The Gay Gordons is a popular dance at céilidhs and other kinds of informal and social dance in Scotland. It is an "old-time" dance, of a type popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in which every couple dances the same steps, usually in a circle around the room.
The name alludes to a Scottish regiment, the Gordon Highlanders.
Dance instructions
A standard ceilidh instruction:
Formation: couples in a circle around the room facing anti-clockwise, ladies on the right. Music: 2/4 or 4/4 march. E.g. "Scotland the Brave", "The Gay Gordons".Repeat ad lib. In order to make the dance progressive, the ladies may leave their partners between bars 12-13 and move to the partner before them in the circle.
For Scottish country dancers, the grip in the first eight bars is allemande hold.
A live demonstration was performed by the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society[1] in 2007.
References
Gay Gordons (dance) Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA