This is an excellent performance of a Scottish country dance called Macleod's Fancy to a contemporary tune by Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser called Tommy's Tarbukas. This dance has some elegant...
This is an excellent performance of a Scottish country dance called Macleod's Fancy to a contemporary tune by Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser called Tommy's Tarbukas. This dance has some elegant figures I'm quite fond of and is nice "demonstration material" as it's pretty symmetrical and has two active couples.
I'm excited by this video for its choreography and music, and also because I know a few of the dancers and it's lovely to discover such recordings serendipitously. Kudos to all of them for doing such a good job on such a slippery floor! :P
Bars 1–8: The dance begins with first and fourth couples setting to each other on the diagonal for two bars. On bar three, first lark (M) and fourth raven/robin (W) cross with right hands and cast to their right around the lines, while first raven and fourth lark cast bringing their right shoulder back; each pair then repeating the opposite part of that figure to return to original places.
Bars 9–16: Parallel right shoulder reels of four on the sides.
Bars 17–24: First and second couples turn right hands 3/8 the way around, as third and fourth couples do the same, first and fourth couples taking hands in the center and balancing in line with corners. On bar 21, first and second couples turn right hands once around, first couple dancing forward to third place, pulling right shoulder back; third and fourth couples do the same, ending in second place, all facing in.
Bars 25–32: First and fourth couples set for two, then cross for two, ravens keeping nearer hands as larks split. On bar 29, first couple crosses down taking left hands and does a half figure eight back to third place, while fourth couple crosses up taking right hands and does a half figure eight back to second place.
Having progressed to a new position in the set (2–4–1–3), the dancers repeat these 32 bars, dancing it four times through by the end. The book's summary is a little more elegant than mine, and I've likely miswritten something or other, but I get a kick out of seeing how near to the language of the crib I can get just by watching.
Tommy's Tarbukas (AABB) is actually a reel, written in 4/4 as opposed to a jig's typical 6/8, so this is an intriguing choice of music. You can see in other recordings of Macleod's Fancy that they dance to a jig called Captain William MacLeod's Fancy (this video: Scottish fiddler Paul Anderson!), which changes the character of the whole affair (though this might be a somewhat unfair comparison, as a performance by Alasdair Fraser or Paul Anderson is sure to change the character of any dance).
This is an excellent performance of a Scottish country dance called Macleod's Fancy to a contemporary tune by Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser called Tommy's Tarbukas. This dance has some elegant figures I'm quite fond of and is nice "demonstration material" as it's pretty symmetrical and has two active couples.
I'm excited by this video for its choreography and music, and also because I know a few of the dancers and it's lovely to discover such recordings serendipitously. Kudos to all of them for doing such a good job on such a slippery floor! :P
Macleod's Fancy is a 32-bar jig for four couples in a four-couple set. It was devised by John Drewry and published in Book 33: Eight Modern Scottish Country Dances in 1985.
Having progressed to a new position in the set (2–4–1–3), the dancers repeat these 32 bars, dancing it four times through by the end. The book's summary is a little more elegant than mine, and I've likely miswritten something or other, but I get a kick out of seeing how near to the language of the crib I can get just by watching.
Tommy's Tarbukas (AABB) is actually a reel, written in 4/4 as opposed to a jig's typical 6/8, so this is an intriguing choice of music. You can see in other recordings of Macleod's Fancy that they dance to a jig called Captain William MacLeod's Fancy (this video: Scottish fiddler Paul Anderson!), which changes the character of the whole affair (though this might be a somewhat unfair comparison, as a performance by Alasdair Fraser or Paul Anderson is sure to change the character of any dance).
I hope you've enjoyed the performance!