Scottish Dancing

One of the many skills taught at school was Scottish Country Dancing. On Friday mornings a dancing class was held in the Crossley room which began with a 'warm up' with 'Setting Step' practice - lead of course by Bill Newby (WHN). Two lines (shirts and sweaters) with both lines facing WHN in front of the fireplace. The setting step practice started very slowly : right then left, gradually building up to a faster pace!

Setting Step (a bit like this?!) : http://www.scottish-country-dancing-dictionary.com/strathspey-setting-step.html

With the warm up complete, the lesson generally continued with the 'beginners' dance, called...

The Cumberland Reel..!

Other dances learnt were:

Dashing White Sargent

Gay Gordons

Strip the Willow

The Orcadian ( multiple strip the willow)

Duke of Perth

Mairi's Wedding

Machine without Horses

Eightsome Reel

Mrs Macleod's Reel (Summer Revue 1965)

White Heather Jig (Summer Revue 1965)

Reel of the 51st Division (Summer Revue 1965)

Bonnie Anne (Summer Revue 1965)

The Reel of Mey (Summer Revue 1966)

Angus Macleod Reel (Summer Revue 1969)

Hebridean Weaving Lilt (Summer Revue 1969)

"I remember dancing lessons in the Crossley Room against the window to the terrace and also under the floodlights at the Revue's.  I have my old school reports saying that I should loosen up when dancing! I think there was a natural resolution to that problem at University with alcohol! Learning scottish country dancing at Huyton and being able to remember at least the basics certainly gave me a head start at Ceilidh's at University and now that I live in Scotland and 'practice' regularly I realise this was yet another advantage of the broad education that we received at Huyton."

"I recall also 'Angus MacLeod'...?

Yes, WHN had a box of 7" 45s, but a collection of 12" LPs as well !

I think he also gave classes in scottish country dancing in Windermere or perhaps Kendal?"