Set And Slither

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Set And Slither (R8x32) A 32 bar reel for three couples in a four couple longwise set Murrough Landon (2023).

1- 4 1st couple dance in, touch nearer hands facing up and make a long cast to 2nd place. 2nd couple set up on bars 3-4.
5- 8 1st couple each turn their 1st corner once round with the right hand and dance out to their 3rd corner position followed by their corners who end in 2nd place on the opposite side. 3rd couple are on the men's side, 2nd couple are on the women's side.
All dance the "set and slither" figure (bars 9-16) as follows:
9-12 All set on the sides. Then the central couple and those with right hands free (3rd and 2nd couples) pull their right shoulder back and cast clockwise to the next side as in Set and Link for Three. 3rd woman and 2nd man end on the centre line with their partner in the corner places on their right.
Meanwhile those with left hands free (1st couple) turn once round with the left hand to end back to back in the centre facing the position they just left.
13-16 3rd woman followed by 3rd and 1st men, also 2nd man followed by 2nd and 1st women, each dance a Snake Pass on the 1st diagonal, curving around the other trio, passing them left shoulder. Those leading each snake (3rd woman and 2nd man) end by crossing over, but those following stay closer to their own side, not looping past the centre line. All end on their own sides in the same places as at the start of bar 5. 1st couple swirl, pulling their left shoulder back, to face diagonally left towards their 2nd corner.
All then repeat bars 5-16 with opposite hands and shoulders.
17-20 1st couple each turn their 2nd corner once round with the left hand and dance out to their 4th corner position followed by their corners who end in 2nd place on the opposite side. 2nd couple are on the men's side, 3rd couple are on the women's side.
21-24 All set on the sides. Then the central couple and those with left hands free (2nd and 3rd couples) pull left shoulder back and cast anticlockwise to the next side. Meanwhile those with right hands free (1st couple) turn once round with the right hand to end in the centre facing the position they just left.
25-28 3rd man followed by 3rd and 1st women, also 2nd woman followed by 2nd and 1st men, each dance the Snake Pass figure curving around each other passing right shoulder. 3rd man and 2nd woman end by crossing over and all end on their own sides, again in the same places as at the start of bar 5.
29-32 All turn their partner once round with the right hand (or birl). The final order is 2,1,3.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon CC BY-SA November 2023)

Dance Notes

This dance could also be done as a strathspey or a medley. A reasonably gentle tempo is advisable when doing the dance as a reel.

(Dance notes compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon CC BY-SA November 2023)

Dance Instruction Videos

Set And Slither - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

This dance was devised for Wiebke Luedtke, who had expressed a particular liking for the Set and Slither movement found in Creaky Floorboards.

Wiebke Luedtke is also known as a deviser of numerous dances, and, together with her Tanzbaeren group, has received the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society Virtual Festival award in both 2023 and 2024.

Published in Set And Slither, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.

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