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Charlotte, North Carolina  The Charlotte Scottish Country Dancers exist to promote and enjoy the pastime of country dancing practiced in Scotland and now throughout the world Where and when do we meet ? The group meets every Tuesday from September to June at the Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian Church, Selwyn Avenue, Charlotte from 7.00 pm to 9.30 pm What do we do at the meeting ? We are taught the basic steps, basic figures that make up the dances and we practice dances. The classes are informal and tailored to the experience of those present. Beginners and advanced dancers dance together. Special beginners classes are organized from time to time depending on demand. What do we wear ? For the classes wear is informal. Gillies or ballet shoes are the choice of footwear. For the formal dances Highland wear is the preferred mode. For men this means kilt, sporran, white shirt and hose. For women an evening dress and a tartan sash. Traditionally the dress is white but in these times this is not strictly adhered to. For those men not posessing kilts (they are expensive) dress slacks are an acceptable alternative. How to contact us Jack Pressley (704)814-9647 or Doreen Gibbon(704) 366-9260 If you are not a regular attendee and wish to visit us please check with us in advance since scheduling conflicts occasionally result in cancellation of classes or change of venue. Charlotte Dancers dancing the Balgedie Reel. A dance favorite in the Southern United States. What is Scottish Country Dancing? This section is reproduced by permission of Anselm Lingnau Scottish Country Dancing is a modern form of country dancing popular in England and Scotland in the 18th century. It involves groups of six to ten people (most of the time) of mixed sex (most of the time) to a set dancing to the driving strains of reels, jigs and strathspeys played on the fiddle, accordion, flute, piano, drums, etc. (no bagpipes, mostly!). The dance often combines solo figures for the ‘first cople in the set with movements for all the dancers, although there is considerable variation. There are over 7000 different dances catalogued, of which maybe 1000 or so are of lasting and non local importance. Many of these dances derive from traditional sources such as old manuscripts and printed dance collections, but a lot have been devised in the fairly recent past, say the last fifty years or so. This fusion of the traditional and the modern as well as its on going evolution are part of the attraction of Scottish Country Dancing. Think of SCD as a cross between square or contra dance (although there is no caller) and ballet; there are about a dozen basic figures which will get you through quite a number of dances, although many dances have their own quirks and specialities which make them unique and fun to dance. There is also more emphasis on ‘step than i, say contra dancing, but the basic technique can be learned at a weekend workshop or through a couple of months' worth of practice evenings once a week. Even though there are so many dances, you don't have to learn any of them by heart if you don't want to. The programmes for balls and social evenings are usually published well before the event, so everybody can check their crib sheets. Also, at the event itself dances are often recapitulated or even sometimes walked through slowly before the music starts. SCD is a very social form of dancing, not only because you get to dance with seven or so people at once instead of just with one partner (smiles and eye contact are almost mandatory, and if you want there is a lot of opportunity for relaxed flirting) but also because there are workshops,balls and social dances being held in places all over the world. It is nice to be able to travel and join a SCD group for a night nearly everywhere you go. History of Scottish Country Dancing Country dancing came to Scotland in the 18th century,and was at first popular among the townspeople in places like Edinburgh. It spread throughout Scotland (at varying pace) and thrived there even when, during the 19th and early 20th century, more modern dances like the Waltz, One-step etc. became fashionable in other places. Country dancing in Scotland was also influenced by other Scottish dances such as Highland Reels and so acquired a particular Scottish flavour. In 1923,the Scottish Country Dance Society (SCDS, later Royal Scottish Country Dance Society or RSCDS) was founded in order to preserve traditional Scottish country dancing. Its patrons went out to watch people dance and collect the dances for publication. In the process, they also tried to reconstruct and publish dances from old manuscripts that were no longer actually danced, and standardized technical points like steps and footwork (which the common folk rarely bothered a lot about). It is debatable whether this standardization was actually a good thing as far as preserving the tradition of Scottish country dancing was concerned, but it has certainly done a lot for making SCD into something that can be enjoyed internationally. In fact, Scottish Country Dancing is probably more alive today than it ever was in the past, and this is to a large extent due to the efforts of the RSCDS.Today the RSCDS numbers about 25,000 members and has branches in various countries all over the world. Lots of SCD groups are affiliated with the RSCDS even though they aren't actually branches of the Society,and even more people enjoy SCD without being members of the RSCDS(or any group) at all. The RSCDS is at 12 Coates Crescent telephone: 0131 225 3854 Edinburgh EH3 7AF fax: 0131 225 7783 Scotland What else do we do ? The group also gives demonstrations. Recent examples have been at the Innauguaral Scottish Games at Mint Hill, a British fair at St. Michael’s in Charlotte and at the Waxhaw Highland Games. Explore our future acitivities with this Link where you will find venues, dance programs an other useful information. Maintained by John D. Gibbon
dancingscotclt@aol.com
Last Updated: Monday, 28 Aug-2006 E-mail your comments about this page  |
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