The Saint John River

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

THE SAINT JOHN RIVER (S4x32) 4C set Prudence Edwards New Brunswick Collection

1- 4 1L followed by partner casts 1 place, crosses, casts down behind 3rd Man
5- 8 1L followed by partner crosses, casts behind 4th Lady and 1L crosses to 4th place opposite sides
9-16 1s dance up 1 place under 4s arch (2 bars), turn 2H 1½ times (4 bars), dance up under 2s arch to original places
17-20 1s followed by 2s+3s+4s lead down the middle (2s, 3s and 4s dance up sides to start)
21-24 When 4s meet at top they touch hands and then 4s followed by 3s, 2s and 1s cast back to places
25-32 All dance DoSiDo with partners, 1s change places on sides with 2s RH, with 3s LH and 4s with RH

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

The Saint John River Keith Rose's Diagram

The Saint John River - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

The Saint John River - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

We chose to make it easier when searching for a dance name starting with Saint to list them all under St, whatever the actual usage; usually Saint and St are completely acceptable alternatives but Saint John, the city in New Brunswick, Canada always uses the full form, perhaps to minimize any confusion with St John's, Newfoundland.

Saint John is at the junction of the Saint John River and the Bay of Fundy which lies between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The Reversing Falls are at a rocky, shallow point in the estuarial part of the river. As the name implies, the falls are normal at low tide, especially so with high flow in the river; at high spring tide and with low flow in the river, the falls are reversed. The photo shows flow in the normal direction at low tide with the river on the left and the bay on the right. The video shows flow in the two directions from a point a few hundred metres upstream of the bridge and on the opposite bank.

The figures in the dance represent the river winding through Saint John, the reversing flow and the associated turbulence.

Reversing Falls In Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada - Video On YouTube.

Saint John River - Normal, Downstream, Flow

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