Although we are unable to meet physically, we can still have a virtual club night:

Warm-up Amazing Grace

Dance. We have danced Corn Rigs in recent weeks. There is a wonderful short 1957 film called “Scotland Dances”, narrated by Gordon Jackson that can be viewed at the National Library of Scotland website (link below). The film includes a shot of Corn Rigs being danced in a corn field amongst the stooks.

Scotland Dances

Here is the dance in diagram form

And the instructions:

Bars 1 to 8        1st couple cast off and dance behind own line for 4 bars, turn inwards and dance up to original places

Bars 9 to 16     1st couple dance a figure of eight around 2nd couple

Bars 17 to 24   1st couple lead down the middle and up to finish in the middle of the set facing their partner with both hands joined, 2nd couple step in (on bar24, also join both hands)

Bars 25 to 32   1st and 2nd couples dance a pousette

A few points to note;

• 1st couple turn inwards (towards each other) at the end of bar 4 to dance back up
• 1st couple need to be past 2nd couple so they can step in during bar 24
• The pousette is a square formation with good sharp corners
• Each 8 bars of the dance should fully use the 8 bars of music and be completed in it, the formations should flow smoothly from one to the next so that for example, 1st couple arrive back in their places at the end of bar 8 so that they can dance the figure for 8 without stopping

Here is a reasonable video of it being danced. Corn Rigs

To see any formations being danced well, have a look at the Lower Hutt SCD instruction videos: Lower Hutt teaching videos

Dance it through in your head – or on your own walk it through

Formation – Promenade. Last time we met I mentioned a rather good demonstration of a 3 couple promenade in the dance Fidget. Here is a link to the video. The end of the promenade is modified for the 1st and 2nd couples who then dance a pousette (the end of which is modified to lead into Double Triangles). Fidget