The Scots Bonnet

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE SCOTS BONNET (J8x32) 3C (4C set) RSCDS Book 10

1- 8 1s+2s dance R&L
9-16 1s lead down the middle and back
17-24 1s cast, cross RH, cast down behind 3s and lead up to Balance-in-Line with 2s (Men face down)
25-32 1s+2s Balance-in-Line across, ½ turn opposite partners LH to put 2s in centre, Balance-in-Line, 2s dance up to 1st place as 1s cross to 2nd places

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

The Scots Bonnet - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

The Scots Bonnet - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

A Tam O' Shanter is the most common Scottish bonnet worn by men. It was named after the character Tam O' Shanter in the Tam O' Shanter - Poem by Robert Burns.

This truth fand honest Tam o' Shanter,
As he frae Ayr ae night did canter:

The bonnet is made of wool with a toorie (pompon) in the centre, and the crown is about twice the diameter of the head.

There are also a number of other types of Scots Bonnet like the Glengarry and the Balmoral bonnet.

Tam O' Shanter Poem - Information Video

Portrait Showing Balmoral Bonnet, Scottish National Gallery

Detail Of Portrait Painting Showing Balmoral Bonnet, Scottish National Gallery
"Colonel Alastair Ranaldson Macdonell Of Glengarry" Henry Raeburn (1756–1823), Oil On Canvas, c. 1812

This page uses content under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, along with original copyrighted content and excerpts from Wikipedia and other sources.
Text from this original Tam O' Shanter article on Wikipedia.
Image from Henry Raeburn, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'The Scots Bonnet' page