Winter In Wasdale

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

WINTER IN WASDALE (S4x32) Sq.Set Murrough Landon 2016

1- 4 1s+3s ½ turn 2H and chase ½ round clockwise. 3M followed by 1L and 1M followed by 3L facing sides
5- 8 3M+1L and 1M+3L chase clockwise ½ round RSh round 2s/4s. Men end BtoB in centre facing Ladies while 2s and 4s repeat bars 1-4
9-12 3M+1L and 1M+3L set, advance and retire (1 step each) while 2s and 4s repeat bars 5-8 dancing through setting couples. All Men end BtoB in centre
13-16 3M+1L and 1M+3L dance DoSiDo while 2s and 4s dance bars 9-12
17-20 All dance ½ intersecting RSh reels of 4 (½ LH across in centre)
21-24 Men set advancing to next place in centre to left and face out while Ladies chase ¼ round clockwise, all turn partners ¾ RH, Ladies face out
25-32 Corner Schiehallion Reels:
25-26 Men dance straight across and face out to left while Ladies loop left round corner and face in
27-32 Repeat 3 more times from new positions. 2341 facing partner

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Winter In Wasdale (4x32S) 32 bar strathspey for four couples in a square set, Murrough Landon, 2016

1- 2 1st and 3rd couples each half turn their partner with both hands and open out into the centre with the women leading.
3- 4 1st and 3rd couples chase half way round clockwise in the centre and end in tandem, facing the sides, with the men leading, followed by the woman who is not their partner.
5- 8 3rd man with 1st woman, and 1st man with 3rd woman, in tandem, passing 2nd and 4th couples right shoulder, dance clockwise half way round outside the set. The men end back to back on the centre line facing out to the women on the sides.
Meanwhile 2nd and 4th couples dance as 1st and 3rd couples in bars 1-4.
9-12 1st and 3rd couples set to the facing person then advance and retire for one.
Meanwhile 2nd and 4th couples dance as 1st and 3rd couples in bars 5-8, passing through the setting couples. End with all the women on the sides facing in to the men who are back to back in the centre facing out.
13-16 1st and 3rd couples dance back to back with the facing person.
Meanwhile 2nd and 4th couples dance as 1st and 3rd couples in bars 9-12.
17-20 All dance half intersecting right shoulder reels of four with a quick left hands across in the centre. End with the women on the sides facing clockwise and the men still left shoulder to each other in the centre facing anticlockwise.
21-22 The women all chase clockwise one place round the outside of the set. Meanwhile the men all set advancing with a short step to the right and a longer step to the left, ending, still back to back in the centre, one place to their left facing out to their partner in the order 4,1,2,3.
23-24 All turn their partner three quarters with the right hand and end with the men facing in and the women facing out.
25-32 All dance a Corner variation of Schiehallion Reels:
1-2:. The men cross straight over (eg from 1st man's to 3rd woman's place) to face out and slightly to their left while the women loop left around the corner to the next man's place anticlockwise (eg from 1st woman's to 4th man's place) and face in.
3-8: Repeat this pattern three times. On their last cross, the women end pulling back right shoulder to face in or face their partner in the order 2,3,4,1.

(Dance crib compiled by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA January 2016 (revised 2020))

Dance Notes

In the first 16 bars the 2nd and 4th couples copy the 1st and 3rd couples four bars later.

The turns with both or right hands and the half left hands across may all be done hands free if preferred.

(Dance notes by the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA January 2016 (revised 2020))

Keith Rose's Crib Diagram

Winter In Wasdale - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Winter In Wasdale - Scottish Country Dancing Instruction Video

Dance Information

In an echo of "Autumn in Appin", the original idea for this dance had the pairs taking promenade hold for the chases round the outside in bars 5-8 and 9-12. On the last bar the women would lead the men across right hand to end in the centre. This version was not tested before the Corona virus lockdown. Promenade hold was impractical for a solo video test during the pandemic so this was revised to chasing in tandem (and hands free turns). The promenade version will hopefully be tested in future and might be reinstated.

I was unable to find any existing examples of dances with what I refer to here as a Corner Schiehallion. This is a (reverse) Schiehallion reel rotated by 45 degrees. Instead of crossing diagonally and looping on the sides, here the crossing is parallel to the sides and the looping is round the corners at the ends of the diagonals. The men are each followed by their corner rather than their partner who they fleetingly meet in passing every 4 bars. The track is that followed by two dancers in Postie's Jig (thanks to Keith Rose for pointing this out).

This is a busy dance: 2nd and 4th couples only have a four bar respite. However those keen for a fully active variation could have 2nd and 4th couples compactly dance back to back on the sides in bars 1-4 which would give a cyclic completeness to the first half of the dance.

Recommended music: Suggested tune Oor Mary by Charlie Galloway; suitable recording Miss McLean of Inverness (Kafoozalum: 75th Anniversary of London Branch).

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

Published in Winter In Wasdale, reproduced here with the kind permission of the deviser, Murrough Landon, CC BY-SA.

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