What is Highland Dance?
Highland Dance is a traditional style of dancing from Scotland. This style of dance is usually danced solo and can be identified by its typically sharp movements, the music it's danced to and the dress of the dancer. The music is typically a tune on the bagpipes, and a dancer usually wears a kilt, Argyle socks and jacket/vest (women wear vests or jackets of velvet and men wear a formal jacket such as a Price Charlie along with a hat and sporran). The dances are made up of different parts, called steps. There are usually four or six steps to a dance. Modern Highland Dancing is very competitive - this raises the level of performance of Highland Dancing. A dancer usually starts around six or seven, but many dancers start older - one of our members started when he was 60. While starting that old is not the norm, starting when 12, 13, or 14 is not too unusual. Highland Dancing is also very vigorous. It requires much flexibily, strenght, agility, and stamina. A 100lb (45kg) child would burn 149 Kcalories in a half hour of dance (Ian Stuart Kelley, A Competitor's Guide, Kelley & Associates, San Diego, Ca. 1991, pg. 22). That's more than a 170lbs man during an hour of football (http://k2.kirtland.cc.mi.us/~balbachl/calorie.htm, May 25th). The Highland Dances - these are the dances Highland Dancers train most heavily in - they were traditionally only danced by men and were performed in the Scottish Regiments as a form of exercise. Also, these are the dances a dancers compete in when competing for the title of 'Champion'. The Highland Fling - This was a victory dance. It is said that this dance is danced on one spot because it was danced on the shield, or targe of a Scotsman. There is usually a large spike in the middle of a targe so it is important to stay in one spot, lest you hurt yourself. The Sword Dance - This dance is danced over two crossed swords. The dance jumps over and around the swords for two minutes. This was originally danced by Malcome Canmore after a battle near Dunsinane, as a victory dance. After that, men would dance it before a battle. If they touched one of the swords with thier feet, it was considered to be a sign of bad luck.
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History of Scottish Dances
There are three forms of dance which are uniquely Scottish. These may be called (after the dancer or combination of dancers): solo, couple and set dances, all of which have Scottish and general European antecedents. Little is known about the pre-renaissance dancing of Scotland, although there are indications that many current steps and figures have their origins in both the medieval Lowlands and Highlands. Except for 'reels' and 'twosomes' all of what is termed Highland dancing falls into the category of solo dancing. In Scottish solo dancing, little attention is paid to the pattern on the floor, while importance is placed upon the precise execution of intricate footwork. In their early forms, dance steps were either characterised by the rhythm of the feet treading the floor (as in hornpipes and modern tap-dancing), or by hopping on one foot while the other is moved to predetermined positions (setting or capering). Two of the most noted solo dances are the Fling and the Sword Dance. Before the nineteenth century, the word 'fling' was used to denote a particular step. In 1805, however, we find the earliest unambiguous reference to a distinct form of dance known as the Fling. Its steps, which are also used for setting in appropriate places in couple and set dances, are characterised by the kicking of the free foot into the air (hence fling). The number and combination of fling steps is almost infinite and was not regulated or standardised until the foundation of the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (SOBHD), in 1953. At present the fling consists of four to eight steps, each with a descriptive name in the Lowland tongue (shedding, shaking, rocking, etc) or in Gaelic (ceum coisiche, leum a trasd, etc). The fling steps, when they first appear in documented sources, are described as taught by the dancing masters who were greatly influenced by the Continental ballet. As a result, the steps of the modern Fling (and almost all Scottish Dancing) are described and taught in the rigid terms of the ballet positions. The Sword Dance (Gille Callum), as danced over a sword and not with the dancer holding one, is first alluded to in the mid eighteenth century, with its tune first referred to in 1734 (published in 1768). The first example of a description appears in 1881.
