What is Scottish Dancing?

There are several forms of Scottish Dancing around today, requiring differing levels of ability and appealing to different sections of the population. Some have been exported all around the world, some are social, some are competitive, some have been lost in Scotland, and are now making their reappearance from the colonies to where they where taken by emigrees. For a quick history of dancing in Scotland, see here. They are all danced to Scotland's wonderful music - reels, jigs and the quintessentially Scottish strathspey - and are all great exercise - they beat a trip to the gym any day!

Most people in Scotland will have been to a ceilidh at some point in their lives. These are taught in schools, danced at weddings and Burns suppers, and if you know where to look, you can generally find one to go to most weeks, at least in the central belt. These dances are fairly simple, a mixture of round the room dances and set dances, and danced purely sociably. The repertoire is limited, there is no formal technique or central authority controlling the dance form, and (a big plus for many people) you can do them when drunk.

Indeed, one of the popular regular ceilidhs in Edinburgh, the Caley ceilidh is run by the Caledonian Brewery, which we visited during the excursion. (See the excursion diary.) What all those who were there will agree, no doubt, is that dancing at a ceilidh is a very social activity. You end up dancing with people of all ages and social groups – from your best friends to total strangers. It’s very much learning by doing – a few words of basic instruction from the caller, then you’re away! Nobody cares if you make a mistake – in fact, the more chaotic, the merrier in many ways.

If you’d like to find out more, check out the website www.scottishdance.net.

Regina Rogalla-Mothershaw