Ready...And! A Guide to Scottish Country Dancing

Country dancing became popular in the British Isles in the Eighteenth Century. In Scotland, it interacted with the native Reels and acquired distinctly Scottish flavor. There were also elements of ballet contributed by the Auld Alliance with France. Its popularity began to fade in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Centuries as modern Ballroom dancing became popular.

In 1923 the Scottish Country Dance Society was founded to preserve and promote the dance form, which was in danger of dying out completely. The Society gained title "Royal" in 1951, and Queen Elizabeth II became the patron in 1952. The Society (aka RSCDS), initially collected existing dances from watching them done and from manuscripts.

Today Scottish Country Dancing is done all over the world, largely due to the efforts of the RSCDS. In addition to publishing dances and the music for them, they have worked to standardize the form, to educate and certify teachers and to encourage participation. Groups can be found in most major cities, and the standardization means that you can join these groups in the knowledge that the dances will be done the same way everywhere.

As mentioned above, SCD is a social form. One dances with a partner, but also with other couples. It is also generally a "mixer" form, in that one does not always dance with the same partner (see the Etiquette section, below, for more on why). As such it's a marvelous chance to dance for those who do not have a steady dancing partner.

The most common format of the dance is in "sets" of four couples, arranged in facing lines with the men on one side of the set and the women on the other (some dances vary the number of couples in a set, some are done in square sets, and there are even a few done in triangular sets of three couples).

An aside on gender: As there are usually more women dancing than men, it's far from rare for two women to dance together, but one of them will be dancing "as a man". Some groups try to avoid gender-specific terms, but that frequently produces more confusion than it saves, since almost all published dance instructions are written in assumed genders.

Each dance is composed of a series of "formations" that are (mostly) predefined patterns of movement involving both the "first couple" and the others in the set, though many dances also have sections that are not preset formations. full description of formations is beyond the scope of this lens, but a couple of simple are "turn by the right" and "circle six hands round".

Dances are not called as they are done (except sometimes in a class setting), but party programs are usually announced ahead of time and often include directions for the dances. The dance will be "briefed" before it's done (that is, the directions will be spoken), and sometimes there will be one slow walk-through.

There are three types of music used in Scottish Country Dancing. Most tunes are 32 bars long (in four eight-bar phrases), and most are played eight times through (more on why this is below). You don't need to know the details to enjoy SCD, but a general understanding helps. It is usually played by bands consisting of some combination of piano, fiddle, accordion and sometimes a simple drum set (plus occasionally a bass). There are a few--very few--dances that have well-known bagpipe recordings associated with them.

Quick Time

Many people refer to Jigs and Reels collectively as "quick time". Some teachers argue that there's no such thing--a jig is a jig, a reel is a reel and they're not the same--and while they have a valid argument there are enough points of similarity from a dancing perspective to make it a useful shorthand for an overview such as this.

Jigs

A jig is a tune in 6/8 time. There are two strong beats to each bar, each of which is subdivided into three. The "feel" of a jig is "beau-ti-ful but-ter-fly". They are usually played slightly more slowly than reels.

Reels

Reels are tunes in 4/4, of Common, time (though they're often notated in 2/4, or sometimes in Cut time). They have a much "squarer" feel than the lilt of a jig, and are usually played more quickly.

Strathspeys

The Strathspey is a tune form that is unique to Scotland (and the Scottish diaspora). At its heart it's a variant of a reel, so it's in 4/4 time (and always notated that way, at least for SCD). The defining characteristic of a strathspey is the liberal use of the "Scotch snap". For the musicians reading this, that's a sixteenth note followed by a dotted eighth. That's the reverse of "normal" swing, which it quite often follows. For non-musicians, the feel of that four-note fragment would be "taa-ti ti-taa". Pipers and
Cape Breton fiddlers play strathspeys almost as quickly as reels, but for SCD they're always played more slowly.

Unlike English Country Dancing or American Contra dancing, which are usually done with a walking step, Scottish Country Dancing is done with prescribed footwork. These descriptions are necessarily brief--find a class to get full instruction (see below).

Skip Change of Step

Often called simply "skip change", this is the primary traveling step in quick time. It's usually the first step taught to beginners. It takes one bar of music to complete a full evolution of the step. The ultra-brief description is "hop-step close step", and the emphasis is up and forward, for a sense of flight.

