Dance The Dashing White Sergeant 1562
Also known as “The Dashing White Sturgeon” (unofficial), “Highland Reel”, “The Revolving White Detergent” (unofficial).
Reel · 32 bars · 2 trios · Round the room
- Devised by
- Unknown
- Intensity
- 888 484 888 888 = 91% (1 turn), 92% (whole dance)
- Formations
-
- Hands round - 6 - and back (HR;6P;BACK;)
- Set to and turn Partners (S&T;PRTNRS;)
- Reel of three - across (REEL;ACROSS;R3;)
- Advance and Retire (ADVRET;2S;)
- Steps
-
- Pas-de-Basque, Skip-Change, Slip-Step
- Published in
-
- Book 3 [2]
- Scottish Country Dances Books 1 to 6 (Combined A5 edition) [26]
- Pocket: Books 1, 2, 3 [26]
- Six Scottish Dances (YSDA 1) [3]
- Collins Pocket Reference: Scottish Country Dancing [6]
- A Guide to Scottish Country Dancing (ex-Collins) [6]
- Commonwealth Ceilidh Dances [2]
- Dance Scottish, A resource for teaching SCD in schools [13]
- 101 Scottish Country Dances [19]
- 24 Favourite Scottish Country Dances [3]
- The Mohonk Dances [6]
- Collins Little Books: Scottish Dance [10]
- Footnotes [4]
- Scottish Reels are Fun [6]
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 9 [133] (diagram only)
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 8 [169] (diagram only)
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 7 [145] (diagram only)
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 6 [140] (diagram only)
- Online Sources
- Recommended Music
- Extra Info
The Dashing White Sergeant
If I had a beau,
For a soldier who’d go,
Do you think I’d say no?
No, no, not I.
For a soldier who’d go,
Do you think I’d say no?
No, no, no, no, no, no, not I!
When his red coat I saw,
Not a tear would it draw,
But I’d give him eclat for his bravery!
If an army of Amazons e’er came into play,
As a dashing white sergeant I’d march away.
A dashing white sergeant
I’d march away, march away, march away, march away,
March away, march away, march away, march away,
March away, march away!
“The Dashing White Sergeant” is an anomaly. Based upon the old Highland pattern of set and reel, it is an English round-the-room dance.
The words were written by General George Burgoyne (1722–1792). Burgoyne fought in the Seven Years War and in 1777 as a Brigadier General he led the British forces that invaded the rebellious American colonies from Canada. After his victory at Fort Ticonderoga he was made Lieutenant General. His rise was very short lived for on 17 October 1777, the British red-coats under his command where soundly defeated at Saratoga and he was recalled in disgrace to England. For the rest of his life he lived in retirement and devoted his energies to writing plays and poetry. In 1786 the highly successful The Heiress was produced. His Dramatic and Poetical Works in two volumes were published posthumously in 1808. Though married to the daughter of the Earl of Derby, he had several children by the opera singer, Susan Caulfield, among them Field Marshal Sir John Fox Burgoyne (1782–1871) who served with distinction both in the Peninsular War under Wellington and in the Crimean War.
The dance, as we know it, was devised by Sir Henry Rowley Bishop (1786–1855). Bishop studied under the Italian Francisco Bianchi and as a composer for Covent Garden wrote incidental music for Shakespeare’s plays and several operas, from one of which, Clari (1823), came the enduring “Home, Sweet Home”. He became composer at Drury Lane and, eventually, musical director at Vauxhall where he composed “My Pretty Jane”. In 1841 Bishop became professor of music at the University of Edinburgh and it was doubtless while there that he became familiar with the traditional music and dance forms of Scotland. From Edinburgh he moved to the Chair of Music at Oxford. Bishop held the distinction of being the first English musician to be knighted.
The Dashing White Sergeant 3+3RR · R32
Trio face trio RR.
- 1–
- Circle6 and back
- 9–
- Each centre person sets to RH P and turns him/her BH ; repeat with LH P
- 17–
- Reel3 across, Lsh to RH P
- 25–
- In lines of 3 across A&R ; advance Rsh through the opposite line of 3 to meet the next line of 3.
Many variations in handing, polite turns, arches and shoulder exist
The Dashing White Sergeant 3+3RR · R32
- 1–8
- Circle 6H round and back
- 9–16
- Center dancer set to dancer on right and turn RH to face dancer on the other end. Repeat with dancer on the left ending facing dancer on the right.
- 17–24
- Reel of 3 starting with left shoulder to dancer on the right.
- 25–32
- In lines of 3, all advance and retire, then pass through.
The Dashing White Sergeant 3+3RR · R32
Round the Room Dance 3 facing 3
- 1-8
- All circle 6H round & back
- 9-16
- Centre dancer sets & turns 2H person on right, sets & turns 2H person on left (popular variation - turn person on right RH, turn person on left LH)
- 17-24
- All dance reels of 3 with centre dancer passing LSh with person on right (popular variation - RSh to person on right)
- 25-32
- All Adv+Ret, advance to meet next group of 3 dancers (1 group of 3 passing under arches made by opposite group)
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Instructional/demonstration video The Dashing White Sergeant - learn …
Added on: 2021-05-08 (Ward Fleri)
Quality: Demonstration quality
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)One set demonstrating, once through, what is normally …
Added on: 2020-03-04 (RSCDS Edinburgh)
Quality: Demonstration quality
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)RSCDS Glasgow Branch. Dances for Primary School Festival …
Added on: 2019-03-24 (Eric Ferguson)
Quality: Good
Watch on Vimeo
(Vimeo must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Educational video to help everyone to take the …
Added on: 2014-05-05 (Truus de Ceuster)
Quality: Good
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)I've found that it's quite often that there …
Added on: 2019-04-09 (Eric Ferguson)
Quality: Good
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Dancing starts at 0:15. View from slightly above.
Added on: 2013-08-18 (YouTube Automatic Downloader)
Quality: Reasonable
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Scottish Party At The Festival "The Breath Of …
Added on: 2022-01-22 (James Wilson)
Quality: Reasonable
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Instructions for Reelers.
Added on: 2017-09-23 (Iain Ross)
Quality: Informal/Social (RSCDS)
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)REJECTED. "artistic" views from the side, blow, feet …
Added on: 2013-08-18 (YouTube Automatic Downloader)
Quality: Informal/Social (RSCDS)
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Commonwealth Ceilidh 2014, Toronto.
Added on: 2023-03-15 (Ilana Steiner)
Quality: Informal/Social (RSCDS)
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)"The Dashing White Sergeant" is a 32 bar …
Added on: 2018-10-02 (YouTube Automatic Downloader)
Quality: Animation
SCDDB User Ratings
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3 votes (50%) | ||
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This dance ranks 439th out of 1388 rated dances in the database. (More info.)
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