VCS Dancers

The term Highland dance or Highland dancing is used today to refer to a style of athletic solo dancing which developed in the Gaelic Highlands of Scotland. Highland dance evolved into its current form during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the context of competitions at public events (namely Highland games), where it is often performed to the accompaniment of Highland bagpipe music. Highland dancers wear specialized shoes called ghillies.

Highland dance has been subject to many influences from outside the Highlands. For example, it has been heavily influenced by the urban aesthetics of the patrons and judges of dance competitions since the nineteenth century.

Nowadays, Highland dancing, which can be seen at nearly every modern day Highland games event, is a highly competitive and technical dance form that requires many hours of practice and training over a period of several years to perfect. In terms of its technical requirements and the training required for its performance, Highland dancing has much in common with ballet. It takes a massive amount of stamina and arm/leg strength, no matter how old the dancer is. Highland Dance is recognised as a sport by the Sport Council of Scotland.

In Highland dancing, in contrast to, say, ballroom dancing, the dancers dance on the balls of the feet. In many ways, Highland dancing evolved from solo step dancing, but while some forms of step dancing are purely percussive in nature, Highland dancing involves not only a combination of steps but also some integral upper body, arm, and hand movements. Even so, it is still considered a form of step dancing in that the main element of Highland dancing is concerned with footwork.

Highland dancing should not be confused with Scottish country dancing which is both a social dance (that is, a dance which is danced with a partner or partners) like ballroom dancing, and a formation dance (that is, a dance in which an important element is the pattern of group movement about the dance floor) like square dancing.

Some Highland dances do derive from traditional social dances, however. An example is the Highland Reel, also known as the Foursome Reel, in which groups of four dancers alternate between solo steps facing one another and a figure-of-eight style with intertwining progressive movement. Even so, in competitions, the Highland Reel dancers are judged individually. Most Highland dances are done solo.

Highland dance should not be confused with Scottish country dance.