Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Spey In Spate (Keppie)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Spey in Spate
Maggie and Duncan Keppie Gaelic College SCD Book 11: Three Dozen
3x32 bar Reel
3-couple dance in 3-couple longways set

  1-4   SET AND PASS: all set and pass partner by the right shoulder to opposite side;

  5-8   WHEEL OR CAST: 1st and 3rd couples dance right hands across AS 2nd couple dances clockwise around the set to 2nd place on own side;

  9-16 TANDEM SWIRLING REEL OF 4, 1ST AND 3RD COUPLES IN TANDEM: 1st couple in tandem followed by 2nd man, and 3rd couple in tandem followed by 2nd woman dance around an oval track, 1st and 3rd couples turn partner halfway with right hands in 2nd place on each side (Bars 3 and 7), and 2nd couple spins individually in 2nd place on the opposite side by pulling right shoulder back (Bar 4) (N.B. the lead for those in Tandem changes on the side of the oval reel): ending order is 1st, 2nd, 3rd, with 1st and 3rd on opposite sides;

17-20 SET AND PASS: all set and pass partner by the right shoulder;

20-24 WHEEL OR CAST: 1st and 3rd couples dance right hands across AS 2nd couple dance clockwise around the set to 2nd place on own side: all are back in original places;

25-28 WALLOCH: all set nearer hands joined, couples in 1st and 2nd positions dance in, down and out one place down the set, touching nearer hands in the middle and curling upwards into the side AS couple in 3rd position dance up two places on their own side (NO CAST);

29-32 REPEAT bars 25-28 from new positions (order is now 2nd, 3rd, 1st).

Repeat with new top couple.

(Dance crib compiled by the devisers, Maggie and Duncan Keppie)


Dance Information

Also see the dance Spey In Spate (Haynes) by Derek Haynes.

The River Spey is a river in the northeast of Scotland, the second longest and the fastest-flowing river in Scotland. It is important for salmon fishing and whisky production.

The Spey changes its course very frequently, either gradually as a result of deposition and erosion from normal flow, or in a matter of hours as a result of going into spate (spate - very fast flood, flash flood). The Spey spates very quickly due to its wide catchment area in the mountains, as a result of rainfall or snow-melt.

The Spey In Spate At Craigellachie 2009 - Information Video

The Spey In Spate
The River Spey In Spate


Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original River Spey article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Anne Burgess under this Creative Commons Licence 2.0.

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