 Scottish country dancing at the 2005 Skagit Valley Highland Games in Mount Vernon, Washington Scottish country dancing, "SCD" or "reeling" is a form of social dance involving groups of mixed couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns according to a predetermined choreography. SCD is often considered a type of folk dancing although this is not strictly true - it derives from the courtly dances of the Renaissance and, as a form of ballroom dancing, predates the more modern styles of the quadrille as well as couple dances like the waltz. Related dance forms include English country dancing, contra dancing, ceilidh dancing, "Old Time" dancing, Irish set dancing, or square dance. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x806, 537 KB) Scottish country dancers demonstrate their steps at the 2005 Skagit Valley Highland Games in Mount Vernon, Washington. ...
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1200x806, 537 KB) Scottish country dancers demonstrate their steps at the 2005 Skagit Valley Highland Games in Mount Vernon, Washington. ...
Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing. ...
Formation ballroom dance involves anywhere from two to dozens of couples performing a choreographed ballroom dance routine. ...
Folk dancers in Prague Folk dance is a term used to describe a large number of dances, mostly of European origin, that tend to share the following attributes: They were originally danced in about the 19th century or earlier (or are, in any case, not currently copyrighted); Their performance is...
The Renaissance (French for rebirth, or Rinascimento in Italian), was a cultural movement in Italy (and in Europe in general) that began in the late Middle Ages, and spanned roughly the 14th through the 17th century. ...
Ballroom dance is a style of partner dance which originated in the western world and is now enjoyed both socially and competitively around the globe. ...
for the equestrian form of quadrille, see Quadrille (dressage) Quadrille is a historic dance performed by four couples in a square formation, a precursor to traditional square dancing. ...
A waltz (German: , Italian: , French: , Spanish: , Catalan: ) is a ballroom and folk dance in time, done primarily in closed position. ...
English Country Dance, sometimes abbreviated ECD, is a form of folk dance. ...
Thursday night contras in Cambridge, Massachusetts Contradance (also Contra dance, Contra-dance and other variant spellings) refers to several folk dance styles in which couples dance in two facing lines. ...
Céilí (Irish reformed spelling), or Ceilidh (Scottish and older Gaelic spelling), pronounced Kay-Lee in either case, is the traditional Gaelic social dance in Ireland and Scotland. ...
Irish dancers at St. ...
Square dance is often used as a general term for modern Western square dance. ...
Scottish country dancing should not be confused with Scottish highland dance. A young highland dancer demonstrates her form in the Scottish sword at the 2005 Bellingham (Washington) Highland Games The term Highland dancing is used today to refer to a style of athletic solo dancing which evolved into its current form during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of...
The Dances
General Scottish country dances are categorised as reels (including hornpipes), jigs, and strathspeys according to the type of music to which they are danced. The first two types (also called quick-time dances) feature fast tempos, quick movements, and a lively feel. The third type (strathspey) has a much slower tempo and a more formal, stately feel. There are also 9/8 jigs, minuets and waltz-time dances although they make up a very small part of the repertoire. The reel is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type. ...
The term hornpipe refers to one of several dance forms played and danced in Britain and elsewhere from the late 17th century until the present day. ...
The jig (sometimes seen in its French language or Italian language forms gigue or giga) is a folk dance type as well as the accompanying dance tune type, popular in Ireland and Scotland. ...
A strathspey is a dance tune in 4/4, usually written in 1/8th notes. ...
Dancers and Sets Scottish country dancing is generally done in organized formations referred to as "sets". Sets usually consist of three or four couples, but some dances call for larger sets of five, six or even more couples. Couples are normally mixed, but women will dance with women or men with men depending on the make-up of the assembly.
The usual set shape is "longwise"---each man opposite his partner with all the men in a line facing a similar line of women. The leftmost man and his partner are called the "first" or "top" couple, and sets are generally formed such that first couple is closest to the stage with the band, CD player, or other source of music. In larger rooms several sets form a longer line running down the hall. Other, much less common types of sets include triangular sets (three couples on the sides of a triangle), square sets (four couples on the sides of a square) or square sets with extra couples in the centre; there are also "round-the-room" dances for couples facing couples, groups of three dancers facing each other, and so on.
Phrasing and formations Scottish country dances are made up of figures of varying length, to suit the phrasing of Scottish country dance tunes. For the most part, figures are 2, 4, or 8 bars of music long; there has been some experimentation going on with unusually phrased music (e.g., 6-bar or 10-bar phrases) but the custom has not caught on. There are various kinds of figures ranging from the very simple (like a couple changing places across the set giving right hands) to fairly intricate evolutions involving three or four couples at the same time. These figures are combined to form a sequence of (normally) 32 bars---there are dances which are as short as 16 bars or as long as 64 bars. This sequence is then repeated several (often 8) times to form the complete dance.
