VCS Dancers

Highland dances

The Highlander developed “as a necessary preparation for the management of the broad-sword… used in certain dances to exhibit their dexterity” (Logan, James. The Scottish Gael p. 440) this included dancing over two naked swords which are laid across each other on the floor, some while a dancer moves nimbly around them. Dextrously placing the feet by a peculiar step in the intervals between crossed blades, as in the Ghillie Chalum, has long been linked with dances before a decisive battle or as a victory dance. Legend has it that on the eve of battle the highland chief would call out the clan’s best dancers, who would dance the sword dance. If the dancers successfully avoided touching either blade, then it was considered an omen that the next day's battle would be in the clan’s favour. A more practical explanation behind the meaning of this dance can be found in the training halls of older styles of fencing, where students of the sword developed their footwork by following geometric patterns of crosses, squares and triangles marked out on the floor.

In another version of Scottish sword dancing, the Highlander danced on a targe shield, this has similarities with an ancient Roman exercise in which the man standing on a shield had to defend himself and stay upright while others tried to pull it out from under him. Many of the Highland dances now lost to us were once performed with traditional weapons that included the Lochaber axe, the broadsword, targe & dirk and the flail, the old Skye dancing song, "Buailidh mi thu anns a' cheann," (I will strike your head) indicate some form of weapon play to music, 'breaking the head' was the winning blow in cudgelling matches throughout Britain, "for the moment that blood runs an inch anywhere above the eyebrow, the old gamester to whom it belongs is beaten, and has to stop."

The Highland Dirk Dance, in which the dancer flourishes the weapon, is often linked to the sword dance or dances called ‘Mac an Fhorsair,’ (literally, "the son of the Forester"), the ‘Broad Sword Exercise’ or the “Bruicheath” (Battle Dance). They are mentioned in a number of sources, usually military, and may have been performed in a variety of different forms, practiced by two performers in a duelling form, or as a solo routine.

The tune of Gille Chaluim (Anglicized as "Gillie Callum" and meaning "the servant of Calum" in Gaelic) has been claimed to date back to Malcolm III of Scotland (11c.) but the dance is unlikely to have been invented before 1800. According to one tradition, the crossed swords were supposedly placed on the ground before a battle while a soldier danced around the blades. If his feet knocked against the swords, he would be wounded in battle. This may derive from the folklore often surrounding warrior culture.

One theory about the Highland Fling is that it was a dance of triumph at the end of a battle. Another (no less romantic) theory is that it was performed before battles (like the sword dance), on top of the dancer's shield. The shield would have a spike in the middle, around which the dancer would do the dance that involves flicking of the feet, jumping and careful stepping supposedly to drive evil spirits away. The dancer is confined to one spot and snaps his fingers (which was reduced in recent times to merely holding the hands with the thumb touching the second joint of the middle finger, and the other three fingers extended in the air). Leaving aside the obvious difficulty of dancing around a sharpened spike on a shield, a much more plausible theory is that the Highland Fling is none other than a Foursome Reel with the progressive bits left out - at social gatherings, dancers would "compete" by showing off the fancy solo steps they could perform, long before formal competitions at highland games had been invented.

Another story behind the Fling is that it is meant to imitate a stag; the story goes that a boy who saw a stag was asked to describe it by his father. He lacked the words, so danced instead; the position of the hands resembles the head and antlers of a stag. Tulloch is a village in the North-East of Scotland. Ruidhle Thulaichean (Anglicized as "The Reel of Tulloch") is supposed to have originated when a congregation had to wait at a church for a minister on a cold wedding day. During the delay they whistled a highland tune while someone improvised a dance. A more gruesome version of the story is that the dance derives from a rough game of football that the inhabitants of Tulloch played with the severed head of an enemy; the Gaelic words to the tune bear this out.

The Seann Triubhas (pronounced "shawn trewes" and meaning "old or unwanted trousers" in Gaelic) is romantically associated with the proscription of Highland garb after the 1745 rebellion. The steps involve much shaking of the legs, symbolic of shedding the dreaded "trewes"; the final, faster step(s) show the joy of returning to the kilt. However, the dance is considerably younger, with most of the steps performed today dating from the late 19th century. Like other dance traditions, what is called "Highland dancing" is a hybrid form that has been constantly changing according to contemporary aesthetics and interpretations of the past. While some elements may be centuries old, other elements are much more modern. The vast majority of dances now performed were composed in the last century.

