The Cumberland Square Eight

How The Cumberland Square Eight is danced

1. Heads gallop across in ballroom hold, men back-to-back, and return with the women back-to-back.
2. Sides do the same.
3. Heads right-hand star, then left-hand star.
4. Sides do the same.
5. Heads basket. Then sides basket.
6. All circle left for 16 steps.
7. All promenade partners anticlockwise back to place.

You do not need to memorise any of this. Garry walks the room through every dance before the music starts and keeps calling all the way through it — the steps are here because some people like to read ahead, not because anybody is expected to arrive knowing them.

What it needs, and who it suits

Formation

Squares of exactly four couples — two 'head' couples facing each other, two 'side' couples on the other axis. Heads and sides take turns, so half the square is watching at any moment, which gives everyone a breather.

Music

Reel or jig time, steady and strong. The basket needs a firm beat to spin against.

The room it needs

Squares need space around them and a room that can be divided up sensibly. A long thin room makes awkward squares; a wide one makes good ones.

For beginners

Middling. The figures are straightforward on their own and the challenge is remembering which one comes next — but the heads-then-sides structure means you always get to watch the other pair do it first.

Where it falls in the night

Mid to late. It takes a moment to form squares, so it is not a first dance — but it is one of the most satisfying of the night, and the basket is the single most photographed figure in the ceilidh repertoire.

What usually goes wrong

• Letting go in the basket. Arms stay locked behind backs and the whole thing spins as one. Somebody letting go mid-spin is how the basket comes apart, and it is worth being firm about before starting.
• Squares of the wrong size. Four couples. A square of five does not work and cannot be made to.
• Confusing heads and sides. The caller will identify them during the walk-through — the pairs facing the top and bottom of the room are the heads.

Where it comes from

Comes from the north of England — Cumberland, as the name says plainly for once — and crossed the border to become a thoroughly established Scottish ceilidh dance. One of the few in this list whose name is exactly what it appears to be.