List of Scottish country dances
Encyclopedia
List of Scottish country dances is a list of Scottish
country dances
. There are well over 15000 documented Scottish country dances so only very frequently danced or notable ones are listed here.
Dances below are marked with the music and dance styles used: R8×32 3C/4 means a Reel of 32 bars repeated 8 times for 3 couples in a set of 4 couples in a longwise set. The letters for the music styles are: R reel
; J jig
; P polka
; S strathspey
; W waltz
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
country dances
Scottish country dance
A Scottish country dance is a form of social dance involving groups of mixed couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns according to a predetermined choreography...
. There are well over 15000 documented Scottish country dances so only very frequently danced or notable ones are listed here.
Dances below are marked with the music and dance styles used: R8×32 3C/4 means a Reel of 32 bars repeated 8 times for 3 couples in a set of 4 couples in a longwise set. The letters for the music styles are: R reel
Reel (dance)
The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. In Scottish country dancing, the reel is one of the four traditional dances, the others being the jig, the strathspey and the waltz, and is also the name of a dance figure ....
; J jig
Jig
The Jig is a form of lively folk dance, as well as the accompanying dance tune, originating in England in the 16th century and today most associated with Irish dance music and Scottish country dance music...
; P polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
; S strathspey
Strathspey (dance)
A strathspey is a type of dance tune in 4/4 time. It is similar to a hornpipe but slower and more stately, and contains many dot-cut 'snaps'. A so-called Scotch snap is a short note before a dotted note, which in traditional playing is generally exaggerated rhythmically for musical expression...
; W waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
- Anniversary Reel – R4×32 4C set – Sheila Muir
- The Bees of MaggieknockaterMaggieknockaterMaggieknockater is a hamlet on the A95 road between Craigellachie and Mulben in Scotland in the Moray council area, in the former county of Banffshire....
– J4×32 4C set – John Drewry - The Belle of Bon Accord – S4×32 4C set – John Drewry
- Blooms of Bon Accord – R4×32 4C set – John Drewry
- Bratach Bana – J8x32 3C/4 – John Drewry
- Clutha – R4×48 Square set
- Dashing White SergeantDashing White SergeantThe Dashing White Sergeant is a Scottish folk dance, performed to a similarly titled piece of music. The dance is in 4/4 time, thus it is in the form of a reel. The dance is performed by groups of six dancers and is progressive.-Steps:...
– 32 bar reel 3 facing 3 round the room - The De'il Amang the Tailors – R8×32 3C/4
- The Dream Catcher – S96 Square set – Eileen Orr
- The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh – R8×40 3C/4 – Allie Anderson & Florence Lesslie
- The Duke of Atholl's Reel – J8×32 3C/4 – Skillern
- The Duke of PerthDuke of Perth (reel)The Duke of Perth also known as Broun's Reel is a traditional Scottish Reel, played in G Major. Although called a reel, the tune meets the criteria for a rant. However, it is usually played at a considerably slower tempo as a Scottish measure, or country dance, in 2/4 time...
– R8x32 3C/4 - The Earl of Mansfield – R4x48 4C – John Drewry
- The Eightsome reel – R40+8x48+40 Square set
- Fergus McIver (a.k.a. Waverley) – J8x48 3C/4 – Button and Whittaker
- Flowers of EdinburghFlowers of EdinburghFlowers of Edinburgh is a traditional fiddle tune of Gaelic lineage, Irish and Scottish. It is also prominent in American fiddle, Canadian fiddle and wherever old time fiddle is cultivated.-History:...
– R8x32 3C/4 Hornpipe - The Frisky – J8x32 3C/4 – Robert Bremner
- Gay GordonsGay Gordons (dance)The Gay Gordons is a popular dance at céilidhs and other kinds of informal and social dance. It is an "old-time" dance, of a type popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in which every couple dances the same steps, usually in a circle around the room....
– 16 bar round the room march - Hamilton House – J8x32 3C/4 – William Campbell
- Hooper's Jig – J8x32 3C/4
- The HaymakersRoger de CoverleyRoger de Coverley is the name of an English country dance and a Scottish country dance . An early version was published in The Dancing Master, 9th edition . The Virginia Reel is probably related to it...
(a.k.a. Sir Roger de Coverley) – 48 bar 9/8 jig – RSCDS - Inverneill HouseInverneill HouseInverneill House is a country house in Argyll, western Scotland. It stands on the west shore of Loch Fyne, around south of Lochgilphead. Although the house is not listed, the walled gardens and mausoleum on the estate are protected as category B listed buildings.]The lands of Inverneill first came...
– R8x32 3C/4 – John Drewry - The Irish RoverThe Irish Rover"The Irish Rover" is a traditional Irish song about a magnificent, though improbable, sailing ship that reaches an unfortunate end. It has been recorded by numerous artists, some of whom have made changes to the lyrics....
