Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Oliver's Fifth

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

OLIVER'S FIFTH (R6x32) 2C (3C set) Ruary Laidlaw One Step At A Time

1- 8 1s cast behind own lines, cast back up to places
9-16 1s+2s dance RH across, LH across
17-24 1s turn RH, cast (2s step up) and turn LH (4 bars)
25-32 2s+1s circle 4H round and back

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


Oliver's Fifth
A 6 x 32 bar reel for 2 couples in a three couple set.

1 - 8 First couple cast off behind their own side of the set and dance down for four steps, look at their partner and cast back up to the top finishing in original places.
9-16 First and second couples dance four hands across with right hands and back with the left.
17-24 First couple turn with the right hand for two steps and cast off one place, second couple move up on three and four.
The first couple then turn with the left hand for four steps and finish in second place.
25-32 The first and second couples then dance four hands round and back, first couple ready to start again from second place.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw, 1998)

Dance Notes

This is a simple dance that involves nothing more than Skip-Change-of-Step for bars 1 to 24 and Slip Step for the circle at the end.

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Information

Oliver was a boy who started dancing at Lochiel Club when he was four and who at the age of six, was a competent dancer. This reel, Oliver's Fifth, was composed for his fifth birthday.

(Dance information by the deviser Ruary Laidlaw, copyright 1998, All rights reserved)



Published in Oliver's Fifth, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw.

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Oliver's Fifth' page