The St Machar Strathspey
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
THE ST MACHAR STRATHSPEY (S8x32) 3C (4C set) John Drewry 20031- 8 1s+2s+3s ½ turn partner RH, pull back RSh (twirl), dance out to partner's place; Men face down, Ladies up and all chase clockwise ½ round to own sides. 3L and 1M face out
9-12 3L dances behind 2L and across to 3M place, pulls back RSh to face in as 1M dances similarly up behind 2M into 1L place while
1L+3M turn 1½ with 2H to just in front of partner's place facing in
13-16 1s+3s turn partners 1½ times 2H ending in middle nearer hands joined, 1s in 1st place facing down, 3s in 3rd place facing up
17-24 1s+2s+3s circle 6H round and back finishing on sides
25-32 1s+2s set, turn partners 2H staying in middle facing down nearer hands joined; 2s followed by 1s dance down below 3s and cast up on own sides. 213
Note: End of 2nd time 1s can dance to 4th place (4s step up) or turn 4s 2H to end in 4th place
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Information
Machar was a 6th-century Irish Saint active in Scotland.A Bishop of Irish origin, Machar is said to have been a former nobleman, baptized by St Colman. He came to Iona with Columba and preached in Mull and later ministered to the Picts around Aberdeen. For this reason he was described anachronistically as the first Bishop of the see of Aberdeen. His legend, however, in the Aberdeen breviary makes him "Archbishop of Tours", appointed by Gregory the Great for the last few years of his life. This story deserves no credence. Water from his well was used for baptism in Aberdeen Cathedral. A few dedications survive from this area.
Much of what is claimed to be known about St Machar derives from the Aberdeen Breviary, a work compiled in the late fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries, long after the traditional date of Machar's life. It is therefore hard to assess its reliability.
The Font At St Machar's Cathedral, By Hew Lorimer
Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original Saint Machar article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Stephencdickson, Creative Commons Licence 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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