– R8×32 3C/4 – James B Cosh - J.B. Milne – R8x32 3C/4 – Hugh Foss
- Jennifer's Jig – J8×32 3C/4 – John Drewry
- MacDonald of the Isles – S3×32 3C – Derek Haynes
- The Machine without horses – J8x32 3C/4 – Rutherford
- Mairi's WeddingMairi's WeddingMairi's Wedding is a Scottish folk song originally written in Gaelic by Johnny Bannerman for Mary McNiven. Written using a traditional Scottish tune, it was first played for McNiven in 1935 at the Old Highlanders Institute in Glasgow's Elmbank Street. Hugh S...
– R8x40 3C/4 – James B. Cosh (See also Wedding music) - Maxwell's Rant – R8x32 3C/4 – Rutherford
- Mrs Stewart's Jig – J8x32 3C/4 – Frans Ligtmans
- The Minister on the LochThe Skating MinisterThe Reverend Robert Walker Skating on Duddingston Loch, better known by its shorter title The Skating Minister, is an oil painting by Sir Henry Raeburn in the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh. It was practically unknown until about 1949; today, however, it is one of Scotland's best known...
– S3×32 3C – Roy Goldring - The Montgomeries’ Rant – R8x32 3C/4 – Castle Menzies
- Monymusk – S8x32 3C/4 – Preston
- Napier's Index – J8x40 3C/4 – Brian Charlton
- Neidpath CastleNeidpath CastleNeidpath Castle is an L-plan rubble-built tower house, overlooking the River Tweed about 1 mile west of Peebles in the Borders of Scotland. The castle is closed to the public.-History:...
– S3×32 3C – Derek Haynes - Pelorus JackPelorus JackPelorus Jack was a Risso's dolphin that was famous for meeting and escorting ships through a stretch of water in Cook Strait, New Zealand, between 1888 and 1912...
– J8×32 3C/4 – Barry Skelton - PetronellaPetronellaPetronella is a female given name, a diminutive form of Petra. Some notable women with this name are:*Petronella Barker , a British-born Norwegian actress*Petronella Burgerhof , a Dutch gymnast and Olympic gold medallist...
– R8x32 2C/4 - Postie’s Jig – J4x32 4C – Roy Clowes
- Quarries' Jig – J8x32 3C/4 – Kent W Smith
- The Reel of the Royal Scots – R8×32 3C/4 – Roy Goldring
- The Reel of the 51st Division – R8x32 3C/4 – James Edward McCartney Atkinson
- Rest and Be Thankful – R8x32 3C/4
- The Robertson Rant – S80 Square – Mrs Douglas Winchester
- The Sailor – R8x32 3C/4
- Scottish Reform – J8x32 2C/4
- Shiftin’ Bobbins – R8x32 3C/4 – Roy Clowes
- Speed the Plough (Inverness Country Dance) – R8x32 3C/4 – RSCDS
- Strip the WillowStrip the willowStrip the willow is a country or barn dance. It has variations depending upon whether it is being performed as a movement in a larger dance or a complete dance in itself.The form described here is that commonly used as part of a Scottish country dance....
– 40 or 56 bar jig in either 6/8 or 9/8 time (in 9/8 it is also known as "Drops of Brandy") - Sugar Candie – S8×32 3C/4
- Swiss Lassie – R8×32 3C/4 – Rosi Betschi
- A Trip to Bavaria – R4x32 4C – James MacGregor-Brown
- Up in the Air – S8x32 3C/4 – Boag
- Virginia ReelVirginia Reel (dance)The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the reel may have its origins in Scottish country dance and the Highland reel, and perhaps have an even earlier influence from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada, it is generally considered to be an English country dance...
-R4x40 4C - The Wee Cooper o' FifeWee Cooper O'Fife"Wee Cooper O'Fife" is a well-known Scottish folk song about a cooper who beats his wife because she will not cook, clean, and sew. It was recorded by Burl Ives on 11 February 1941 for his debut album Okeh Presents the Wayfaring Stranger...
– J8x40 2C/4 (10 bar phrases) – Hugh Foss - West's Hornpipe – R4×32 4C
- The White Heather Jig – J4x40 4C – James B Cosh
- The Wild GeeseThe Wild GeeseThe Wild Geese is a British 1978 film about a group of mercenaries in Africa. It stars Richard Burton, Roger Moore, Richard Harris and Hardy Krüger...
– J8x32 3C/4 – RSCDS - Wind on Loch Fyne – S3x32 Triangle – John Bowie Dickson
- The Wind That Shakes the BarleyThe Wind That Shakes the Barley"The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is an Irish ballad written by Robert Dwyer Joyce , a Limerick-born poet and professor of English literature. The song is written from the perspective of a doomed young Wexford rebel who is about to sacrifice his relationship with his loved one and plunge into the...
– R8x32 3C/4 – John M Duthie
External links
- Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary includes printable Dance Instruction Cribs alphabetically ordered.
- DanceData web interface, database of Scottish country dances: more than 12,000 entries and information on music and recordings.
- Minicrib is a database of nearly 4000 dances which enables cribsheets to be printed out.
- A selection of core dances RSCDS April 2008