Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

The Newmachar Strathspey

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE NEWMACHAR STRATHSPEY (S4x32) 4C Set John Drewry Stoneywood Collection 2
3s and 4s start on opposite sides

1- 4 1s+2s also 3s+4s dance RH across
5- 8 1s cross down to 2nd place opposite sides while 2s cast up, 3s cast down 1 place and 4s cross up to 3rd place own side; 1s and 4s dance up/down behind 2s/3s
9-16 1s in prom hold dance a reel of 3 across with 2s (RSh to 2M to start) while 4s in prom hold dance reel of 3 across with 3s (RSh to 3M to start)
17-24 1s+4s (prom hold) dance clockwise round each other and dance out ends (1s up between 2s, 4s down between 3s) and cast to 2nd/3rd places
25-32 1s+4s dance ½ R&L (no polite turns) and all 4 couples turn partners 2H. 24(1)(3)

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)


Dance Information

Newmachar is a village in the north-east of Scotland, 10 miles to the north-west of Aberdeen.

The Gaelic word "machar" or "machair" refers to a fertile low-lying grassy plain found on some of the north-west coastlines of Ireland and Scotland, in particular the Outer Hebrides.

Two distinct types of Machar exist:

  • A type of sand-dune pasture, subject to agricultural cultivation, which prevails in wet and windy conditions;
  • The land between a beach and the area where sand encroaches on peat bogs further inland.
Machar
Machar On Barra


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Text from this original Newmachar article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original Machair article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Laurence.

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