The Punch Bowl

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s cross RH, cast 1 place, cross LH and cast down below 3s
9-16 1s dance up and out between 2L+3L, Man casts up and Lady down, meet in middle, dance out between 2M+3M, cross and Lady casts up and Man down to meet in middle
17-24 1s lead down middle and back to top
25-32 1s+2s dance Poussette. 213

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

The Punch Bowl - Full Size And Key To Symbols

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Dance Information

The title The Punch Bowl was already well established by the beginning of the eighteenth century. It appears in Henry Playford's The Dancing Master of 1701 as the name of both a country dance and its accompanying tune, and was included again in later dance collections.

In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries a punch bowl was the large communal vessel from which punch was served at social gatherings. The drink itself became popular in Britain during this period, and the word punch is derived from the Hindi panch, meaning "five", referring to its original 5 ingredients of arrack, sugar, citrus juice, water and tea.

Arrack was the original alcoholic ingredient in the drink as it developed in India during the seventeenth century. When punch became popular in Britain, arrack was often replaced by rum, brandy or other spirits, but the name remained.

No contemporary source has been found that explains why this particular dance was given the title. It may simply have shared the name of the earlier tune, as was common in many eighteenth-century dance collections

Punch Bowl, Goblets, Tray And Ladle, c. 1867

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