Dance The Fairbridge Reel 2039

The official description in book 45 tells 1c to finish the turn on bars [35–36] in second place; that makes it very hard to finish bars [37–40] correctly.

The deviser, John Brenchley, responded as follows in the Strathspey List message 68984 of 27 June 2017.

“As Brian Charlton correctly states, The Fairbridge Reel was originally published in The Swan River Selection in 1992. It was subsequently submitted by the Western Australia Branch and accepted for publication in Book 45.

My original wording in the Swan River Selection for bars 33 - 36 stated:

“1st and 3rd couples set to partners, then turn three quarters with the right hand. 1st couple finish facing up with right hand joined. 3rd couple finish in third place on the wrong side. 2nd couple step up to top place on bars 35 - 36.”

Prior to the setting, 1st couple will be in the same place as they were after the petronella turn at the start of the dance, i.e. 1st woman slightly above first place and 1st man slightly below first place. It seems logical to me that their right hand turn will therefore be in first place, not second place. Although not stated in the instructions, 1st couple finish the turn on opposite sides and I expect 1st man to dance a polite turn in order to face up at the end of bar 36.

In the demonstration being performed by the team at St Andrews in 2008, John Wilkinson and his partner as 1st couple clearly follow the above description.

If I recall correctly, book 45 was issued prior to the current approach of sending the recommended wording to the dance devisor for review. I was never consulted about the RSCDS version of the instructions so am not sure why they felt it necessary to include the words “at second place”. My only thought is that perhaps it was felt that there was too much time during bars 37 - 40 for the lead up and cast off, hence the suggestion that the turn should move slightly down the dance and give a greater distance to be covered in the next 4 bars. I note that in TAC notes, they suggest that 1st lady should dance down into the turn which is presumably to help the turn move to second place. There is also a display on You Tube danced by a team from Canberra Branch and this is exactly what both sets do, the women can be seen dancing down and the turn finishes nearer to second place than first place. The dancers do not appear to have any great difficulty in doing this and still have enough time to lead up and cast during the next 4 bars so I do not think the RSCDS version is “impossible” of “not even doable”, just an unnecessary complication in my view

I believe that by having 2nd couple step up during bars 35 - 36, 1st couple are forced to lead up slightly above first place before casting and this seems to fit the amount of time available during bars 37 - 40 without the need for steps to be either too short or too long. I think after the setting, the next 6 bars should be danced as a flowing movement - it is not necessary to be regimented in keeping the turn to exactly 2 bars.

In summary, my preference would be for the turn to be danced in first place as demonstrated by the team at St Andrews, but if some dancers follow the RSCDS wording exactly, its not going to overly worry me.

Best wishes

John Brenchley”