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The Highland Dance Program
[Highland, National
& Character]
[ Wedding
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Highland Dances
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The Highland
Fling
This
is the oldest of the traditional dances of Scotland
and is a dance performed before battle for luck.
It was danced by male warriors over a small
round shield, called a Targe, that the warriors
carried into battle.
The Highland Fling is danced on the spot, and
is said to be based on the antics of a stag on a
hillside; the grouped fingers and upheld arms
representing the antlers.
Usually taught first, this dance contains
many of the basic movements of Highland Dance. |
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The
Sword Dance (Gillie Challum)
Folklore has traced the origins of the Sword
Dance to as early as 1054 when Malcolm Canmore
defeated MacBeth’s chiefs at the Battle of
Dunsinane. One
story is that this was a dance of victory, as the
King danced over his bloody claymore (the two-handed
broadsword of Scotland) and the even bloodier head
of his enemy. Some say that no severed head was used
and that the King danced over his own sword crossed
over the sword of his enemy. Another story is that
the Sword Dance was danced prior to a battle. To
kick the swords was considered a bad omen for the
impending battle, and the soldier would expect to be
wounded. If many of the soldiers kicked their swords
the chieftain of the clan would expect to lose the
battle.
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The Seann
Triubhas
Pronounced "shawn trews," this Gaelic phrase means
"without trousers."
This dance is reputed to date from the rebellion of
1745 when Bonnie Prince Charlie challenged the might of
England at Culloden, and lost. As a penalty, Highlanders
were forbidden to wear the kilt. Seann Triubhas is a dance
of celebration developed in response to the Proscription
Repeal which restored to the Scots the right to wear their
kilts and play the bagpipes once more. The movements of this
dance clearly depict the legs defiantly shaking and shedding
the hated trousers and returning to the freedom of the kilt.
Some of the steps originate from hard shoe dancing. The
Seann Triubhas arrived at its present form in the early 20th
century, and an itinerant dance teacher from the 1890s is on
record as having invented the first step of the Seann
Triubhas.
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The
Strathspey and Highland Reel;
Strathspey and Half Tulloch
Hullachan |
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These
dances are performed by four dancers. The Strathspey
is never danced on its own in competition and must
be followed by a Reel. These dances illustrate the
"set" and "travel" steps which
are common in Scottish social dancing.
The dancers weave around each other making a
figure 8 pattern.
This dance originated within groups of chilly
churchgoers attempting to stay warm while waiting for the minister to
arrive.
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The
National Dances |
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Scottish National dances
are of a more modern origin and have been collected from old
dance masters. In North America, National dances were not
danced in competition until the 1960s. The attire worn by
female dancers is called the Aboyne dress, named after the
Aboyne Highland Games of Scotland where up to this day, the
wearing of the kilt is strictly forbidden to women. The
National dances are very similar to Highland dances, but the
style is more flowing and graceful.
They require a lot of skill to execute correctly, and
spectators will note that often the rhythms are more
complicated than in conventional Highland dancing.
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Flora
McDonald's Fancy
This is said to be the last dance Flora McDonald danced for
Bonnie Prince Charlie before he fled overseas, but is more
likely to be a dance named in her honour. Flora McDonald
helped the prince escape from North Uist to Skye disguised
as her maid. She emigrated to America but returned home to
Skye later in life. |
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Scottish Lilt also
known as the Scottish Jig
The original tunes for the Lilt are 'Drops of
Brandy' and 'Brose and Butter.”
It is now danced to the “Battle of the
Somme.” The
Scottish Lilt is claimed by both the Hebrides and
Perthshire. The Lilt is a combination of both the Highland and Ballet
forms of dance.
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Barracks
"Wilt
thou go to the barracks, Johnny?" is a military
recruiting song.
Members of the military would travel to small
towns and perform this dance to either entertain or
to attract people to the recruiting station.
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Blue
Bonnets Are Over the Border
This graceful dance depicts
the flirtatious movements of women with Scotsmen
referred to as “Blue Bonnets” because of the
blue hats they wore.
Jacobite Troops had no formal uniform. The
white cockade on a blue bonnet became their emblem.
The white cockade emblem is said to have originated
when Bonnie Prince Charlie picked a wild rose and
pinned it to his hat.
Village Maid
This
is another graceful dance that combines both the
Highland and Ballet forms of dance.
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Highland Laddie
This
and
the Barracks are the only National Dances where
females are to wear the kilt.
Highland Laddie is a lively 2/4 March which,
in
1881, Highland Regiments throughout the British Army
adopted as their Regimental March in compliance with
official decree.
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Character
Dances
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The Sailor's Hornpipe
The Sailor's
Hornpipe is a caricature dance developed from the traditional English version. It has become more popular in
Scotland than in England and is regularly featured in
Highland Games. The movements in this dance portray actions
used in the daily work routines of a sailor's life, such as
pulling ropes, climbing the rigging, and looking out to sea.
A costume like a sailor's uniform is worn by both male and
female dancers. |
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The Irish Jig
The Scottish Version
of the Irish Jig is another caricature dance depicting an
Irish washerwoman who is angry with her erring husband. The
costume worn for this dance is either a red or emerald green
skirt and bodice and a full white petticoat, with a white
blouse, with a white apron. Red or green jig shoes are worn
and there is much stamping and facial grimacing in this
dance. In the male version, the dancer wears a red or green
tailcoat with a waistcoat of the opposite colour, brown knee
britches of corduroy, with a paddy hat and he carries a
shillelagh, which is a club made from the forked branch of a
tree. |
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picture
gallery
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You can contact
us
at the
school at anytime, to make arrangements for class scheduling and
assessment of level.
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