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More
Dating back to before recorded history, the Highland Dances of Scotland were originally highly athletic male dances of triumph, joy, and other reflections of emotion. Competitive Highland dancing as we know it began during the revival of interest in Highland culture during the 19th century. Women first began competing at the turn of the century. Highland dances require both athletic and artistic skill and are danced both informally and in competition. In competition, dancers are judged on three elements: timing, technique and general deportment. Timing is the dancers ability to follow the rythum of the music. Technique concerns the dancers footwork and the coordination of head, arms and hands. Good positioning of the feet is most important. General Deportment concerns the dancers interpretation and ability to capture the spirit and motif of the dance and includes balance, overall appearance, bearing and carriage of the head, arms, body and hands. Upright posture is essential, and the dancers must ehibit a happy demeanor. Although the dances are very athletic, they must be danced with seeming ease, with no signs of strain and free of elaborate showiness. THE SWORD DANCE The Sword Dance is mentioned in documents going back to the reign of Malcolm III, King of Scots in the eleventh century. Known in Gaelic as "Canmore", "Great Head", he allegedly danced over his bloody claymore, (the ancient two-handed sword of Scotland), crossed with the sword of his defeated enemy (or perhaps even over the severed head of his foe as well). Sometimes a dirk, a Highland dagger, was placed blade uppermost in the ground and the dance was performed over it.
Yet more... Highland Dancing
Traditional Highland Dancing performed at its best is a delightful spectacle. No other event encompasses such verve and enthusiasm and what better sight can there be than kilted dancers swaying and pirouetting to the traditional airs on the Scottish Bagpipe. The following Scottish Highland dances are traditionally performed solo. Highland Dancing is regarded as being one of the most sophisticated forms of national dancing in the world, and whilst it is almost impossible for dance historians to separate fact from fiction when researching the most poplar Scottish Dances the following descriptions have become most credible and popular, probably due to their imaginative and picturesque stories.
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Traditionally, Scottish Highland Dancing competitions included four standard dances - The Sword Dance, The Sean Triubhas, The Reel of Tulloch and The Highland Fling, later a couple of imports were added to the repertoire - The Sailors Hornpipe and The Irish Jig. The Highland Fling Together with the Sword Dance, the Highland Fling is probably the most famous of the Scottish Dances. Tullochgorm was the earliest form of Highland Fling, but towards the end of the 18th Century it had undergone changed and improvements and it is thought to have evolved about 1790, legend has it that an old shepherd was giving chanter lessons to his grandson on a hillside when he saw a stag rearing and wheeling in the distance. He asked the boy if he could imitate the stag's dance which he did, and hence the steps and the graceful curve of the arms and hands depicting the stag's antlers. The dance is performed on the same spot throughout and this is because the clansmen traditionally danced on their targe (leather covered studded shield). Another more unimaginative explanation is that the dance evolved as a solo performance of the reel. The Sword Dance Gille Chaluim. Said to have originated in 1054 when King Malcolm Canmore clashed in battle near Dunsinane with one of Macbeth's chiefs. Having slain his opponent, Malcolm crossed his claymore with that of his opponent to make the sign of the cross and danced in exultation over them. After this occasion, it is said clansmen would cross their swords prior to battle and if they could complete the war dance without touching the swords it signified they would be victors. Prior to 1850 the steps were danced clockwise round the sword, not anti-clockwise as nowadays.
And yet more...
Some Dancing History Highland Fling. According to tradition, the Highland Fling was originally performed by the Highland warrior on his targe after battle. Accordingly, it is danced in one spot without travelling steps. The steps are simple but must be executed precisely with positions being strongly held. This dance is often considered to be the greatest test for the Highland Dance. Sword Dance. This dance was traditionally performed by the Highland warrior on the eve of the battle using the warrior's sword and scabbard. The sword and scabbard are crossed on the ground to define the dancing spot. According to legend, the warriors that were able to dance the Sword Dance without touching the sword with his feet would be successful in the approaching battle.
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Picture of an old set of instructions
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