Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

St John's Jig (Drewry)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

ST JOHN'S JIG (J8x32) 3C (4C set) John Drewry Summer Collection No9

1- 4 1s cross down RH below 3s and cast up 1 place while 3s cast up to top and cross RH while 2s set and cross down 1 place
5- 8 1s cross LH and cast to left to end between 2s/3s facing up/down
9-16 All turn facing person RH, 1s dance ½ reels of 3 on own sides giving RSh to 3rd corner (position) and end 1M between top couple/1L between bottom couple
17-24 1s dance ½ Fig of 8 on own sides, 1s change places RH (up/down) and cast to 2nd place opposite side
25-32 All turn partners RH, 1s dance ½ reels of 3 across giving RSh to 4th corner (position)

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


Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams


Dance Information

Also see the dance The St John's Jig (Derrick) by Lewis N Derrick.

Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle.

John the Baptist was a Roman born Judaean mission preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early 1st century AD. He is also known as John the Forerunner in Christianity, John the Immerser in some Baptist Christian traditions, and Prophet Yahya in Islam. He is sometimes alternatively referred to as John the Baptiser.

John the Apostle or Saint John the Beloved was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Generally listed as the youngest apostle, he was the son of Zebedee and Salome. His brother James was another of the Twelve Apostles. The Church Fathers identify him as John the Evangelist, John of Patmos, John the Elder, and the Beloved Disciple, and testify that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes, although modern scholars are divided on the veracity of these claims.

John The Baptist
"St John The Baptist In The Desert" Titian (1490-1576), Oil On Canvas, c. 1542

John The Apostle
"The Apostle Saint John Evangelista", Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), Oil On Canvas, c. 1611


Published in The McGhie Scottish Country Dance Sheets, Collection 1, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Lewis N Derrick.
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original John The Baptist article on Wikipedia.
Text from this original John The Apostle article on Wikipedia.
Upper image copyright Titian, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Lower image copyright Peter Paul Rubens, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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