O Wha's At The Window
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
O WHA'S AT THE WINDOW (J5x40) 5C Set John W Mitchell Whetherly Book 11-10 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)
O Wha's At The Window A forty bar Jig for five couples in a longwise set. Devised by John W Mitchell. Published in Whetherly Book 1.
The dance requires a tune written in 10 bar phrases.
1-10 Reels of five on own sides of the set. To commence, first and third couples dance out and down, second and fourth couples dance in and up (to pass right shoulder on the ladies' side and left shoulder on the men's side) and fifth couple dance out and up.
11-12 First and third couples cast off one place; second and fourth couples step up.
13-16 First couple dance a half figure of eight round fourth couple, whilst third couple dance a half figure of eight round fifth couple, both crossing down to begin.
17-20 First couple dance a half figure of eight round second couple, whilst third couple dance a half figure of eight round fourth couple, both crossing up to begin.
21-30 Grand chain for five couples, one step to each hand. To commence, second couple cross over, giving right hand in passing, first and fourth couples give right hand to change places on the sides and third and fifth couples also give right hands to change places on the sides.
31-32 First and third couples turn own partner with the right hand three quarters to give left hand to first corners.
33-34 First and third couples balance in line with their first corners.
35-36 First and third couples turn own partner with the right hand three quarters to join left hand with second corners.
37-38 First and third couples balance in line with their second corners.
39-40 First couple turn with right hand into third place on own side, whilst third couple turn with the right hand into fifth place on own side; fourth and fifth couples step up. First and third couples finish facing out, ready to start again.
Repeat with new top couple.
(Dance crib reproduced from The Whetherly Book of Scottish Country Dances, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
O Wha's At The Window - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
This dance shares its title with the O Wha's At The Window - Song, with words by Alexander Carlyle and music by the Scottish composer Robert Archibald Smith (1780–1829).The title is Scots for "Oh, who's at the window?", and the song takes the form of an exchange between a woman and the man who has come to her window.
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'.
Recommended tune: 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
Published in The Whetherly Book Of Scottish Country Dances Number 1, by John W Mitchell, revised and republished by Alison Mitchell; instructions reproduced under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence (CC BY-ND 4.0).
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