Character and national dances

As far as competitions were concerned, until 1986 there were only four standard dances - The Sword Dance, The Seann Triubhas, The Reel of Tulloch and The Highland Fling. Since then, various other (pre-existing) dances have been added to the competition repertoire. For example, there are two "character dances", "The Sailor's Hornpipe" and "The Irish Jig". The Sailor's Hornpipe was adapted from an English dance, which is now performed more frequently in Scotland, while the Irish Jig is a humorous caricature of, and tribute to, Irish stepdancing (the dancer, in a red and green costume, is an interpretation of an Irish person, gesturing angrily and frowning). If the Irish Jig is danced by a woman or girl, it is about either the distressed wife scolding her husband, a woman being tormented by leprechauns, or a washerwoman chasing taunting boys (or children in general) away who have dirtied her washing - the showing of the woman's fist symbolizes her wanting to beat up the children, the leprechauns, or the husband. If it is danced by a man or boy, it is the story of Paddy's Leather Breeches, in which a careless washerwoman has shrunk Paddy's fine leather breeches and he is waving his shillelagh (shaped like a smoking pipe) at her in anger and showing his fist, intending to hit her. The Hornpipe mimics a sailor in her majesty's navy doing work aboard ship: hauling rope, sliding on the rollicking deck, and getting his paycheck, and has quite a lot of detail involved that portrays the character (e.g. the dancer does not touch his palms, assumed to be dirty, on his uniform).

Perhaps one of the most unusual elements of character dance done at modern Highland dance competitions is the inclusion of the cakewalk. The cakewalk is originally a dance performed by black slaves in the southern US imitating, in exaggerated style, the stately courtship ballroom dancing of slave owners. It is unique in competitive Highland Dance as it is the only dance always performed as a duo and is the only dance that originated outside the British Isles. Also unique is the inclusion of fanciful and often outrageous costumes upon which some of the judging of artistry is based. While costume contests do occasionally take place regarding the outfits worn for the other dances, the outfits for those dances are so carefully prescribed (differences are restricted primarily to choice of tartan, color of jackets or sashes, and choices such as lace sleeves and velvet vests instead of velvet jackets) costume does not play a significant role in the dance competition or vary much across dancers. In contrast, while the cakewalk may be danced in traditional Scottish attire, dancers involved in the cakewalk often attempt to come up with the most creative duo costume they can, such as Frankstein and his bride or Mickey and Minnie Mouse. The cakewalk is generally only danced at very large scale competitions such as national or provincial championships and is generally restricted to the top level of competitive dancers known as "premier" (formerly "open".)

The inclusion of the cakewalk in competitive Highland Dance is credited to famed dancer, judge and examiner, James L. McKenzie and the dance now performed in competition was choreographed by Miss Elspeth Strathern is his honor. It is a favorite dance among competitive dancers and competition audiences alike for the colorful costumes and artistry. The Cakewalk is generally performed to "Whistling Rufus" Written in 1899 by Kerry Mills.

At Highland games, the National Dances are something of a novelty display event and include the Scottish Lilt, the Earl of Erroll, Blue Bonnets, Hielan' Laddie, the Scotch Measure, Flora MacDonald's Fancy, The Village Maid and Wilt thou go to the barracks, Johnny?, which illustrate the history of dancing and other aspects of Scottish culture and history. Their character varies wildly and not all of these dances are suitable for execution using standard competitive technique and styling. Most of the National Dances were invented by dancing masters in the 19th century and show a more or less pronounced balletic influence, while others derive from earlier traditions and were adapted to later tastes. The "Earl of Erroll", for example, is almost certainly based on an 18th-century Irish-style hard shoe dance, although today's Highland dancers perform it in the usual Ghillies.

The National dances were invented to be danced by women, as women were not originally allowed to dance the Highland dances and wear the kilt. Instead, they danced the National dances, which are softer and more ballet-like, and the outfit usually worn is called an "Aboyne" (after the Aboyne Highland Games, where women are not allowed to wear kilts for dancing to this day). The outfit consists of a full tartan skirt, white blouse, a velvet vest laced up the front, and a "plaid" or "plaidie" pinned to the shoulder and waist. As well, dancers may choose to wear a decorative brooch to pin their plaidie to their shoulder. Another option for the National dances is to wear a white dress with a plaid on the shoulder. Nowadays, males and females dance both Highland and National dances (males have the option of wearing plaid "trews" (trousers) instead of a kilt for the National dances).

List

Highland Dances

• Pas de Basques
• Pas de Basques and Highcuts
• Highland Fling
• Sword Dance
• Seann Truibhas
• Strathspey and Highland Reel
• Strathspey and Half Tulloch
• Strathspey, Highland Reel and Half Tulloch
• Reel of Laura johnston

National Dances

• Scottish Lilt
• Flora MacDonald's Fancy
• Wilt thou go to the barracks, Johnny?
• Highland Laddie (Hielan' Laddie)
• Blue Bonnets Over the Border
• Village Maid
• Scotch Measure (Twasome)
• Earl of Erroll
• The Cake Walk
• A Tribute to J.L. McKenzie
• Flowers oh Edinburgh
• Hebridean Laddie
• Tulloch Gorum
• Over the Water to Charlie
• The Dusty Miller

Character Dances

• Sailor's Hornpipe
• Irish jig