The Sunday Class
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GENERAL STUART'S REEL (R8x32) Castle Menzies (1749)  RSCDS Book 10  1- 8 1M sets to 2L & casts 1 place, 1L sets to 2M & casts 1 place  9-16 1s turn 1 st  corner RH, pass partner RSh & turn 2 nd  corner LH pass partner RSh to face 1 st  corners 17-24 1s dance 'Hello-Goodbye' setting & end BtoB (1M facing up & 1L facing down) 25-32 1s give RSh to 2 nd  corner & dance reels of 3 on sides with 2s+3s & cross RH to 2 nd  place on own sides Dance notes:  3- 4 2M step up.  7- 8 2L step up. 13-16 The original instructions don't say explicitly how the 1s get to first corners; passing by the left flows better. 17-24  ‘Hello-Goodbye’ setting: set back-to-back facing first corners, then facing from opposite side lines, then back-to-back facing second corners, then 1M facing down between 2s and 1L facing up between 3s, finishing 1M facing up and 1L down ready to give right shoulders to second corners. Travel on the first beat of the left foot step only and rotate on beats 2 and 3; the right foot step should be on the spot, facing corner or partner appropriately.
The original manuscript of the Register of Dances at Castle Menzies 1749 is kept in the A K Bell Library in Perth. Given the provenance of this manuscript, this dance could not have been devised to the memory of General Robert Stuart (1744-1834), as has been suggested.   In the manuscript this dance is also known as “The New Way of Gil Don”.
Taught/practised on:
2010 February 14 th