Scotland
Scottish Country Dancing
September 2006, Edinburgh
Image: Scottish Country Dancing
Hello! We are in Edinburgh, Scotland – what a great place it is! Edinburgh is full of culture and home to one of the biggest theatrical festivals in Europe, The Edinburgh International Festival. We have been to visit the castle, the National Art Gallery of Scotland and are enjoying walking around admiring the sites of this beautiful and ancient city.
We are particularly interested in Scottish dancing and attended a Ceilidh (pronounced Key-lee) last night which is where people do Scottish Country Dancing. Dances are danced in sets of 3, 4 or 5 couples where you stand either next to your partner in a Square set or opposite each other in a longwise set. The term country dancing comes from the court term ‘Contredense’ which is used to describe a dance where you faced your partner. Each dance is made up of a sequence of movements which are repeated and eventually bring you back to where you started. Scottish dancing is fast and very lively and there is a lot of spinning, stamping, clapping and swapping of partners! There is a person called a ‘caller’ who explains the dance and walks it through before the music starts. They also shout some helpful points during the dance which is useful if you have not done it before. The same sequence is danced through a number of times in one dance which means you have plenty of time to pick it up.
Each dance traditionally has a specific tune which is associated with it. Because most of the tunes are much shorter than the dances, the musicians often only play that particular tune at the beginning and end of the dance and other music is played during the middle section.
You may have heard of some of the newer Scottish Dances - some of the most famous dances are known throughout the world. Have you heard of The Dashing White Sergeant or The Gay Gordons? There are about 9,000 different Scottish Dances and they are taught at Scottish schools and danced at parties, weddings and Burns suppers. (Robert Burns was a famous Scottish Poet and on the anniversary of his birth Scots celebrate Robert Burns with a supper wherever they are).
Take care
