Setting Steps for Reels: the Seby-trast

The Seby-trast is another of the steps for late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century Scotch reels described by Scottish dancing master Francis Peacock in Sketches relative to the history and theory, but more especially to the practice of dancing (Aberdeen, 1805).  It is subtitled "Chasing Steps, or Cross Slips", but since it clearly is not a traveling step, it is presumably meant for the footing (setting) part of reels.  Peacock explains its Gaelic etymology as "From Siabadh, to slip, and Trasd, across."

Peacock's description of the Seby-trast:

This step is like the Balotte.  You slip the right foot before the left; the left foot behind the right; the right again before the left, and hop upon it.  You do the same, beginning with the left foot.  This is a single step.

The bal(l)otte is a class of steps consisting of some number of changes of weight. 

The Seby-trast consists of a series of "cuts" back and forth.  To begin, sweep the right foot straight forward, then cut it backward, displacing the left foot into a raised fourth position beind.  Cut the left foot forward, displacing the right to a raised fourth in front.  Cut the right backward again, displacing the left foot, and hop.  The same can then be repeated starting with the left foot.  Some shading of the body and doing the cuts at a bit of an angle make the step more graceful, but be careful that the displacements do not turn into sideways "cow kicks".  The "call" is "cut-cut-cut-hop", and each Seby-trast takes one measure of music (1&2&).

Peacock leaves unclear what is to be done with the free foot during the hop, with the obvious options being either to swing it forward, toe pointed, in preparation for either the next Seby-trast or perhaps a Kemshóole step, or to tuck it closely to the leg, toe pointed down, then flick it out quickly at the beginning of the next step.  I favor the former option in a sequence of Seby-trast steps, but also lean toward simply placing the foot in whatever position best sets up for the following step.  If it is to be followed by a Kemkóssy step, having the free foot raised behind in third or fifth would be much smoother than bringing it forward only to have to rapidly swing it around to being the Kemkóssy.

In his discussion of combination steps, Peacock notes that one can do these steps "before, instead of behind", presumably meaning to reverse the direction of each cut (forward/backward/forward).

The Seby-trast can be turned on the cuts, rather like a galliard step, or on the hop (turning clockwise when the right foot is free at the end of a pair of Seby-trast), but I would not really recommend using it alone if dancing the center role in a reel for three.  Peacock offers a possible combination using the Seby-trast and the Single Kemkóssy that would work nicely, however:

2 Seby-trast (two measures)
2 Single Kemkóssy (two measures)

This would be repeated to the other side to fill the usual eight bars of setting.  Turns can easily be made on the final Kemkóssy of each sequence.  Peacock also notes that the sequence can be inverted (Kemkóssy steps first) and that one may do the Seby-trast.  He also encourages dancers to create their own combinations using any of his steps.

The Seby-trast reappears in lists of Scotch reel steps in a few English dance manuals from later in the century, including The Ball Room Annual (London, c1844) and Rudolph Radestock's The Royal Ball-Room Guide (London, c1877), described only as "Complete Ballotte".  Radestock misspells it as Laby-trast.