Unit 2 Fantasia

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

Unit 2 Fantasia (J32+S32+R32) A 96 bars medley of 32 bars jig, 32 bars strathspey and 32 bars reel for three couples in a longwise set. Murrough Landon, 2020

Part 1: Jig
1- 8 1st couple, giving right hands, turn once, then cast off as 2nd couple step up.
1st couple, giving left hands, turn once round, moving up slightly, and end in promenade hold facing 2nd woman.
Source: Duke of Perth [Reel]. Modifications: End in promenade hold, not facing 1st corners.
9-16 1st couple in promenade hold dance a complete Fig of 8 round 2nd couple, starting by giving right shoulder to 2nd woman and ending in 2nd place. On bar 16 2nd and 3rd couples step in to take promenade hold facing up.
Source: Village Reel [Strathspey]. Modifications: All end in the centre, 1st couple in 2nd place.
17-24 2nd, 1st and 3rd couples dance a three couple Allemande.
Source: Miss Hadden's Reel [Jig]. Modifications: None.
25-32 3rd, 1st and 2nd couples advance and retire. Then, giving right hands, all three couples turn once round. The order is now 3,1,2.
Source: Mrs Stewart's Jig [Jig]. Modifications: All turn once instead of 1st couple one and a half.

Part 2: Strathspey
1- 8 3rd and 1st couples (top two) set. Then, giving both hands, they each turn once round opening out into a circle 4 hands once round to the left. Source: Miss Gibson's Strathspey [Strathspey]. Modifications: None
9-16 2nd couple followed by 1st couple (bottom two) dance down, then 1st couple split and follow 2nd couple back up to end in the order 3,2,1.
Source: Alltshellach [Strathspey]. Modifications: Start on the sides, dance down, different order.
17-24 3rd and 2nd couples (top two), facing in diagonally, dance Set and Rotate. Source: The Westminster Reel [Reel]. Modifications: None.
25-32 2nd and 3rd couples dance the all round Poussette. The order now is 2,3,1.
Source: Summer Wooing [Reel]. Modifications: Strathspey instead of quicktime Poussette.

Part 3: Reel
1- 8 2nd man (top place) sets diagonally to 3rd woman, then casts off as 3rd man steps up. 2nd woman (top place) sets across to 3rd man, then casts off as 3rd woman steps up. The order is now 3,2,1.
Source: General Stuart's Reel [Reel]. Modifications: None.
9-16 3rd, 2nd and 1st couples dance mirror reels of three on the sides. 2nd couple start in and down. 3rd (top) and 1st (bottom) couples cast to start then, giving right hands, cross down to the opposite side on bars 11-12 and 15-16 respectively. All end on the sides, without extra loops. The order is still 3,2,1 with 3rd and 1st couples now on opposite sides.
Source: Mrs Hamilton of Wishaw [Strathspey]. Modifications: Top and bottom couples each cross down once instead of top couple crossing twice. Middle couple start down. All end on the sides.
17-24 3rd, 2nd and 1st couples dance Set and Link for three couples twice ending in the order 1,2,3 with 2nd couple on opposite sides.
Source: Rodney's Rant [Jig]. Modifications: None.
25-32 1st, 2nd and 3rd couples circle six hands once round to the left (6 bars). Then 2nd couple, giving right hands, cross to their own sides. The final order is 1,2,3.
Source: The Starry Eyed Lassie [Jig]. Modifications: None.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA August 2020)

Dance Notes

The choice of which 8 bar phrase to select from which dance was very constrained. Firstly by wanting the resulting medley to be smoothly danceable and secondly to have a three couple progression at the end of each 32 bar section (with all couples on their own sides). It was also desirable to include as wide a variety of figures as possible.

This required a suitable combination of progressive and non-progressive figures. Even allowing phrases to be used in sections with different rhythms it was still necessary to make a few modifications, mainly to swap couples to their own or opposite sides or to keep them there.

The most significant changes were:
Jig (bars 29-32): All turn once instead of just 1st couple turning one and a half times. As 1st couple did not need to change sides it seemed nicer to let all three couples turn. This also gave a more even share of the action to each couple. In the complete 96 bar dance 1st couple dance for 70 bars, 2nd couple for 68 bars and 3rd couple for 64 bars.
Strathspey (bars 25-32): The quicktime Poussette is changed to the all round strathspey Poussette. No progression was needed at that point - and I like the strathspey one better! Also in bars 9-16 I prefer dancing down and up to leading down and up.
Reel (bars 9-16): Instead of the top couple crossing down on bars 11-12 and then crossing back up on 15-16, here the top couple cross down but stay on the opposite side while the bottom couple cross down on bars 15-16. This was required to get the right progression for the following Set and Link, circle and cross back which seemed like the best ending.

(Dance notes by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA August 2020)

Dance Instruction Videos

Unit 2 Fantasia - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

Covid lockdowns interrupted the RSCDS teaching course I had started. While I was trying to keep up my interest in the Unit 2 dances the regular Dance Scottish at Home bulletins were enthusing about jigsaw puzzles. These two collided in my mind and the resulting dance is a fantasy jigsaw mixture of one 8 bar phrase from each of the 12 prescribed dances for the first part of the RSCDS teaching certificate (in 2020).

As in a dream, there is both logic and some surreal mixups and mistakes. Hopefully more nightmarish scenarios of getting to the wrong exam hall at the wrong time with hiking boots instead of ghillies and the wrong or possibly no clothes will not really happen!

Each 8 bar phrase comes from the corresponding part of one of the dances. But it might be slightly or heavily modified, danced by different couples from different places and in a different rhythm.

The table shown on the .pdf, see link below, summarises the dances and, in colour, shows the selected phrases in their original rhythm.

Recommended music: Suitable recording The Everchanging Medley 2 (David Cunningham and his Scottish Dance Band: The Vallin Suite 2).

(Dance information by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA August 2020)

Published in Unit 2 Fantasia, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.

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