Neighbourliness
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Neighbourliness (S4x48) A 48 bar strathspey for four couples in a square set. Murrough Landon.Danced two or four times as preferred.
1-2 All set to their partner and pull back left shoulder to face their corner.
3-6 All turn their corner once round with the left hand and face their partner.
7-8 All half turn their partner with the right hand. 1st and 3rd couples end facing out in promenade hold. 2nd and 4th couples end facing in with polite turns.
9-16 1st and 3rd couples dance reels of three across the set passing 2nd and 4th men respectively by the right shoulder to start. 1st and 3rd couples end separating as 2nd and 4th couples take promenade hold, the women on their partner's left.
17-24 2nd and 4th couples dance reels of three up and down the set passing 1st and 3rd women respectively by the right shoulder to start. 2nd and 4th couples end facing each other in the centre. 1st and 3rd couples end by approaching then curving away to their partner's original place.
25-30 2nd and 4th couples dance half right hands across. Then 2nd man followed by 4th woman and 4th man followed by 2nd woman dance out the sides, cast left around 3rd and 1st women respectively, back in through 3rd and 1st couples and pass left shoulder to end facing each other in the centre.
31-32 2nd man with 4th woman and 4th man with 2nd woman set retiring to the sides, the men back to their partner's place and the women opposite their original place. Meanwhile 1st and 3rd couples set advancing to the centre.
33-38 1st and 3rd couples dance half right hands across. Then 1st man followed by 3rd woman and 3rd man followed by 1st woman dance out top and bottom, cast left around 4th and 2nd women respectively, back in through the side couples and pass left shoulder to end facing each other in the centre.
39-40 3rd woman with 1st man and 1st woman with 3rd man set retiring to the sides, the men back to their partner's place and the women opposite their original place. Meanwhile 2nd and 4th couples set on the sides.
41-44 All turn their corner one and a half times with both hands, opening out to face in retaining nearer hands. All are back beside their partner in the order 2,3,4,1.
45-48 All circle eight hands half way round to the left to finish in the order 4,1,2,3.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA January 2019)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Instruction Videos
Neighbourliness - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
Recommended Music:Tune: To be decided.
Recording: Aye Afloat (Muriel Johnstone And Keith Smith: Aye Afloat).
(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA January 2019)
Neighbourliness means to be good neighbour, for example, being helpful, friendly, kind or respectful to those around you.
Conversely an example of unneighbourly behaviour would be to bad-mouth your neighbour publicly, while being friendly to their faces.
Neighbourliness, c. 1939-1945
Published in Neighbourliness, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.
Image copyright Unknown (artist), Ministry of Health (publisher/sponsor), Lowe and Brydone Printers Ltd, London NW10 (printer), Her Majesty's Stationery Office (publisher/sponsor), public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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