The Surprise Of Its Own Unfolding
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
The Surprise Of Its Own Unfolding (S4x40) A 40 bar strathspey for four couples in a longwise set, Murrough Landon July 20221- 4 1st woman, 2nd man, 3rd woman and 4th man, passing left shoulder, cross over to dance right shoulder round their partner and end on the centre line facing down and up.
5- 8 They then dance half a right shoulder reel of four and end on the sides facing out. 2nd man and 3rd woman do not pass left shoulder but end curving to their left.
9-16 The top two pairs and the bottom two pairs dance a chain progression across the dance:
1-2: 1st man and 3rd woman, 4th man and 2nd woman, 3rd man and 1st woman, also 2nd man and 4th woman, giving right hands on the sides, turn three quarters into lines of four across.
3-6: 3rd woman and 4th man, also 2nd man and 1st woman, giving left hands, turn one and half times to change places. Meanwhile 1st man and 2nd woman, also 3rd man and 4th woman, chase half way round clockwise to the other side. 2nd woman and 3rd man pass left shoulder in the centre.
7-8: 4th man and 2nd woman, 1st man and 3rd woman, 2nd man and 4th woman, also 3rd man and 1st woman, giving right hands, turn three quarters to the sidelines. 1st man, 2nd woman, 3rd man and 4th woman stay facing out.
17-18 1st man, 2nd woman, 3rd man and 4th woman loop right shoulder round the person to their right, coming in to face down and up on the centre line.
19-22 They then dance half a reel of four, starting by passing right shoulder, and end facing up and down on the centre line.
23-24 3rd man and 4th woman, also 1st man and 2nd woman, giving right hands, turn three quarters to end on their own side opposite their partner in the order 4,3,2,1. 3rd man and 2nd woman stay facing out.
25-26 3rd and 2nd couples dance half left hands across and end facing the opposite corners on the sides.
27-30 4th with 2nd couples, also 3rd with 1st couples, giving right hands, turn one and a half times to change places so that 4th and 1st couples end in the centre.
31-32 4th and 1st couples dance half left hands across. 1st and 4th man end in tandem facing up, 4th and 1st women end in tandem facing down.
33-36 1st and 4th men with 2nd couple at the top, also 4th and 1st women with 3rd couple at the bottom, each dance half a tandem reel of three across the dance starting by passing 2nd woman and 3rd man left shoulder. 1st man and 4th woman continue dancing down or up the sides. 4th man and 1st woman end facing in opposite their partner.
37-40 2nd and 4th couples, also 1st and 3rd couples, giving left hands, turn once round on the sides. The final order is 2,4,1,3. Those who do not have polite turns start the next repeat.
(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA July 2022)
Dance Notes
Bars 9-32 all have a 2-4-2 bar phrasing.Dance Instruction Videos
The Surprise Of Its Own Unfolding - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
The dance title is taken from "Fluent", a four-line poem by John O'Donohue, the Irish poet, priest, and philosopher (1956-2008).This dance was first tested as a reel (using The Midnight Ferry by Colin Dewar and his band). That proved to be a rushing torrent so it is now changed to be a more languidly flowing strathspey.
Recommended music: Suggested tune: Lady Elizabeth's Air (Sandy Ingram).
Suitable recording: Strathmore (Luke Brady's Scottish Dance Band: Take Your Partners For... Vol 1).
(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA July 2022)
Using the image of a river following its natural course, the poem reflects on embracing life's unexpected turns and continual unfolding.
As the poem remains under copyright, we are unable to reproduce it here. Readers wishing to explore the poem further can find it in O'Donohue's collection Conamara Blues and in authorised reproductions available elsewhere.
Published in The Surprise Of Its Own Unfolding, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon. Licensed under CC BY-SA.