A brief history of Scottish dancing

The earliest types of dances were ring dances. There are several references in early (15th century) literature to dancing in rings. There are also some references to carols, which in this context means dance and song combined. Dancing at feasts is mentioned as early as 1375.

The next forms of dancing that appear in the literature are "courtly" dances. These are dances which were performed in many of the courts of Europe-- pavans, galliards, rounds, and bransles, among others. There are references to these in the 16th century. There are also references to Morris dancing.

Two dances which are more usually considered Scottish appear in the 16th century. There is a reference to the Highland Fling in the 16th century. This is a solo dance, a version of which is performed at Highland Games today. The other dance which appears is the reel. The word "reel" has two meaning in dancing. One meaning is a figure-of-eight figure. The other meaning is a dance which has the reel figure as a prominent part. The threesome reel probably dates back to the end of the 16th century. Dancing competitions are mentioned as early as the late 16th century.

The mid 16th century saw the rise of the precursors to Scottish country dancing. There are lists of dance titles, unfortunately without instructions or descriptions of the dances dating from around 1550.

The 1700's saw the full formation (and instructions) for Scottish country dancing. Scottish country dancing flourished throughout the drawing rooms and ballrooms of the 1700's and the first part of the 1800's. By the middle of the 19th century, country dancing was losing popularity.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the Scottish Country Dance Society (SCDS) was formed. This group "standardized" the dances, probably at some loss to regional variations and historical accuracy. The society received the Royal designation sometime later. At first, the society was dedicated to publishing older dances, but since the 1950's they have published new dances as well.

In the 1950's, some field work was done to record dances, dance forms, and dance steps from before dancing was "standardized" by the SCDS.

Last updated: November 5, 1999