WITCHES RANT

jane hewitt

July 31, 1997, 5:47 p.m. (Message 8382)

Could anyone give me full insrtuctions for dance 'Witches Rant' a 5 couple
reel. I have only a crib sheet which I cannot get to work out.

Thank you

Jane Hewitt
South Africa

Marion Garrett

Aug. 1, 1997, 1:28 a.m. (Message 8400, in reply to message 8382)

Jane Hewitt wrote:

<Could anyone give me full insrtuctions for dance 'Witches Rant' a 5 couple
<reel. I have only a crib sheet which I cannot get to work out.

I, too, would be interested in learning the details of this dance.  One of
our
club members has just completed a PhD in Witchcraft and I'd love to
send it to her!

Thanks,

Marion Garrett
Newcastle upon Tyne

briscoe

Aug. 1, 1997, 4:37 a.m. (Message 8403, in reply to message 8400)

Hi, Marion.

The Witch's Rant was devised by Roy Clowes, and was published in Scottish
Dance Archives, as No. 113.  It is copyright 1978 so I won't reproduce it
on Strathspey, but suggest folks get it from TACBOOK or their own favorite
source. 

It is a lot of fun, but takes some decoding/teaching to work out the reels
for 5 people, in which the middle (3rd) person stands still and the others
dance around.  It is kind of like interlocking reels of three, where the
interlock takes place around a standing person.  I once taught the dance
with only 4 couples, by letting the 3rd couple be just a pair of shoes
(placed in first position, of course!).  The progression just took place
around the third place, so the dancers only occupied 1,2,4,5.

Good fun.

- Mel (Virginia, USA)