Dance Styles

Highland

Scottish Highland Dancing is a celebration of the Scottish spirit. The dances are a spectacular combination of strength, agility, movement, music, and costume.

Dancers typically dance to traditional Scottish music such as Strathspeys, Reels, Hornpipes and Jigs all played by an accompanying bagpiper. The dances are great fun and anyone, not just those with a Scottish heritage, who thrills to the sound of the bagpipe can join in and learn the dances.

There are two styles of Highland Dances

The traditional Highland Dances (or Kilted dances) and the graceful National Dances which includes dances such the Sailors Hornpipe and the Scottish Lilt, Highland Laddie and Wilt thou come to the Barracks Johnnie.
The Kilted dances are the Sword Dance, the Highland Fling, Shean Trews , Strathspey and Reel of Tulloch.
Highland dancing is one of few arenas where men and women compete equally. In most competitions, the number of women competing far exceeds the number of men. Highland Dancing is a healthy workout for adults and for children. It is a great way to develop good coordination, posture and overall muscle tone, not to mention aerobic capacity and strength. One study showed that a half hour of dance was equal to a game of soccer.
Ambitious new students develop self-discipline and confidence as they learn to tackle the physical demands of Highland dancing. Indeed, the tremendous strength, stamina, and technical precision that accomplished dancers exhibit on stage comes from years of independent training and collaboration with experienced teachers

Irish

From traditional to modern choreographed steps Irish dancing is a very energetic dance form requiring lots of stamina and Irish dancing encompasses softshoe, hardshoe and ceili (group) dancing.

Soft Shoe

The ladies wear a slipper like softshoe with lacing on the top of the foot, while the gentlemen wear a laced up shoe with a heel that is used to produce clicks as they dance. Softshoe dances have a lot of travel and leaping movements and are light and spirited. The softshoe dances are Reels, Slip Jigs, Light Jigs and Single Jigs.

Hard Shoe

The hardshoe, which is different to tapshoes, has a fibreglass tip and not metal to create the "tapping and beating" rhythms. The hardshoe dances include jigs, hornpipes and treble reels. The Treble Jig is the first hardshoe dance taught. The Traditional Set Dances are historical and were made up by the dance masters in the 19th century. Trebles (batters), heel drums, stamps and heel clicks are some of the movements used to create the rhythmic sounds.

Team Dances

Ceili dances are team dances that incorporate simpler foot movements but involve extremely intricate pattern work and the use of arms. The size of the team dances vary from 4 - 16 people in size. Figure dances are choreographed team dances comprising of 8 - 16 dancers. The dances have a story which must be portrayed in the dance steps and patterns. All the footwork movements are however traditional movements from the ceili dances. Hand and arm movements are also included in these dances.