Pas de Basque

This step is used in quick time for "setting", or acknowledging another dancer, and sometimes for short-distance travel. It also takes one bar of music for one complete step. The pattern for it is a step on one foot, a closing step on the other to change weight, a step back on the first foot and then a jete (which is a ballet term meaning "throw"), in which the non-weight-bearing foot is kicked forward slightly.

Slip Step

Used for circles (and sometimes other traveling) in quick time, slip step is the simplest SCD step. It only takes half a bar of music. Step out to the side with the foot that's toward the direction of travel, then close with the other foot--done!

Strathspey Traveling Step

The name of this step implies its function. It takes--surprise!--one bar. Push one foot forward while sinking down on the supporting leg, step forward onto that foot, close with the other then step forward with the first foot again. Finish the step byt either closing (if coming to a stop), or pulling the trailing foot through while giving a small hop to help the toe clear the floor.

Strathspey Setting Step

Also known as common schottische, this is almost the same as the strathspey traveling step. The differences are that the step is done to the side instead of forward, and that the finish is to lift the trailing foot behind the supporting leg instead of pulling it through.

Other Steps

There are some other steps, mostly borrowed from Highland dancing, that are used in a few specific dances. You can dance for years without encountering them, so they're beyond the scope of this lens.

As mentioned above, the normal format is a set of four couples in lines facing partners. Most dances are 32 bars long (though some are 40 or 48 bars, and a few are 24), and involve either two or three couples. The "head" or "top" of the set is toward the music, and the gentlemen line up with their left shoulders toward the top (usually). The first time through, the first couple dances with the couple(s) immediately "below" them (any that are further down wait), and finish the dance one place further down the set (again, usually--there are exceptions to almost everything in SCD). At that point, the same couple still has couples below them, within the same set, with whom they can repeat the dance. The couple that finished in the top place does not yet have not-otherwise-occupied couples to dance with, so they wait. This continues until the original first couple doesn't have new couples to dance with, at which point they step to the bottom of the set and wait. The new top couple begins as first couple as soon as they have others with whom to do the dance.

This pattern results in each couple in the set doing the dance as first couple twice (in a three-couple dance) or three times (in a two-couple dance--but note that on the third time through a new top couple is starting at the same time). This is why the music for a dance is almost always played eight time through. Four-couple dances are less common, but far from rare--in these, one evolution puts the original first couple at the bottom, and the music goes through four times instead of eight.

Though it can be done informally, there is a strain of formality running all through modern SCD. The degree to which etiquette is observed varies from group to group and also depends on context (it's looser in a class than at a party, and very closely observed at a formal ball).

Dancers of either gender may ask their complements to dance. It is expected that if you arrived with a partner you will dance the first dance with them, and one other on the program (either the last dance or one favorite), and dance with others for the rest of the evening.

When forming sets on the dance floor, join the set at the bottom--don't try to crowd in "wherever".

Each dance will begin and end with the musicians playing a chord (this is one of the reasons that if you are using recordings it's important to seek out SCD-specific ones), which is used to acknowledge one's partner: gentlemen give a shallow bow, ladies a shallow curtsy.

When the dance finishes, thank your partner and your set. The dancer that did the asking then escorts their partner off the floor.

It is strongly recommended that you learn SCD from a live teacher in a class setting. The structure of the dances calls for other dancers, and the technical aspects of learning the steps and formations are much easier to grasp in person.

Most classes are segregated by level. The steps and formations are introduced progressively, with each new topic building on what's gone before. Plan to spend about a year as a beginner. When attending classes, wear comfortable clothing and comfortable, preferably soft, flat shoes (there are "special" shoes that you can acquire later on, but they're not needed to start).

To find a class, have a look at the branch directory page of the RSCDS website.

If you absolutely can't find a class, or want some supplemental instruction, you can try this CD-ROM program. I haven't seen it, so I'm not actually recommending it. Anyone who has feedback on this please let me know, either through the Guestbook or my Lensmaster contact page.

Oh--the lens title comes from the most-common words that teachers use to cue dancers and musicians to start a partial dance evolution while teaching.

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