Onesome Reel

The Onesome reel is a derivative, for 4 Dancers disposed in a Square set as individuals rather than Couples, of the standard Schiehallion reel. Each Dancer is Positioned at the midpoint of the Place normally occupied by a Couple; The set size is reduced such that all 4 Dancers can just Take hands in a circle without moving inwards. Like the original, it can be performed in the 4-bar quarter form or repeated for the 8-bar half form and so on; it can be danced in Strathspey tempo as well as in Quick tempo, using the appropriate Travelling step. In detail, for the quarter form:

Bars 1-2
all 4 Dancers Advance, Giving left shoulder, and Cross to Finish Facing Out in the Opposite Place;

Bars 3-4
all Cast one Place clockwise to Finish Facing In, one Place anticlockwise from the Starting place.

These 4 bars are repeated once from the new Places for the half form and three times for the full form.

The Figure appears in the half form in the Onesome Reel, and also in the full form in the Winsome Reel, both devised to enable a solitary dancer to perform a meaningful dance (albeit with 3 ghosts). Taking hands in bars 1-2 is specifically proscribed in those dances but this need not be mandatory elsewhere.

Here are examples of those Scottish Country Dances for which we have instructions on this site and in which the term, Onesome reel, 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:

Onesome Reel
Lonesome Reel
Winsome Reel

Dance Video Clip Which Demonstrates The Onesome Reel

Onesome Reel Video Clip

Links To Pages Related To 'Onesome Reel'

Complex Figures

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