Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

O Wha's At The Window

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

O WHA'S AT THE WINDOW (J5x40) 5C Set John W Mitchell Whetherly Book 1

1-10 Mirror reels of 5 on sides (1s+3s out/down, 2s+4s in/up, 5s out/up to start)
11-12 1s+3s cast off 1 place (2s+4s step up)
13-16 1s+3s dance ½ Fig of 8 round 4s/5s
17-20 1s+3s dance ½ Fig of 8 round 2s/4s. 21435
21-30 All dance Grand Chain (1 step per hand - 2s cross RH, 1s+4s also 3s+5s change places RH on sides)
31-34 1s+3s ¾ turn partner RH to give LH to 1st corners, 1s+3s Balance-in-Line
35-38 1s+3s repeat bars 31-34 with 2nd corners
39-40 1s/3s turn RH into 3rd/5th place own side (4s+5s step up). 1s+3s finish facing out ready to start again. 24153

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


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Instruction Videos

O Wha's At The Window - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

The title of this dance, O Wha's At The Window, comes from the O Wha's At The Window - Song written by Alex Carlyle with music written by R. A. Smith to accompany the song.

Wha's at the window, wha, wha?
O wha's at the window, wha, wha?
but blythe Jamie Glen,
He's come sax miles an' ten,
To tak' bonnie Jeanie awa' awa',
To tak' bonnie Jeanie awa'.

O Wha's At The Window
O Wha's At The Window, From Glen Collection Of Printed Music, Wood's Edition Of The Songs Of Scotland, Page 109, c. 1857


Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page:The_Book_of_Scottish_Song.djvu/386 article on Wikisource.
Image copyright (cropped) https://digital.nls.uk/special-collections-of-printed-music/archive/91339339 under this Creative Commons Licence 4.0.

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