The Spark O' Water
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
SPARK O' WATER (S8x32) 2C (4C set) Duncan and Maggie Keppie Haliburton Book 3 and Nova Scotia Collection 20171- 8 1s+2s circle 4H round to left; 1s+2s turn partner 2H 1¼ to end in centre, Men facing down, Ladies facing up
9-16 1s+2s dance reel of 4
17-24 1s+2s Petronella turn to own sides and set; 1s+2s turn partner RH into allemande hold facing up
25-32 1s+2s dance allemande
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
The Spark O' Water
Maggie and Duncan Keppie Haliburton School Of Arts SCD Book 3:
Corners 6/8 x 32 bar strathspey
2-couple dance in 3 or 4-couple longways set
1-4 CIRCLE 1st and 2nd couples dance once round;
5-8 TURN PARTNER: 1st and 2nd couples turn partner 1¼ round with both hands to end in a line along the centre of the dance, men facing down, women facing up;
9-16 REEL OF 4: 1st and 2nd couple dance a reel of 4;
17-20 PETRONELLA AND SET: 1st and 2nd couples petronella to own side and set;
21-24 TURN PARTNER RIGHT HAND: 1st and 2nd couples turn partner by the right ending in allemande hold;
25-32 ALLEMANDE: 1st and 2nd couple dance allemande to change places.
Repeat from 2nd place.
(Dance crib compiled by the devisers, Maggie and Duncan Keppie)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Instruction Videos
The Spark O' Water - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
Maggie Keppie's inspiration for this strathspey, The Spark O' Water, came from the line "The stars on the river they sparkle and spin", from Song For The Mira - Song by singer-songwriter Allister MacGillivray.And over the ashes the stories are told
Of witches and werewolves and Oak Island gold
The stars on the river they sparkle and spin
I wish I was with them again
Chorus
Can you imagine a piece of the universe
More fit for princes and kings?
I'll trade you ten of your cities for Marion Bridge
And the pleasure it brings.
Devised by Duncan and Maggie Keppie, The Spark O' Water, was first published in Haliburton School of the Arts SCD Book #3, then reprinted in Spark O' Water and Dances of Nova Scotia in 2017.
Song For The Mira Song - Information Video
Marion Bridge, Where The Cape Breton Railway Crosses The Mira River, c. 1903
Image copyright University of Washington, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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