The New Plymouth Strathspey
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE NEW PLYMOUTH STRATHSPEY (S4x32) 4C set Ruary Laidlaw Locheil Collection1- 8 All set twice, turn partners 2H. 1s face down
9-16 1s lead down, cross below 4s, cast up to top place opposite sides
17-24 All advance and retire twice, turn partners 2H (1s turn 1½ times to own side and face out)
25-32 1s cast to 4th place, 2s+3s+4s take hands on sides and step up bars 3-4. 1s turn 2H (4 bars)
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
The New Plymouth Strathspey
A 4 x 32 bar strathspey for four couples in a longwise set.
1 - 8 All four couples set for four bars and then turn partner for four steps with two hands to finish back in original places, first couple facing down in the centre.
9-16 The first couple lead down the middle with inside hands joined to the bottom of the set and cast back up on their own sides to finish in their own places.
17-24 All four couples advance and retire for 4 bars and turn their partners with two hands back to their own sides of the dance, first couple facing out.
25-32 The first couple cast off to the bottom of the set, 2s, 3s and 4s join hands and move up on three and four. The first couple turn with two hands for four to finish on their own side of the dance in fourth place
Repeat with a new couple in top place.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw)
Dance Notes
The dance was composed to teach advance and retire in strathspey time.Dance Information
This dance, The New Plymouth Strathspey, was composed for the Beginners, Intermediate Class at the New Plymouth Easter Weekend School in 1993.(Dance information by the deviser Ruary Laidlaw, copyright 2005, All rights reserved)
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand.
It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated.
In 2021, New Plymouth was recognized as the most liveable city for populations between 75,000 and 150,000 by the International Awards for Liveable Communities. Following up on this accolade, in 2023, New Plymouth earned the title of New Zealand's most beautiful small city, awarded by Keep New Zealand Beautiful.

New Plymouth Skyline
Published in The Lochiel Collection copyright 2005, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw.
This page contains both original content, which is copyrighted, and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources using the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Text from this original New Plymouth article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Mknz24, Creative Commons Licence 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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