Scottish Reel of Three: The Figure Eight for Three Dancers

In Scottish country dancing, the reel of three is a figure where three dancers trace a figure eight at the same time and pass each other without colliding. It trains spatial awareness, the skip step and teamwork in trios.

How to play

1. Scottish skip step around the space: step, close, hop, in eight counts with loose arms (4 min).
2. In trios, lay out three cones in a line for the figure eight and walk it one at a time (4 min).
3. Walk the reel all three at once: the middle dancer goes out to one side and the ends come in, always passing shoulder to shoulder (6 min).
4. Reel with skip step over eight bars, finishing where you started (5 min).
5. Two trios join: reel of three, right-hand turn with someone from the other trio, back into the reel (6 min).

Rules

• When passing, go shoulder to shoulder, never cut through the middle.
• Everyone finishes where they started at the end of eight bars.
• If two dancers are about to collide, both slow down and the one coming from the right goes first.
• Keep the skip step low and on your toes.

Variations

Adaptations

• Students with visual impairments: mark the path with raised floor tape and have a classmate call each pass.
• Students with limited mobility: the trio widens the eight and the wheelchair takes the outer path.
• Students who get turned around: use colored cones and have the trio call out the color at each pass.

Learning goals

• Travel a complex floor pattern in sync with two classmates.
• Keep the Scottish skip step going for eight bars.
• Learn figures from Scottish country dancing.

Equipment for a class of 25

• cones: 20
• speaker: 1

Teacher tip

Draw the figure eight on the board before you start. The usual mistake is the middle dancer heading the wrong way: decide from the start that they always lead with the right shoulder.

More main activities for Middle School