Rachael Rae

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s+2s dance RH across and LH back ending with 1M between 2L+3L facing out and 1L between 2M+3M also facing out
9-16 2s+1s+3s Balance-in-Line on sides twice, 1s turn while 2s step down and in to centre for Poussette
17-24 1s+2s dance Poussette. 213

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Rachael Rae - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

Smyth writes:

The Lowes, in 1831 write:

Both publishers spell the dance "Rachel Rae".

(Dance information copyright, reproduced here with the kind permission of George Williams)

The name Rachael, or Rachel, Rae appears in Scottish dance sources from around 1830, where both a tune and a country dance carry the title.

The dance is recorded in early nineteenth-century collections issued by publishers such as W. Smyth and the Lowes, and later passed into the repertory of modern Scottish country dancing. The tune with the same name was already circulating in printed and manuscript music collections before or around this period, suggesting that the dance title was taken directly from an existing melody.

No surviving evidence indicates that Rachael Rae was a real individual connected with the creation of the dance. Searches of nineteenth-century records reveal no identifiable figure of that name who can be linked to musical circles, assemblies or dance teachers of the time. The title seems instead to follow a common pattern in which dances were named after tunes, or given attractive or memorable names without intending a dedication to a specific person.

It is therefore most plausible to regard Rachael Rae simply as a traditional tune and dance title, rather than a reference to a documented historical figure.