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Triple Treat

A 64-bar strathspey/64-bar reel demonstration medley for three dancers in a line.

For Kirsten Lubach and Marco Schütz, on the occasion of their wedding in Vienna on 30 July 2005. See also Two for Three, which is a two-person offshoot of this dance.

The dance consists of a chorus and various figures. For ease of description, the dancers (of any sex) are labelled “L”, “C”, and “R”, according to their position in the line.

Strathspey

Chorus

1–4
All dance half a reel of three, C giving right shoulder to R to begin.
5–8
All set using Highland Schottische setting steps facing the audience.
9–12
All dance half a reel of three, C giving left shoulder to L to begin.
13–16
All set using Highland Schottische setting steps facing the audience.

Figure

17–22
L and R dance a right-shoulder capstan round C, i.e., they dance once completely round C to finish in opposite places.
23–24
All set facing the audience using common schottische steps.
25–32
Repeat bars 17–24 to places.

Chorus

33–48
Repeat bars 1–16.

Figure

49–50
Joining hands in a circle, all dance three hands round half-way.
51–52
Dropping hands, all dance toward the centre, pull right shoulders back and dance back out to where they finished bar 50.
53–54
All continue the circle for two steps.
55–56
All set in a circle.
57–62
Repeat bars 49–56, finishing in the original line facing the audience.
63–64
All set.

Reel

Chorus

1–4
All dance half a reel of three, C giving right shoulder to R to begin.
5–8
All set facing the audience, using balance/pas-de-basque.
9–12
All dance half a reel of three, C giving left shoulder to L to begin. At the end of the reel, C holds back while L and R curve around to finish on the points of an equilateral triangle facing in, with C facing the audience
13–16
All set facing the centre, using balance/pas-de-basque.

Figure

17–18
All set using pas-de-basque.
19–20
All petronella anticlockwise one place on.
21–28
Repeat bars 17–20 twice, to finish in original places.
29–30
All set using pas-de-basque.
31–32
All dance four spring points, moving back into the original line to face the audience.

Chorus

33–48
Repeat bars 1–16, ending in triangle formation again.

Figure

49–50
With C and L joining left hands, and C and R joining right hands, all set.
51–52
All advance and turn right about using pas-de-basque, to invert the triangle.
53–54
With C and L joining right hands, and C and R joining left hands, all set.
55–56
All advance and turn right about again.
57–64
All dance three hands round and back to finish back in the original line.

Recommended Music: The Laird o’ Drumblair and Mackenzie Fraser (see “Demonstration Medley” (R64+S64) on “Kardinia Capers” by David South and his Scottish Dance Band).

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