strathspey@strathspey.org:27552

mlbrown

Re: Miss Gibson's Strathspey

Sept. 27, 2001, 1:19 p.m. (Message 27552, in reply to message 27545)

Pat wrote:


 >...the same sort of question for Miss G's Strathspey:
>I would like to know what folks think about "staying in the middle" as the
>1st Cpl finishes corner-partner turns before dancing three-hands-across
with
>the supporting couples.  I find it satisfying to finish the left-hand turn
>with my partner at the set lines and then surge forward toward the 2d cpl
>for the hands across figure; staying in the center defeats this, to my
mind.
>
>I should add here that I don't have the original/official instructions for
>this dance; the cheat sheet for Ramblewood specified doing in that way.

Well the printed instructions, both in the original leaflet and in the
Pocket edition, state:

"...... and partner with the left hands, finishing ready for,

Right hands across, ...... "

They also state that
"..... 1st couple pass right shoulders into -
 Left hands across, ......"

This is generally taken to mean, (and I think Derek has been reported as
saying), both the right hands across and the left hands across start with
the dancing couple in the middle of the set. (i.e. he deliberately wanted it
to be different from "The Cuillins of Skye")

What I find slightly harder to be clear on is where the supporting couples
finish the right hand wheel - If it was four hands across and back, then the
dancing couples would stay in the middle to change hands, but "teapots" in
strathspey time gives plenty of time to dance out to the sides (unlike D & D
of E), it balances the start of the right hand wheel, and the instructions
are printed as bars 25 - 28, 29-32. Perhaps it all depends on the width of
the set?

The deviser also often dances the first 16 bars from 3rd place to get to the
bottom, which is fine as long as it doesn't throw the new top couple, and
the bottom couple can cope with dancing the knot and then into "Turn corner,
partner"

Malcolm