Yan Tan Tethera

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s cross RH, cast 1 place, 1L dances a ½ Fig of 8 round 2s while 1M dances ½ Fig of 8 round 3s
9-24 1s dance Corner Chain with 1st and 2nd corners:
 1s change places RH with 1st corners, 1st corners turn LH in centre and return to places giving RH to 1s who turn LH in centre to face 2nd corners
 1s change places RH with 2nd corners, 2nd corners turn LH in centre and return to places giving RH to 1s and 1s end turning LH ¾ to face 1st corner
25-32 1s dance reels of 3 on opposite sides giving LSh to 1st corners and cross to 2nd place own sides

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

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

Yan Tan Tethera - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Instruction Videos

Dance Information

The title of this dance, Yan Tan Tethera, were immortalized in the Yan Tan Tethera - Song, also known as Old Molly Metcalfe, written by Jake Thackray from Leeds, West Yorkshire in the early 1970s.

Until the Industrial Revolution, the use of traditional number systems was common among shepherds, especially in the dales of the Lake District. The Yan Tan Tethera system was also used for counting stitches in knitting.

Though most of these number systems fell out of use by 1910, many are still in use and the word yan continues to mean "one" in some northern English dialects.

Here are the numbers 1 to 20 as used in Swaledale, Yorkshire.

Yan Tan Tethera Song - Information Video

Yan Tan Tether Mether Pip

Back to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing Instructions 'Yan Tan Tethera' page