Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Rights And Lefts In A Triangular Set

While it would be possible to perform the conventional, rectangular form of Rights and lefts in a Triangular set (for example, with 1st couple, 2nd man and 3rd lady) there appears to be no instance of this. Instead, the Figure is distorted to accommodate adjacent Couples.

In a 3-Couple Triangular set, the rectangle becomes an isosceles trapezium (isosceles trapezoid in the US and Canada) with three equal-length sides and one twice as long; this requires even more care in the Phrasing than does the rectangular form of Rights and lefts. 4 Dancers are involved and they Finish in their Starting Positions.

The half Figure is much more common as, for example, in bars 25-28 and 29-32 of MacPherson's Jig; exceptional care is required over the Finishing Positions.

The Figure should be Finished with a Polite turn unless the succeeding Figure requires otherwise.


Here are examples of those Scottish Country Dances for which we have instructions on this site and in which the term, Rights and lefts in a triangular set, 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:

Indian River Strathspey


Dance Video Clip Which Demonstrates Rights And Lefts In A Triangular Set

Rights And Lefts In A Triangular Set Video Clip

Links To Pages Related To 'Chains'

Figures

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