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There are two classes of reel that have to be addressed; 6 bar reels on the dancing couple’s opposite sides and those reels or combination of reels that are danced on both sides of the dance.
6 bar reels are danced on the wrong side of the dance and the two bars at the end are used to enable the dancing couple to cross to their own side of the dance. These reels always have rotational symmetry with covering on the diagonal as described in the sheet on basic types of reels. 6 bar reels are normally danced following a figure that leaves the dancing couple approximately in 2nd place on the wrong side facing up or down. In these descriptions it is taken that the dancing couple are the 1st couple and they are dancing with their corners. The first shoulder given by the 1st couple is almost always intended to enable the 1st couple to cross to their own side from between their corners i.e. from 2nd place on the wrong side.
Both ‘Turning Corner, Partner, Corner, Partner’ and ‘Set and Turn Corners’ normally leaves the 1st couple again facing their 1st corner to whom they give ‘Left’ shoulders at the start of the reel.
With ‘Set to Corners’ and ‘Cauld Kail’ now commonly known as ‘Hello Goodbye Setting’ the dancing couple finish the figure facing or alongside their 2nd corners to whom they give ‘Right’ shoulders at the start of the reel.
Except Inveran Reels, which are covered in an other sheet, these reels involve two separate mirror image or parallel reels, one on each side of the dance, and take a total of 16 bars.
These are danced with the 1st couple crossing down to begin with the 1st Man dancing out between the 2nd and 3rd Ladies and passing the 3rd Lady by the right shoulder. The 1st Lady, crossing down in front of her partner, similarly dances out between the 2nd and 3rd Men and passes the 3rd Man by the left shoulder. The reel on the Ladies side is actually a left shoulder reel although the first shoulder is passed during the crossing down of the 1st Man. The reel on the Men’s side is similarly a right shoulder reel with the right shoulder being passed by the 1st Lady during the crossing.
When the 1st couple return to the top of the figure they then cross down to repeat their partner’s track on their own side of the dance with the 1st Lady again crossing in front.
Throughout the figure the dancers give hands to their partners wherever possible.
In Parallel Reels both reels are right shoulder reels although the 1st lady’s 1st reel is entered by her crossing down as was her 1st ‘Mirror Image’ reel and the 2nd reel danced by the 1st Man is the same as his 2nd Mirror Image reel. The Man’s 1st reel and the Lady’s 2nd reel are standard right shoulder reels, entered by crossing to the Ladies’ side passing through 1st place and dancing out and down to pass the 2nd Lady by the right shoulder. In both reels the 2nd Lady allows the 1st Man or Lady to pass in front of her before she moves to the top.
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