The Gay Gordons is a Scottish country dance. The usual tune was written by James Scott Skinner. It was also known as The Gordon Highlanders' March, first printed in the collection "Monikie Series no 3" in c 1890. Jimmy Shand made a recording of it in 1942.
A standard ceilidh instruction:
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 http://www.scotlandontv.tv/scotland_on_tv/video.html?vxSiteId=60fdd544-9c52-4e17-be7e-57a2a2d76992&vxChannel=Discover%20Scotland%20FAQ&vxClipId=1380_SMG671&vxBitrate=300 in 2007.