Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

The Wedding Ring (Laidlaw)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

The Wedding Ring (Or Robyn And Brian's Wedding)
A 5 x 40 bar reel for five couples in a circular set, men with the ladies on their right.

1 - 8 The ladies dance a figure of eight round their partner and corner person (man on their right) going to their left to begin. They dance in front of their partner, round behind them and then on in front of their corner and home.
9-16 The men dance a figure of eight round their partner and corner person (lady on their left) going to their right to begin. They dance in front of their partner, round behind them and then on in front of their corner and home.
Progressive Promenades
17-20 The first couple (Robyn and Brian) take promenade hold and dance straight across the set, between the third and fourth couples' places for two steps, then cast to their right on bars 19 and 20 to finish in the fourth couple's place.
19-22 For bars 19 and 20 the fourth couple take promenade hold and dance straight across the set between first and second couples' places for two steps, then cast to their right on bars 21 and 22 to finish in the second couple's place.
21-24 For bars 21 and 22 the second couple take promenade hold and dance straight across the set between fourth and fifth couples' places for two steps, then cast to their right on bars 23 and 24 to finish in the fifth couple's place.
23-26 For bars 23 and 24 the fifth couple take promenade hold and dance straight across the set between second and third couples' places for two steps, then cast to their right on bars 25 and 26 to finish in third couple's place.
25-28 For bars 25 and 26 the third couple take promenade hold and dance straight across the set between the fifth and first couples' places for two steps, then cast to their right on bars 27 and 28 to finish in first couple's place.
29-32 All join hands and advance to the centre of the set for two steps, "heuch" and retire for two steps.
33-40 All dance a ten hands circle round and back.

Repeat another four times with a new couple in top place (Robyn and Brian) each time.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw and others, 2001)


Dance Information

Also see the dance Wedding Ring (Keppie) by Maggie and Duncan Keppie.

A group of us (Ruary Laidlaw, Simon Barbour, Glenys Barbour, Christine Miller, Patricia Digby-Smith, Howard McNally, Glenys Pearce, Mary-Ann Goldsmith, Dianne Murdoch, John Murdoch, Bob Polkinghorn, Irene Polkinghorn, Ruth Budden and Peg Stringer) were invited to the wedding of Robyn Fergusson, the NZ Branch secretary, to Brian Howes on the 10th March 2001 in Tauranga in the sunny Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

On the spot we decided to compose a dance to mark the occasion, which we did while the bride and groom were having their photographs taken. We danced it later on at the reception, much to the DJ's mystification, to some music that Simon Barbour had saved on his laptop that he just happened to have with him.

The recommended music is an unusual piece called "Hal Robinson's Rant" by the Boston Hospitality and Others, on a CD called "Celebrate Fifty Years of Dancing". We chose it at the time because it was the only piece we could find that fitted the 5 x 40 bar Reel pattern. Then when we listened to it we loved it and decided that it was it!

For a more conventional approach to the music, but in Jig time, try "The Circle of Love" (appropriate title!), a 5 x 40 Jig by The Olympians Band, on a record called "The Dances of Scotland".

(Dance information by the deviser Ruary Laidlaw, copyright 2005, All rights reserved)

Robyn and Brian's wedding
Robyn & Brian's Wedding

Published in The Lochiel Collection copyright 2005, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Ruary Laidlaw.
Image copyright Robyn Fergusson and Brian Howes, Ruary Laidlaw, all rights reserved, 2024.

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