Scottish Country Dancing is the social dancing of village halls and ballrooms alike (not to be confused with Highland dancing which is solo dancing, often performed in competition). SCD is danced with a partner in sets of 3 to 6 couples in longwise or square sets. The most common and popular dances are fast and lively jigs and reels and slow and graceful strathspeys.
Each dance has a set pattern which all the dancers learn. There may be 4 or 5 different formations in a dance which is commonly danced 8 times through for a four couple dance, allowing each pair of dancers to take two turns as the top or leading couple.
Once you have learnt the basic formations you will be able to dance many dances with new formations being introduced on occasion to add a challenge and some fun! Many of the dances that are performed today are traditional dances but new ones are being written all the time. Each dance has its own name e.g., Hooper's Jig, Montgomery's Rant, Mairi's Wedding, and you can be sure that if your learn one of these dances in Sudbury you can dance it with any group you may join or visit.
To get an idea of the dancing and the patterns which the dancers follow, take a look at the videos linked below:
Scottish Country Dancing: Atholl Club Edinburgh
Scottish Country Dance Strathspey
Some dance clubs are very inventive and create intricate combinations of dances with highland steps added, to perform in festivals and competitions:
Corryvrechan Winning Scottish Dance Display
When you go to a dance you will recieve a crib sheet with instructions for each dance. Many of the instructions are available online. Leeds RSCDS Branch have a list of dances available based on the Upton Minicrib.
Below is a typical dance program with many of the most popular dances. Click on the dance names to see instructions for each dance:
J = jig R = reel S = strathspey H = hornpipe