Terrace Loggers' Jig
Scottish Country Dance Instruction
TERRACE LOGGERS' JIG (J4x32) 4C set Kirsten Earl Ruby Anniversary Collection1- 8 1s cross RH and cast to bottom, dance 'High 5' and cast back to places
9-16 All dance DoSiDo twice
17-24 All dance down middle, 1s make an arch and 2s+3s+4s dance up. 2341
25-32 2s+3s also 4s+1s dance RH across and LH back
(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)
Terrace Loggers' Jig
Kirsten Earl Ruby Anniversary Collection
Jig 4 x 32 bars 4 Couple Repeat 4 Couple Set Longwise Set
1-4 1s cross by the right and cast below 4s;
5-8 1s cross by the right, giving 'High 5', and cast up to places;
9-16 all dance dos-à-dos twice;
17-20 4s followed by 3s 2s 1s lead down, all with nearer hands joined, 1s making an arch in 4th place to finish;
21-24 2s followed by 3s 4s, all with nearer hands joined, lead up under the arch to finish 2s3s4s1s;
25-32 2s3s 4s1s right hands across and left back.
(MAXICRIB. Scottish country dancing instructions compiled by Reuben Freemantle)
Dance Notes
17-24 There is an inauthentic alternative version which is not approved by the deviser:
17-20 1s followed by 2s 3s 4s lead down, all with nearer hands joined, 1s making an arch in 4th place to finish;
21-24 2s followed by 3s 4s continue under the arch and cast up to finish 2s3s4s1s.
Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams
Dance Instruction Videos
Terrace Loggers' Jig - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction VideoDance Information
The story is that this dance represents coastal logging as practiced near Terrace, British Columbia.The first figure represents marking the cutblock, with the other dancers representing the trees to be felled. In a called ceilidh dance, we often use the call "Mark the cutblock" to tell the dancers what to do.
The second figure, double DoSiDo, represents the back and forth sawing action of falling the trees. Everyone is involved, because a logging crew is typically much larger than the forestry crew who do the marking. Personally, I consider the first do-si-do as the falling action, and the second bucking them to length to fit on the trucks. We have large trees around here. If I call this dance, I use "Cut them down, then buck them up," while Kirsten likes to call "Timber" just as the third figure starts.
The third figure represents hauling the timber to the sawmill. The arch by the active couple at the bottom represents the gate at the mill. I like to use "Down the hill and into the mill" as the call.
The fourth figure represents milling the timber into lumber and other products. I like to use "make some lumber" then "make some chips" as the calls. (Chips are used in pulp mills, and are made from the edges and other bits of the log that can't be cut into lumber.)
(Dance information by Robert MacDonald, a friend of the deviser, Terrace, British Columbia)

Loggers, c. 1890
Image copyright Detroit Publishing Co.
Additional search terms: Ceilidh Dance, Christen, C Earl.
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