Threesome Reel ~ Wilson#2

Threesome Reel ~ Wilson#2 is an old Scottish Country Dance. It is a traditional dance with no clear origin. It was interpreted by Thomas Wilson in 1808. It is a dance for 3 people. The minor set lasts 16 bars.

According to the Fletts the first mention of a "threesom reel" occurred in 1710, but the first written description was not until 1808 by Thomas Wilson in London. In a later work, Wilson says that the description given in 1808 was his own invention (because all threesome reels were the same and some novelty was needed). In that work he also provides two different descriptions of traditional threesome reels, as well as his own invention.

Here I examine Wilson's own creation.

Thomas Wilson writes:

To be danced by two Gentlemen and a Lady, or two Ladies and a Gentleman.

The two Gentlemen and the Lady advance from A B C to D E F; then the Lady at E, and the Gentleman at F, hold up their hands, and the Gentleman at D passes under, they then hey, which finishes the figure.

I have taken several liberties here. First Wilson has the dancers setting forward for four bars, and the bottom dancer taking four bars to move up. That move will only take four bars if some very mincing steps are taken, I think most modern dancers will do it in half the time.

In his 1820 publication he says the heys (reels) should start by the left shoulder (with a footnote saying the right is equally good). I shall follow the footnote here.

Wilson only describes once through the dance. Reels were repeated, endlessly, from all accounts. If this dance continues dancers will soon bump into the walls. I'm going to assume that the second time through they turn around and face the other wall.

The animation plays at 120 counts per minute normally, but the first time through the set the dance will often be slowed down so people can learn the moves more readily. Men are drawn as rectangles, women as ellipses. Each couple is drawn in its own color, however the border of each dancer indicates what role they currently play so the border color may change each time through the minor set.

If you find what you believe to be a mistake in this animation, please leave a comment on youtube explaining what you believe to be wrong. If I agree with you I shall do my best to fix it.

If you wish to link to this animation please see my comments on the perils of youtube. You may freely link to this page, of course, and that should have no problems, but use one of my redirects when linking to the youtube video itself:
https://www.upadouble.info/redirect.php?id=ThreesomeReel-Wilson2

I do not have a publication date for the dance and do not know whether it is under copyright or not. The interpretation is out of copyright, and is in the public domain. My visualization of this dance is copyright © 2025 by George W. Williams V and is released under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

1-6	All three dancers take hands, face out to the men's wall, and set forward
7-8	The top two dancers arch, and the bottom dancer moves to stand between them (top dancer end facing down, the other two facing up)
9-16	Top two pass right to start a reel of three (all end facing the women's wall)
17-22	All three dancers take hands, face out to the women's wall, and set forward
23-24	The bottom two dancers arch, and the top dancer moves to stand between them (bottom dancer end facing up, the other two facing down)
25-32	Bottom two pass right to start a reel of three (all end facing the men's wall)