1s lead down and back, finishing facing first corners;
17-20 1s with first corner set and turn both hands (pas-de-basque), 1s finishing facing second corner;
21-24 1s with second corner set and turn both hands (pas-de-basque), 1s finishing facing first corner;
25-30 1s give left shoulder to first corner to start reels of 3 on opposite sides;
31-32 1s cross by the right to finish 2s1s3s.
(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)
Dance Notes
13-16 Although not authentic, taking left hands to lead up enables a more elegant transition to the following figure.
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
Mrs MacLeod (Of Raasay) - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
An old Scottish dance. Raasay is an island lying between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland, and has traditionally belonged to the MacLeods.There is also a Scottish highland dance, Mrs MacLeod Of Raasay, sometimes danced today at Highland games around the world, as part of the Scottish National dances repertoire.
(Dance information by Sir Christopher MacRae, KCMG)
The tune Mrs MacLeod Of Raasay was published by Nathaniel Gow in his Fifth Collection in 1809 as "Mrs McLeod of Rasay's Reel, an Original Isle of Sky Reel". Gow stated that it had been communicated by Mr McLeod.
The tune rapidly became popular. Mrs McLeod's dance was being performed at the Perthshire Hunt Ball in 1810 and at fashionable London balls by 1812. In 1813 it was danced by Princess Mary and Lord Aboyne.
The tune subsequently became one of the best-known Scottish reels and travelled widely in the traditional music repertoire. It is also known as Miss McLeod's Reel and, particularly in North America, by such names as Hop High Ladies.
The identity of the Mrs MacLeod commemorated in the title is uncertain. The MacLeods were the traditional lairds of Raasay, and it was common for Scottish composers and musicians to name tunes after members of prominent families as a compliment.
When Nathaniel Gow published Mrs McLeod of Rasay's Reel in 1809, he described it as "an Original Isle of Sky Reel" and stated that it had been communicated by Mr McLeod of Raasay, but he did not identify Mrs MacLeod. That final Gow detail is quite revealing: Mr MacLeod of Raasay supplied the tune, but even Gow didn't tell us who "Mrs MacLeod" actually was.
Raasay (Gaelic: Ratharsair) is an island in the Inner Hebrides.
About 14 miles (23 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide at its widest point, the island was ruled by the MacLeods of Raasay from the early 16th century until the 19th century. Its highest point is Dùn Caan, at 444 metres (1,457 ft).
Dun Caan - Raasay
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Text from this original MacLeod Of Raasay article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original Raasay article on Wikipedia.
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