Scottish dance

The traditional dances Scottish are divided into two groups:

dances of court
dance of the Highlands

Scottish dances of court

As their name indicates it, these dances were applied to the court of Scotland and in all the Scottish nobility ansi that in the bourgoisy in general.

They are dances in Reel S, i.e. formed of several couples divided into two lines, the men on the left. The number of couples is variable. There exist also dances where the couples are distributed either on a circle (the man and the woman vis-a-vis the center) or on the radii of this circle (the man inside).

The steps of bases are the skip off changes step (into 4 times: hop-2-3-4), the driven out step, the step of Waltz and occasionally the gone step.

Today, these dances are not any more reserved for certain social classes, but are practiced in all the countries of English language, but also in all the European and Japanese big cities.

The popular style is called ceilidh dance hall and the more formal style and gracious country dance hall .

Some examples

Duke off Edinburgh (the Duke of Edinburgh)
Petronella
Dashing White Sergeant (in trio on the rays of the circle)
Gay Gordon (see also Chapelloise, Gigue)

Dances of the Highlands

In fact more difficult dances are practiced in solo. There exist contests for this category of dance.

Their style is inspired by the Ballet dancing: wearing of arm, entrechats, feet turned in-outside. They present very few displacements, the priority being given to the very fast leg movements.

The majority of the true dances highland are connected to the ancient Scottish folk habits. The current form evolved/moved with the wire of the centuries.

The dances highlands are carried out in solo. They have the precise and difficult movements and require much strength and coordination. In the beginning, east were danced by the men only. But today, are mainly the women who practice these dances. It is Scottish Official Board off Highland Dancing (SOBHD) which is in load of the regulation. Several competitions are organized throughout the world (Canada, Scotland, the United States, Australia, etc)

The judges evaluate a dancer on the three following criteria: technical synchronization , and held .

the synchronization refers to the capacity of the dancer to follow the rate/rhythm of the music. The dancers must place the feet, the arms and the head in a very precise position simultaneously with the music.
the technical means the correct execution of the work of legs in coordination with the movements of head, arm and hand. Rise compared to the ground strongly counts.
the general held with feature with the interpretation of the dance. Balance, the posture, the smile and the general aspect are very important. It does not matter the difficulty of the dance, the dancer must show that the movements are easy, that it is pleasant, short, one does not have to see the effort provides, and this throughout the dance.

Traditionally, and still today, these dances are practiced with the sound of the Cornemuse S. Voici some dances:

Highland Fling : a dance of victory in the battle. Traditionally, the warriors carried out this dance on the small round shield which they carried at the time of the battles. It is thus a dance of pécision. Today, it is a question of remaining on the spot!
the dance of the sword : Ghillie Callum, Celtic prince, have " inventé" this dance after a mortal combat against one of the chiefs of MacBeth to the battle of Dunsinane in 1504. It is said that it took the sword of the chief, crossed it above his and started has to dance with the top.
the Sean triubhas : its origins are obscure. It represents a person who lost her pants! At a certain time, the Scot did not have the right to carry the kilt, only the pants. The British law of 1747 was finally repealed the old law, thus restoring the right to the Scot to carry their tartans and the kilt again. The dance imitates a Scot trying to put the pants (during the first of the dance) then in the last part (faster) its right to carry the kilt and to find its habits.

There exist other dances, known under the name of Scottish national dances. They are of more modern origin, resemble the ballet more and do not dance themselves out of kilt:

the Irish jig : it is in fact a parody of the Irish dances. A housewife, angry that her husband took the money to go to take glass, awaits it firm footing on her return! Contrary to the Irish jigs, the Scot added there the plays of arm, specific to their styles of dances.
the sailor hornpipe : it is a Danse of character, just like the Irish jig. This dance is common to many parts of British Isles. Its name is derived owing to the fact that usually the musical accompaniment is played Hornpipe rather than with the bagpipe. It is now associated to the sailors.

Clothes

For the man : Kilt (with decorated pin and satchel), white blouse with fine tie, sunk jacket, high green or black unbleached socks (under the knee) and city shoes or ghillies .
For the woman : there exist various alternatives, whose principal ones are:

Court: long white dress without handle (the size is not marked); long fabric scarf with squares (Tartan) hung with a pin decorated on the shoulder, passing on the chest or in the back to the opposite hip; ghillies
white Dress, square collar, close to the body, above the knee (bottom is very widened); fabrics with tartan, but bottom rests on the opposite hip; ghillies
Highlands : Female kilt, white shirt maker with short sleeves, waistcoat without handle close to the body, long socks (reason with squares) above the knee, ghillies .

Note

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