Weasel Reel
Like the
Celtic reel and the St George's Cross form of the
Sash pin reel, the
Weasel reel is an 8-bar
Figure for 3 Scottish Country Dancing
Couples, all moving at once and all
Finishing where they
Started. All three
Couples Travel on a path which is a combination of the path of a
Half reel of four, whose axis is on the
Centre line of
The set, and a clockwise
Chase halfway around the
Corners square. Unlike the
Celtic reel and the
Sash pin reel, the
Weasel reel has three
Dancers on one path and the other three on a mirror image path; the
Half reels of four in these paths have the same axis so that, by interlocking, a continuous, full
Reel of four, albeit with changing
Dancers, is performed on the
Centre line.
In most implementations, 1st couple Start in 2nd place on Opposite sides so that the Men are all in one path, Travelling Up in the Half reel of four and Down when Chasing While the Ladies Travel Down in the Half reel of four and Up when Chasing. Ideally, 2nd couple should Start, right shoulder to right shoulder, on their Own side of the Centre line, halfway between 1st and 2nd positions and 3rd couple, similarly, halfway between 2nd and 3rd positions, as shown in the first diagram. From these Positions, in detail:
Bar 1
1st couple Chase to their First corner positions While 2nd and 3rd couples Dance ¼ of a Half reel of four on the Centre line Finishing with 2nd man on the Centre line in 1st position Facing the Ladies' side, with 3rd lady on the Centre line in 3rd position Facing the Men's side and with 2nd lady and 3rd man left shoulder to left shoulder on Opposite sides of the Centre line in 2nd position;
Weasel Reel: Bar 1.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 2
1st couple Chase clockwise to the
Centre line While 2nd man Chase to
1st lady's Place While 3rd lady Chase to
3rd man's Place While 2nd lady and
3rd man continue the path of the
Half reel of four (but with no
Dancer approaching);
Weasel Reel: Bar 2.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 3
1st lady, at the
Top, and
1st man, at the
Bottom, join the
Half reel of four with the approaching
Dancers (
3rd man, who
Finishes at the
Top, and
2nd lady, who
Finishes at the
Bottom, both
Facing Opposite sides)
While 3rd lady and
2nd man Chase to
2nd place on
Opposite sides;
Weasel Reel: Bar 3.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 4
1st couple continue their
Half reel of four Finishing left shoulder to left shoulder on
Opposite sides of the
Centre line in
2nd position While 3rd and
2nd couples Chase, clockwise, one
Place Finishing 3rd couple in
1st place and
2nd couple in
3rd place, both
Couples on
Opposite sides;
Weasel Reel: Bar 4.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 5
1st couple continue the path of the
Half reel of four (but with no
Dancer approaching)
While 3rd and
2nd couples Chase, clockwise, one
Place Finishing 2nd lady and
3rd man in
2nd place on
Opposite sides,
3rd lady on the
Centre line at the
Top and
2nd man on the
Centre line at the
Bottom;
Weasel Reel: Bar 5.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 6
3rd lady, at the
Top, and
2nd man, at the
Bottom, join the
Half reel of four with the approaching
Dancers (
1st man, who
Finishes at the
Top, and
1st lady, who
Finishes at the
Bottom, both
Facing Opposite sides)
While 2nd lady Chase to
1st man's Place While 3rd man Chase to
3rd lady's Place;
Weasel Reel: Bar 6.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 7
3rd lady and
2nd man continue their
Half reel of four Finishing left shoulder to left shoulder on
Opposite sides of the
Centre line in
2nd position While 2nd lady and
3rd man Chase, clockwise, one
Place Finishing on the
Centre line,
2nd lady at the
Top and
3rd man at the
Bottom,
While 1st couple Chase, clockwise, one
Place Finishing in their
First corner positions;
Weasel Reel: Bar 7.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Bar 8
1st couple Chase clockwise to
2nd place on
Opposite sides While 2nd and
3rd couples complete the
Half reel of four, all
Finishing in their
Positions as at the beginning of bar 1.
Weasel Reel: Bar 8.
Men's paths shown as full lines, ladies' broken; an unshaded arrow head indicates the direction in which the dancer finally faces.
Although the overlapping paths create a
Reel of four on the
Centre line, the
Phrasing is not exactly that of a normal
Reel of four: at the beginning of bars 2 and 5, the
Dancers side-by-side in the
Middle of the
Reel of four have no
Dancer approaching; in bars 3 and 6, those
Dancers will find that the approaching
Dancers in the
Reel of four appear to be late by one bar. This arises because there are only three
Dancers on each path for which there are eight
Positions. The spacing here is 2+3+3 bars; if the, superficially more intuitive spacing, 2+2+4 bars, is attempted, the
Dancers joining the
Half reels of four will find themselves on a collision course with those leaving.
In The Happy Weasel, The Laird of Dalnair and A Trip around Salt Spring, 2nd and 3rd couples Start on the Centre line; this means that they have to move very quickly on bar 1 in order to catch up (one whole bar for the End Dancers and half a bar for those in the Middle) in order to avoid this problem of Precedence for those entering and leaving the Ends of the Half reel of four. The same consideration arises in The White Rabbit (Skelton) where the Men's and Ladies' Starting Positions are interchanged (and so the Men Dance Up on their Own side and Down in the Half reel of four While the Ladies Dance Down on their Own side and Up in the Half reel of four).
Since the Dancers are all in the same Positions at the end of bar 8 as they were at the beginning of bar 1, it is clear that the Weasel reel could start at any point in this sequence, running to the end of bar 8 and then completing the 8 bar Figure from bar 1. At the beginning of bar 5, the Dancers are all in Positions which occur quite commonly in 3 couple, Longwise sets and so this is a particularly convenient place to Start (and Finish) the 8 bar sequence, i.e., dance bars 5-8 followed by bars 1-4, as in bars 17-24 of Pop! Goes the Weasel.
Dance Video Clip Which Demonstrates Weasel Reel
Weasel Reel Video Clip
Links To Pages Related To 'Weasel Reel'
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