Scottish Country Dance Research Paper

TITLE When I first heard about the Scottish country dance class, I did not have a concrete opinion over the dance and really did not know that to expect. The only thing about Scottish culture that I was familiar with was that they were best known for their bagpipes, which I know sounds very broad and uneducated. I can admit that I had no understanding about Scotland and mistook it for Ireland for most of the part. When I first heard “country dance”, I visualized people gathered either tap dancing or locking arms and twirling around a dance floor. I believe the reason why my perspective was what it was it is because of my limit on Scottish culture and the stereotypical ways that country dance is portrayed in society. Because we live in the

The most uncomfortable moment was trading off partners in the dance circles since I kept losing track of the rhythm or lost track of the step count. After I finally got comfortable with the dance choreography, I began to understand Scottish country dance a little better and began to understand why it is so meaningful to the people who dance it. Scottish country dance is a form of communication and fun for the people in this event. It is a way to interact with other people without having an awkward conversation because they both speak the same language: dance. The dance gives the dancer a sense of confidence that cannot be described with words but with steps. What was refreshing to see was how many older people attended the class; it was great to see that Scottish country dance is welcome to anyone no matter the age or

This relates to the previous theme of folk and national dances discussed in class. When observing how people in the dance class moved, it was clear that dancing was not just about the performance but it was primarily about the people. In class, it was discussed that folk and national dances are dances that represent the majority of the country and are popular throughout the population of that set country. In this case, Scottish country dance is the folk dance of Scotland. The instructors of the class informed us that Sottish dance country is danced at almost every party or celebration they attend because it is used to represent the Scottish people just like hula dance is used to represent Hawaiian people. With every dance, the movements differ because every culture differs in some shape or form. Scottish country dance, for example, is dance that mostly involves the legs and feet while the upper body is not used as much except for the interlocking of arms in turns with partners. In terms of differences, although Scottish country dance is considered a folk dance, it varies to the folk dances. A majority of folk dances or national dances used movements and steps to tell a story, however, Scottish country dancing is not so much about story-telling as it is about enjoyment and socializing, which is why some people might mistake it for a court dance. The