The Highland Dances
(Click here to see the national dances)
The Highland Fling
Many people say the Fling was made to imitate the
graceful movements of a stag (deer) prancing through the forest. The flingers are made to look like antlers and the dance
uses a lot of springing and turning with your feet raised to your knees. Warriors transformed this dance into one of agility
and strength. They danced on upturned shields and danced on the spot to avoid hurting their foot on the spike raised from
the center.
The Sword Dance or Gillie
Callum
This dance demands balance, strength and stamina.
Many dancers consider it the most difficult and intimidating of all the dances. On the first step the dancers moves around
the crossed swords and on the second, third, and last step they dance inside the squares. To touch the sword makes a dancer
lose points and to kick the sword gets them disqualified. History has it that warriors would cross their swords over their
opponents before a battle. Together they danced over the swords. If the warrior touched the sword it was a bad omen and was
thought to mean certain injury or death in battle.
The Seann Triubhas (Old
Trousers)
The Seann Truibhas originated in 1745 when
the English banned the Scots from wearing the kilt. The dance begins with graceful restricted steps, which show the Scots
desire to get rid of the trousers. When the piper up-tempos and the dancers movements become quicker, it shows their joy of
being back in the kilt where they can move around easily. The dance usually ends in a leap, which exaggerates the joy of once
again wearing a kilt.
The Reels
The reels are group dances. There are many different reels, each with its own
history. Each reel has four dancers, which weave around each other usually in a moment called a strathspey. The reel of Tulloch
is said to originate at the Tulloch Churchyard on a cold winter morning when the minister was late. In order to keep warm
the people swung each other around by the arm.
