Lead Up
To Lead up, the Scottish Country Dancers Take hands and Travel Up the Centre line of The set. The distance to be Travelled is either explicitly stated (for example, Lead up to 2nd Places) or determined by the following Figure (for example, Lead up and Cast to 2nd Places) or implied as Lead up to Original Places if following Lead down.Three dancers Take Nearer hands. A Man and a Lady normally Take Right hands unless the following Figure is better suited by Nearer hands or Left hands. For example:
- if the next Figure is Cast down on the same Sides, Take Nearer hands;
- if the dancers are on Own sides and the next Figures are Cross and Cast down, Take Left hands;
- if the next Figure is a movement involving Both hands (but not crossed as in Promenade), Take Nearer hands.
The Time allocated is commensurate with the distance to be Travelled.
Here are examples of those Scottish Country Dances for which we have instructions on this site and in which the term, Lead up, either appears explicitly or is implied; note that for a common term these will be a small selection; for a rare term, these may be all that exist:
Balvenie Castle
Campbell's Frolic
Dunivard Reel
Granny Knot (Boehmer)
Last Of The Lairds
Lorn Strathspey
Raven's Dance
Tambourine
Trefoil Badge
Weaver
Links To Pages Related To 'Travelling'
FiguresBack to the top of this Scottish Country Dancing 'Lead Up' page