Reel Of Tulloch
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
REEL OF TULLOCH (R128) 2 facing 2 RSCDS Book 31- 8 Ladies advance into centre and set
9-16 Ladies turn in Tulloch hold and end facing opposite Man
17-24 All set
25-32 All turn in Tulloch hold Men ending in the centre
33-64 Repeat with Men in centre
65-128 Repeat all of above and couples end in original places
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagram
Dance Instruction Videos
Reel Of Tulloch - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
The name "Tulloch" has long been associated with this dance, though the spelling varies.In Deeside, near Ballater, lies the old parish of Tullich, whose ruined kirk still stands today beside the A93 at Milton of Tullich cemetery. This site, marked by gravestones and Commonwealth War Graves, was once the parish church founded in the seventh century by St. Nathalan. Tullich Kirk was abandoned in the late eighteenth century when the parishes of Glenmuick, Tullich, and Glengairn were united, but the burial ground remained in use.
A popular tradition links this dance to Tullich kirk. According to the story, one Sunday in the seventeenth century the villagers gathered for worship only to find that the minister had stayed away, thinking the weather too poor for anyone to attend. Left without a service, the congregation amused themselves by stamping their feet and clapping hands to keep warm, gradually turning their movements into a dance. Whether or not this tale is literally true, it has become part of the folklore surrounding the Reel Of Tulloch and ties the dance to the community of Tullich.
The Reel Of Tulloch is one of Scotland's most distinctive traditional dances. Its earliest known appearance is in the late eighteenth century, when a tune called "Real of Tullack" was recorded in William Vickers' manuscript of 1770.
The dance itself is first mentioned in 1819, and by the middle of the nineteenth century printed descriptions began to appear in ballroom manuals. In 1926, the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society published its interpretation in Book 3, giving the dance the standardized form that is still performed today.
The Reel Of Tulloch is a variant of the traditional Foursome Reel. In this form, the reel figures are replaced by hand turns, with dancers joining hands and turning one another in sequence. The dance is also known by the Gaelic name Hullachan, a term meaning "uproar" or "commotion".
The Remains Of Tullich Church
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Text from this original legend-of-the-reel-of-tulloch article on The Scottish Official Highland Dancing Association.
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