Friday, September 25th, 2009
Highland dances are an important part of a scottish tradition and rustic folklore of this land. Scottish dances have a several ages of history and after that there are a lot of inspiring and well known stories left. Popular legends say about kings and heroic warriors, which dance a Highland Sword Dance before a great battle – when it had went right a combat was victorious, when the dance had been tenuous and the dancer had kicked the sword it was a bad omen – the chieftain of the clan would expect to lose the battle. Now a Highland Sword Dance is a part of culture and tradition of Scotland and a lot of people practice this type activity in a dance groups around entire world. Thanks to the internet you can learn some basics even in your home. See films below and try to experience scottisch folklore by yourself: (more…)
Posted in Culture in Scotland | No Comments »
Wednesday, August 12th, 2009
- Image via Wikipedia
Words ‘Scotland’ and ‘dance’ for many immediately conjure up mental pictures of swinging kilts. These aren’t just cliches: since the 18th century, dance has always had an important place at all levels of Scottish society and even today, it is still very much a living tradition.
There are generally three different styles of Scottish traditional dance: ceilidh dancing, country dancing and Highland dancing.
The first one is the most accessible form of our traditional dancing. The basic dances are all fairly easy to master, are few in number and comprise mostly round-the-room and set dances. The emphasis is firmly on having fun and being sociable – there is none of the regulation and competition that marks the other forms of traditional dance and the dress-code is invariably ‘come-as-you-are’. Key ingredients of a good ceilidh include enthusiasm, a good band, and usually – but not essentially – drink. (more…)
Posted in Culture in Scotland | No Comments »
