The Highland Fling is one of the most well-known Scottish dances. Performed as a solo to a strathspey tune, the dance ususally consists of 4 or 6 steps in competition and medal testing. The arms are meant to ressemble the rack of a stag or deer.
The Sword Dance, another solo dance, has many myths and legends attached. That it was bad luck to touch the swords before battle, that Malcom Canmore, king of Scots, danced over the swords of his enemy, and so on. There are many forms of the Sword dance. The solo sword dance is the one most often performed in competition and medal testing. There are also the double sword, the Argyle Broadsword and it's many variations of that particular four dancer dance, and the Perth Assembly which has eight dancers and swords. There are many types of sword dancing throughout the world. One you might have heard of is Papa Stour's Sword Dance. If you have any information regarding this, we would love to know more about the Papa Stour. Email us!
The Seann Truibhas is a relatively new Highland dance if you are referring to the centuries old dances. This dance was developed to express the Scots' joy in the repealing of the prohibiation act of 1747 which the English imposed upon Scotland after the English forces defeated Bonnie Prince Charlie at the Battle of Culloden. The prohibition act forbid the Scots to wear the kilt, play the pipes and so forth. (You can find out more about this here.) This was repealed in 1782. The dance is performed with a regular timing for the first three or four steps, and with a clap as a signal to the piper to change to a quicker tempo for the last single or two steps. The steps themselves represent the actions of a Scot shedding the hated trouser and the quick time is his or her joy at wearing the kilt once again.
The Strathspey & Highland Reel is a figure eight dance with four dancers. It is comprised of two strathspey segments with setting steps and two reel segments also with setting steps. It is said it was developed by parishoners who were waiting for their tardy clergyman outside a locked church in the winter time, so as to keep warm. Whether this is the case or not, it is a fun dance and builds excellent teamwork!
What Do Highland Dancers Wear?
When performing the Highland Dances above, the dancer wears a kilt, vest or jacket, argyle hose, and ghillies. Long hair is usually up in a circular bun or braided. At one time, women were not allowed to dance the Highland dances. It was unseemly for a female to dance a male's dance. So, the women danced the National dances wearing the Aboyne or Arsaid costume (see below). Highland Games are so colourful due to the fact that there are over 1500 varied tartans to choose from! When performing the Irish Jig and Hornpipe dances, You will note the great difference in these character dances costumes. And then, the door is practically open for the choreography dances, which are relatively new to the Highland Dance scene. But there are rules set out by the Scottish Official Board of Highland Dance that each competitor in the BATD/SDTA/UKA must follow.
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