The Rare Bird
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE RARE BIRD (S4x32) 4C set John Drewry Bankhead Book 52 Ch - 1M and 3M stand as 1L and 3L cross down to 2M/4M place who cross over to partner's place as 2L/4L step up (Ladies on right of partners)
1- 8 1M+2M also 3M+4M ¾ turn RH and dance RSh round partner to places, 1L+2L also 3L+4L repeat LSh
9-16 1s+2s also 3s+4s set and circle 4H round to left ½ way, set and Petronella-in-tandem. (1)2(3)4
17-24 1s and 4s set and link twice and end on sides while 2s+3s set and link with partner rotating to face partner then set and rotate with other partner to end (1)3(2)4
25-32 3s and 1s dance out between end couples and cast back to place, all set and Men cast 1 place clockwise as Ladies cross to end 3s+4s M side and 1s+3s L side
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
The Rare Bird - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
John Drewry dedicated this dance to Avis Harrison.Avis is a feminine Latin noun for the word bird, and the expression "rara avis" (rare bird) means someone or something that is rare as in "Elizabeth Bishop was the anomaly, the rara avis, of her generation of poets" (Randall Jarrell, 1955, in a Harper's review "The Year in Poetry").
Avis Harrison (1934-2025) was a well-known and long-standing dancer and teacher on the Scottish Country Dancing scene in the UK and worldwide.
Leeds RSCDS website has an obituary for Avis Harrison.
Rare Image Of A Rare Bird
European Bee-Eater Chasing An Aglais Butterfly In Flight, Pfyn-Finges, Switzerland
Image from Giles Laurent, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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