This page has an annotated summary of the dances I have devised and which have been successfully tested.
My interest is mainly in creating busy dances with symmetry and good flow for all couples.
So they tend to be on the complex side and more suitable for experienced dancers.
In addition to this list of dances there is also a page with links to documentation
on SCDDB, a page of tunes for a few of my dances and recordings of a few of the tunes.
- 10/6 In This Style (R32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a dance for the Mad Hatter's hat
- Alan's Romp (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Alan Ip: fast and furious with repeated patterns
- Alfie's Team (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf]
– for Alfie Ferguson: a light hearted celebration of football
- All Shall Be Well (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– inspired by a historical self-isolationist (Julian of Norwich)
- Ashley and Her Husbands (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Ashley Weller and her dance "husbands"
- Ashley In Wonderland (S32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– an unbirthday present for Ashley Weller
- The Atheist (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– in memory of Deborah Ainger
- Back to Square One (S32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– a hands free square dance
- Be True to Yourself (S40, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– both Untie the Knot and retie the (same sex) Knot in one dance
- The Benign Presence (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Rachel Wilton, with accompanied rights and lefts
- The Berber Blessing (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf]
– for Nayma Genin whose name means "blessing" in her Berber mother tongue
- Between Two Lakes (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Colin and Liz Anderson with "through the mirror" rondels
- The Birling Dervishes (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– busy dance with opportunities for birling right and left
- Blue Sky, Yellow Sun (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– written while thinking of Ukraine
- Bracken on Broughton Moor (R32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– loosely inspired by Pulling Bracken
- Broken Symmetry (R48, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– an exploration of reflected and inverted figures
- Chase, Pursued by a Bear (J32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– chasing and darting through setting couples in a square set
- The Chiswick Jig (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a warmup first dance for the Chiswick club night programme
- A Circuit of Sedbergh (M128, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– recalling the GGs dance week in Sedbergh
- The Cliffs of Moher (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Steve Oakes
- Cosi Fan Tutte (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– 1st woman dances with all the men
- Creaky Floorboards (S32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Fiona Wilkie and Michael Lawson and the warm hospitality of their creaky old house
- The D and D Side Caledonians (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for David Haynes and Diana Dainton of the MiniCrib team
- Daniel and Roger's Wedding (R32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf]
– a ceilidh dance to celebrate the marriage of Daniel Capron and Roger Juplo
- DAVID David Admires Very Involved Dances (R40, 5/5L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for David Lieberman, with the figure from Mrs Stuart Linnell
- DAVID Minor (R40, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a version of DAVID for a 3 couple set
- The Editor Emeritus (J32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Eric Ferguson, long time editor of the strathspey database - to a tune by Wouter Joubert
- Emerging from Loch Down (S32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Martina Mueller-Franz - thanks to an inspired typo
- Enigma (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– commemorating the work of Hugh Foss, along with Alan Turing and others, at Bletchley Park
- Erraid (R32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– a square dance with a variant of set to corners and cast away (round the set)
- Evening Primrose (J32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Hester Wallington and her boat full of guinea pigs
- La Famiglia Graziani (S32, 2/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for the Graziani family in Bologna who made videos of 85 two couple dances during the Covid lockdown
- La Fidèle de Lausanne (S32, 3T) [crib, pdf, video1, video2]
– for Vanessa de Schoene who has been caring for the SCD group in Lausanne almost since time immemorial
- Gallivanting (J40, 4/4L) [crib, pdf]
– for Allan Gavine
- The Generous Tunesmith (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Wouter Joubert who regularly composes tunes as gifts for dancers and dance devisers
- Goodbye from Him (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– with hello-goodbye chase
- Gorgeous Gordons (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for John Tyler and Daniel Capron 10 years on
- Gravitational Waves (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– celebrating the direct detection of gravitational waves by the LIGO detector in 2015
- Great Gable (R32, 4S) [crib, pdf]
– a fugal square with a sideways glimpse at Best Set in the Hall
- The Great Permian Mass Extinction (R40, 5/5L) [crib, pdf, video]
– in memory of Martin Hammond: a slightly crazy attempt to depict evolution's most severe catastrophe in a Scottish country dance
- Helvellyn (S32, 4S) [crib, pdf]
– partly palindromic square dance
- The Hidden Heart (S80, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– a birthday present for David Quarrie remembering his subtly patched kilt
