Highland Dancers are graceful, strong, coordinated and to be at the top of the game they need to be dedicated. There are many Highland and Scottish National dances but the most famous is most probably the Highland Fling and the Sword Dance.
This is the type of dancing normally performed at Highland Games where the dancers may look, at times, as though they perform as part of a team. However, Highland Dance is normally an individual sport.
Did you know ... a Highland Dancer will hop or spring vertically 192 times during a 6 step Highland Fling. Also, Highland Dancing takes place across the world not just in Scotland!
Highland Hustle® is not traditional Highland dance and takes inspiration from dance movements in Highland dance such as highcuts, spring points and pas de basques – albeit the movements are modified slightly to make achievable for the participant and to make an enjoyable and effective workout experience whether you have danced before or not.
The Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing is the main recognised governing body. It was started in 1950 to standardise judging and ensure consistency of standards.
Video by Cowal Highland Gathering and shows the three 2019 World Highland Dance Champions
Highland Dance choreography is currently increasing in popularity. The world famous Edinburgh Military Tattoo (and Tattoo's across the world) feature stunning Highland Dance performances which are specially choreographed for these events and are becoming more intricate, complicated and demanding year on year.
Below, Highland Hustle Founder, Gillian performs at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
Scottish Country Dancing
Scottish Country and Highland Dance have long traditionally been danced in Scotland. They two types of dance are often muddled, but, are really very different. Scottish Country dancing is more typically, although certainly not always, participated in by an older generation than Highland.
The dancers are normally grouped into sets of 3,4 or 5 couples in two lines or a square. They work as part of a team to perform dance sequence formations .
Although there are some competitions in Scottish Country Dancing, it is more often that not performed for recreation.
There have been recent remarkable health benefits found linked to Scottish Country Dance participation in older females according to a study early in 2014 by the University of Cumbria and University of Strathclyde. They have found evidence to link Scottish Country Dance and delays to the ageing process in females! Good news all round then!