St Andrew's Society of Seoul
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Scottish Dancing Terminology

Basic Set of 4 Couples

First Man and First Lady (Head of the set)
Second Man and Second Lady
Third Man and Third Lady
​Fourth Man and Fourth Lady
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Corners

​The man always has 2 ladies as his corners while the lady has 2 men.

The 1st dancing couple stand back to back diagonally in the middle of the set, the man facing the 3rd lady and the lady facing the 2nd man. These are their FIRST corners. If they turn to the left the man will face the 2nd lady and the lady will face the 3rd man. These are their SECOND corners.

Rights and Lefts

This is a square formation, danced by two couples on the four sides of a square, and normally the dancers use two steps to each side of the square.

Bars    1 & 2 Give partners right hand and change places,
            3 & 4 Two men  give left  hands,  two ladies  give left hand and change places.
            5 & 6 Give partner right  hand  and change places,
            7 & 8 Two men giving left hands, two ladies give left hands and change places
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On the man's side (left) shows what it means to cast down 1 space. The woman's side (right) shows casting up on space.

Cast Up and Cast Down

Cast Down: This means turning outwards and going down the outside of the set. It may be done to the bottom of the set or down one two or three places in the set according to instructions.
Cast Up: Turning outwards and going up the outside of the set. Usually done in the middle of the set one or two places.

Hands Round

​This is a circle  and may be danced by any number of people according to instructions e.g. 'six hands round' when 6 people form the circle.
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Reel of Three

​This is a figure of eight danced by three people simultaneously.  It may be danced across the set or along the sidelines. 

Teapots or the Wheel

The movement when dancers join hands centrally and dance round with a skip step.  The most common of form of this movement involves 2 couples joining right hands and dancing clockwise then changing to left hands and dancing back but there are some exceptions.
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Up and Down

Up is the direction towards the head of the set i.e. 1st couple. Down is the direction towards the bottom of  the set i.e. the 4th couple.
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  • Home
  • About
    • What We Do
    • People Involved
    • Past Chieftains
    • Contact
  • Upcoming Events
    • 2025 Muckleshunter
    • Muckleshunter FAQ
  • Gallery
    • 2024 St. Andrew's Ball
    • 2024 Muckleshunter
  • Traditional Scottish Dancing
    • 2025 Dance Lesson Dates
    • Dance Terminology
    • Dance Instructions
    • Dancing FAQ