- A Holywood Production (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Patrick Brunskill
- Homemade Jam (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Annie Dufaut and her culinary hobby
- The House Keys of Lisbon (S32, 3T) [crib, pdf, video]
– descendants of some Jewish families expelled in the 15th century still have their Lisbon house keys
- Hutton's Unconformity (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– illustrating the "unconformities" discovered by James Hutton, the founder of modern geology
- An Incursion of Weasels (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– with both right and left shoulder diagonal Weasel reels
- It's All Turned Out Perfectly (J32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf]
– an offering for the 90th anniversary of London Branch
- Jonathan's Wheels (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Jonathan Lewis: a dance with various two wheeled figures
- Kyle Castle (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video2, video1]
– for Roy Southall: with an extended Espagnole for 4 couples
- The Large Hadron Collider (R32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– a very loose, but energetic, illustration of the operation cycle of the LHC at CERN
(and dance of the day for 10 September)
- Luke's Life in London (R32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a dance to welcome Luke Bradley to London
- The Masters Of Art (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf]
– for Barrie Gabbott and Cos Ahmet, excellent teachers and practioners of Art
- Musical Chairs (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Joanne and Willie Lawrence, respectively chairs of RSCDS London Branch and St Columba's Dancers
- Neighbourliness (S48, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– dancing with corners in a square set
- The Nimble Flower of Nyon (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a palindromic dance for Florence Burgy
- Nurse Dent (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf]
– for John Dent (or his alter ego)
- Ompredena (J32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– the "inside-out promenade"
- Otters In Kenick Burn (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video2, video1]
– inspired by a sighting of otters… and dance of the day for 27 May (World Otter Day)
- Out of Quarantine (R40, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– with set to corners and cast away into half diagonal reels… then daring to take hands again
- Parallelogram (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– set and link for three on the diagonal in a parallelogram formation
- A Party at the French House (R40, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Liz and Gordon Matthew
- Pentamime (J32, 5/5L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a 5 couple dance inspired by Best Set in the Hall
- Quarries' Procession (R40, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a challenging farewell dance for Avril and David Quarrie
- A Real Gem (S32, 4S) [crib, pdf]
– for Patrick Brunskill: The Dancing Master goes off at a tangent
- Reflections on Woodhall Loch (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– reflected figures above and below the "water line"
- Shimmering Flamingos (J32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– inspired but a surreal mural in a local housing estate and featuring a "Corner Schiehallion"
- Sightlines from Chernex (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Jim & Aline Cook whose former holiday flat in Chernex has lovely views and a scenic railway
- Simone's Serendipitous Meeting (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf]
– for Simone Jones, recalling her life changing introduction to Scottish country dancing
- Smouldering Teapots (S32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a strathspey with everyone dancing all the time
- Soaring and Swooping (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– alternating tandem reels on all sides
- Splendour in the Grass (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– inspired by a literary sign on a lamp post on Hampstead Heath
- Strangeness and Charm (S32, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– nothing to do with quarks really… but its dance of the day for 23 April (Physics Day)
- A Stroller In Hades (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video2, video1]
– the ambidextrous Australian Ladies
- Summer Superstars (R32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Graham and Caroline Hamilton with many thanks for running the London Summer Tuesdays seasons for so long
- Torque Back (J32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– snippets of Best Set in the Hall for those who like twirling away
- The Tower of London (S32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– evoking the central White Tower of the Tower of London
- The Treasure Of Kennington (R32, 4/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– for Richard Clarke: the busy bee of the London GGs
- Variations on a Theme (S48, 3/3L) [crib, pdf, video]
– three couple (tandem) variations of the two couple bourrel
- Whirlwind Affairs (S32, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video]
– with a three couple Tourbillon (borrowed from Sulis Minerva)
- Winter in Wasdale (S32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– fugal beginning with a little nod in the direction of Appin, also featuring a "Corner Schiehallion"
- The World Wide Web (J32, 5/5L) [crib, pdf, video]
– a complex tangle of set and (hyper)link figures in homage to the wonder of the modern world
- X Marks the Scot (J40, 3/4L) [crib, pdf, video1, video2]
– lots of twirls for those who like to swirl their kilts
- Xylem and Phloem (S32, 3T) [crib, pdf, video]
– with a triangular progression inspired by the Rose
- The Zeal of the Joyous Scots (R32, 4S) [crib, pdf, video]
– a square dance inspired by The Reel of the Royal Scots
There is also a page of as yet untested dances.