The Orcadian Strip the Willow

How The Orcadian Strip the Willow is danced

1. The first couple spin for 16 beats.
2. The first couple work down the opposite line, turning the side person by the left hand, their partner by the right, the next side person by the left, and so on.
3. The second couple spin for 16 beats, then work their way down the lines the same way.
4. A new couple starts every 16 bars.
5. When the first couple reach the bottom, they spin to the end of the phrase, then join the side lines.

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

The same longways set as the standard version, but every couple is working at once rather than waiting their turn. A new couple starts every sixteen bars until the whole set is in motion.

Music

Driving and relentless, and it does not stop for anybody. The band plays until the last couple is home, which on a long set can be a considerable while.

The room it needs

Length again, and a bit of nerve. Because everybody is moving simultaneously there is far less standing-about space at the sides than the standard version, so a room that felt roomy can feel tight.

For beginners

Not the one to learn on. The figure is identical to the standard Strip the Willow, so anybody who has done that can do this — the difficulty is entirely in doing it while three other couples are doing it around you.

Where it falls in the night

Late, and only for a room that has already proved it can handle the ordinary version. It is the biggest dance of the night when it lands and a shambles when it is called too early.

What usually goes wrong

• Losing the sixteen-bar spacing. The whole thing depends on couples setting off at regular intervals; one couple starting late compresses everybody behind them.
• Stopping when you reach the bottom. You spin to the end of the phrase and then join the side lines — standing still leaves a hole in the set.
• Treating it as a race. It is faster than the standard version by design, but the couples who try to overtake the pair in front are the ones who cause the collisions.

Where it comes from

The Orkney form, and genuinely distinct rather than just a quicker take on the mainland dance. Orkney has a strong and well-documented dance tradition of its own, and this version's continuous, overlapping structure is characteristic of it.