Poussette For 4 Couples
Poussette for four couples is intended as a Progression for 4 Couples, with 1st couple Finishing in 4th Place, 2nd couple in 1st Place, 3rd couple in 2nd Place, 4th couple in 3rd Place.As defined by the RSCDS in the 2005 edition of "The Manual of Scottish Country Dancing", 3rd and 4th couples perform the same movements as 2nd couple in the standard Pas-de-basque Poussette but 1st couple would need rocket assistance to Travel Down the Men's Side line from 1st to 4th Place in one enormous leap on the first beat of bar 3. The 2013 edition eases this problem by combining the movements of bars 1-2 into bar 1 for all 4 Couples and allocating two bars for 1st couple to Dance Down 3 Places While 2nd, 3rd and 4th couples Dance Up 1 Place.
As with Poussette for three couples, a much more satisfactory method of achieving the same objective (especially for those not still in the first flush of youth!) is as follows: 1st and 2nd couples perform the first 6 bars of Poussette (for 2 Couples) normally While 3rd and 4th couple Stand; on bars 7-8, 2nd couple complete the Poussette normally While 1st couple Face Down, retaining Nearer hands Hold, and Dance Down to 4th Place While 3rd and 4th couples Step up.
Here are examples of those Scottish Country Dances for which we have instructions on this site and in which the term, Poussette For 4 Couples, 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:
Off She Goes In The North
Devorgilla Reel
Red Lion Of Stow
Links To Pages Related To 'Poussette Movements'
Complex FiguresAdditional search terms: 1s+2s+3s+4s dance Poussette.