Slàinte Mhath
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
Slàinte MhathJean Attwood Leaflet
Reel 4 x 32 bars 4 Couple Repeat 4 Couple Set Longwise Set
1-2 1s2s 3s4s set;
3-4 1s2s 3s4s right hands across halfway;
5-6 1s4s set;
7-8 1s4s left hands across halfway;
9-10 2s4s1s3s set on sides;
11-12 4s cast up to above 1st place WHILE 1s cast to below 4th place WHILE 2s 3s set;
13-14 4s 1s cross by the right WHILE 2s 3s turn by the right halfway (finishing 2s facing down, 3s up);
15-16 4s cast to 2nd place WHILE 1s cast up to 3rd place WHILE 2s lead down under arch made by 3s, finishing 3s4s1s2s;
17-24 3s4s 1s2s double figures of 8 (3s casting down and 2s casting up to start), finishing with 4L4M1L1M facing own sides in balance position on the centre line of the set;
25-26 4L4M1L1M set in balance position;
27-28 4s 1s turn by the right ¾ finishing facing up;
29-32 4s followed by 1s lead up, cross and cast, finishing 3s1s4s2s.
(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Information
"Slàinte Mhath" in Gaelic means "Good Health"; like "Slàinte Mhòr", which means "Great Health", it is used as a greeting but much more commonly as a toast with a dram of whisky. "Slàinte Mhath" should be pronounced as "Sslah~nch~ Vah" in English, and "Slàinte Mhòr" as "Sslah~nch~ Voer", with stress always on the first syllable and where:"ss" is as in "less";
"ah" is as in "shah";
"~" represents the very short, indeterminate, vowel sound;
"ch" is as in "chat"; and
"oe" is as in "toe".
See Gaelic Dance Names for more information on Gaelic spelling and pronunciation.
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