Steps and Technique Unlike ceilidh dancing or English country dancing, which are mostly done using walking steps, Scottish country dancing calls for special footwork according to a dance's choreography. Travelling steps include the skip-change of step in quick-time dances and the Strathspey travelling step in strathspey time, while setting steps include the pas de basque in quick time and the common schottische or Strathspey setting step in strathspey time. Some dances also involve special setting steps from Highland dancing, such as the rocking step, high cuts, or Highland schottische. In quick time, there is also the slip step for quick sideways movement, e.g., in circles. Céilí (Irish reformed spelling), or Ceilidh (Scottish and older Gaelic spelling), pronounced Kay-Lee in either case, is the traditional Gaelic social dance in Ireland and Scotland. ...
English Country Dance, sometimes abbreviated ECD, is a form of folk dance. ...
A young highland dancer demonstrates her form in the Scottish sword at the 2005 Bellingham (Washington) Highland Games The term Highland dancing is used today to refer to a style of athletic solo dancing which evolved into its current form during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of...
In SCD, there is often a certain focus on "correct technique", and this applies especially to footwork and the positions of the feet at various points during the steps. While well-executed steps do look quite impressive, their mastery involves some time and dedication and also a certain level of physical fitness---but with SCD being an inclusive type of pastime, the dance community does not discriminate against those who do not match the highest standards. In fact, in many places the main object of SCD is having fun, and while for many dancers "proper" footwork is an important part of that, others can apparently do without perfection in this respect.
A much more important aspect of good SCD technique than footwork has to do with space and time, i.e., ensuring that one is at the proper location at the proper time. It is vital not to stand in other dancers' way as well as to be in place in time for the various formations involving several dancers or couples. "Phrasing" means to execute a figure appropriately timed to the music, while "covering" means for several dancers to move in unison, forming split-second lines, squares etc. Many SCD groups like putting on "demonstrations" showing near-to-perfect dancing involving all aspects of technique.
Finally, SCD is social dancing. Hence interaction with one's partner and the other dancers, such as smiling and giving hands, is an essential part of SCD, and for those who want to there are usually lots of opportunity for relaxed "flirting". SCD is very much a team effort, and attempts at self-glorification through unconsidered "embellishments" are often frowned upon by others. The general feeling is that "extras" are fine when the time and place are right, but should be left out when less experienced dancers in the set might be confused, or during classes. Social dance is a major category or classification of danceforms or dance styles, where sociability and socializing are the primary focuses of the dancing. ...
Progression Most Scottish country dances are "progressive", i.e., after one repetition of the figure sequence the couples end up in a different place in the set. This serves to let every couple have a go as "top couple" (or active couple), and the number of repetitions is adjusted accordingly. For example, in a four-couple dance the order of couples at the beginning of each turn could be 1234, 2341, 3412, 4123, 1234 (at which point the dance would stop). The most common arrangements are dances involving two and three couples being done in four-couple sets for eight repetitions---this means that on some turns couples may be "standing out" to watch and have a breather. For example, the order of couples in a two-couple dance would be 1234 (top two couples dancing), 2134 (middle two couples dancing), 2314 (all couples dancing), 3241, 3421, 4312, 4132, 1423, 1243 (at which point the dance would stop, couples 3 and 4 having missed out the first turn). There are also "set dances" which go through only once (e.g., Round Reel of Eight, Bonnie Anne, MacDonald of Sleat), but many of these are mostly used for displays rather than socially. They often consist of a sequence of non-repeating "figures" that add up to much more than 64 bars.
In fact, the figures and arrangement of modern Scottish country dances, while derived from a 300-year tradition, make it difficult to generalize because many dances feature unusual ideas such as partner changes (you get a new partner on every new turn of the dance, as in "Nighean Donn" (Nut Brown Maiden), by Peter Hastings, or "Caddam Wood" by John Mitchell), palindromic structure (the sequence of figures is similar seen from the end to the beginning as it is seen from the beginning to the end, for example, the White Heather Jig), by Cosh, fugues (the sequence of figures for each couple is intricately intertwined to resemble the structure of a musical fugue) and others, such as John Drewery's Crossing the line, where the top of the set changes end each time through. Hamilton House seems very unusual. It is very entertaining for dance devisers to "play" with the tradition and to try new ideas, although the results do not always seem to catch on! In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ...
Hamilton House is the name of a Scottish country dance. ...
History
Early Country dancing had its first hey-day during the 18th century, when it was popular in the fashionable places of England (it wasn't called "Scottish" then, just "country dancing") and was brought to Scotland by the gentry and well-to-do town populace who wanted to keep doing what they had found and liked in places like Bath. This was the age of dance publishers like Playford, who published "dance manuals" containing the most popular dances of the time and also invented new ones to suit the increasing demand for country dancing. A vast number of publications appeared, not all of which were very original but many of which were popular regardless of their individual merits. From the big cities, country dancing quickly caught on throughout the Lowlands, spreading out all over Scotland by the 19th century even while it was pushed aside by more "modern" dances such as the quadrilles and couple dances like the waltz in England. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...
Motto (French) God and my right Anthem No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is God Save the Queen. See also Proposed English National Anthems. ...
This article is about the country. ...
Bath is a city in Somerset, England most famous for its baths fed by three hot springs. ...
John Playford was born in Norwich in 1623 and died in London in 1686. ...
Disambiguation: For the region of Scotland please see Scottish Lowlands Lowlands, also known as A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, is a music festival, held annually in the Netherlands in August. ...
Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...
A quadrille (quadrille de contre danse) is a lively dance which involves four couples arranged in the shape of a square with each couple facing the center of the square. ...
A waltz (German: , Italian: , French: , Spanish: , Catalan: ) is a ballroom and folk dance in time, done primarily in closed position. ...
In the 18th century, there was no such thing as "Scottish" country dancing; there were books of "Scottish" dances but usually it would suffice for a dance to be choreographed to a Scottish (or Scottish-sounding) tune for it to be called a "Scottish" dance. New country dances invented in Scotland did acquire features from earlier Scottish social dances such as the Highland reel, and in fact country dances using reel-style formations were very popular indeed towards the end of the 18th century. A young highland dancer demonstrates her form in the sword dance at the 2005 Bellingham (Washington) Highland Games The term Highland dancing is used today to refer to a style of athletic solo dancing which evolved into its current form during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of...
Modern During the early 20th century, SCD still had a part in social entertainment especially in rural Scotland, even though the number of dances within the active repertoire had gone down to only a few. Country dancing was in danger of dying out, when in 1923 the Scottish Country Dance Society (SCDS) (affectionately called "the Society") was founded in Glasgow with the goal of preserving "country dances as danced in Scotland" (this was only recently changed to read "Scottish country dances"). The SCDS began to collect and publish the remaining dances as well as reconstruct (or reinterpret) dances from old sources that were no longer being danced. In the process, the dances and technique, which might differ considerably depending on where in Scotland a dance would be collected, were strictly standardized, which from the point of view of preservation was of course a terrible thing to do, but which paved the way for universal "compatibility" among dancers from (eventually) all over the world. The efforts of the SCDS became quite popular, and its influence on the training of physical education teachers meant that most Scottish children would be exposed to at least a minimum of SCD during school. The Society achieved Royal patronage in 1947 and henceforth became known as the RSCDS (for "Royal" Scottish Country Dance Society). (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901–2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900–1999...
The Royal Scottish Country Dance Society, or RSCDS, was founded in 1923 as the Scottish Country Dance Society by Jean Milligan and Ysobel Stewart of Fasnacloich, who wanted to preserve country dancing as performed in Scotland, country dancing having fallen into disuse after the influx of continental ballroom dances such...
Fairly soon after the inception of the SCDS people started inventing new dances in the spirit of the older ones, but also introducing new figures not part of the "traditional" canon. Today there are over 11.000 dances catalogued, of which fewer than 1.000 can be considered "traditional". Anybody can come up with a new dance, but many dances are of local importance only; the RSCDS does publish collections of new dances every so often but does not try to control the invention of new material. Neither is it in a position to dictate how dances are danced and who may teach them, but the Society does hold significant influence since they teach the majority of Scottish country dance teachers, and their canon of dances makes up a very large proportion of the "global" repertoire that one can expect to meet wherever Scottish country dancing takes place.
It is important to note that Scottish country dancing, while rooted in a tradition going back more than three centuries, is very much an ongoing concern. Modern SCD has evolved considerably from the early 1700s, and there has been no particular urge to "recreate" country dancing as it was during some mythical "golden age". In fact, with the constant devising of new dances, new concepts are appearing all the time and some informal variations as well as entirely new ideas find their way into new dances. The ongoing evolution has also given Scottish country dancing a lot of "life" and people feel much less guilt or hesitation about altering a dance for the purposes of demonstrations, and also borrowing ideas for their own dances.
As a pursuit, Scottish country dancing is no longer confined to Scotland, and active communities can be found throughout the world - in the rest of Britain, continental Europe, Canada and the US as well as Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, with occasional groups in places as diverse as Russia, South Africa, Argentina, Hong Kong and so on. It is safe to say that SCD is now in little danger of becoming extinct.
See also English Country Dance, sometimes abbreviated ECD, is a form of folk dance. ...
List of Scottish country dances is a list of Scottish country dances. ...
External links
References - Cope-Robinson, Lyn, Beginning Scottish Country Dance, A Dancer's Manual (edited by June Milton). Canmore Press, Melbourne Beach, Florida, 1995. ISBN 1-887774-00-9.
- Emmerson, George S. Scotland Through Her Country Dances. 2nd ed. London, Ontario: Galt House, 1981.
- Emmerson, George S. A Social History of Scottish Dance: Ane Celestial Recreatioun. Montreal, Quebec, and London, Ontario: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1972.
- Flett, Joan, and Thomas M. Flett. Traditional Dancing in Scotland. 1964. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1985.
- Foss, Hugh. Notes on Evolution in Scottish Country Dancing. Dumfries: S. & U.N. Ltd. (Standard Office), 1973.
- Hood, Evelyn M. The Story of Scottish Country Dancing: The Darling Diversion. Great Britain: Collins, 1980.
- Lockhart, G. W. Highland Balls and Village Halls: A Look at the Scot and His Dancing. Barr, Ayrshire: Luath Press Ltd., 1985.
- Thurston, Hugh. Scotland's Dances. Reprint edition. Kitchener, Ontario: Teacher's Association (Canada), 1984.
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