Ask any Scottish dancers and they will tell you Scottish Country Dancing is great fun, it's very sociable, the music is great, it's good exercise for both mind and body, you don't have to be an expert, you don't have to come with a partner, everyone is welcome, and there is a dancing group near you.

 

WHAT IS SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING?

In Scottish Country Dancing the couples in a 'set' dance a sequence of 'figures' together that make up the pattern for each dance. During an evening, people will take part in lots of different dances, but once you've learned the basic figures, you'll be able to do many, many dances without much difficulty. Popular dances everyone gets to know well, but there are always new dances to learn and these are taught at the classes and often 'walked through' at dance evenings as well.

 

WHAT TO WEAR

Scottish Country Dancing is mostly informal and to start with you only need some soft, lightweight shoes and cool clothing (you will get warm!!).  Evening dances tend to be a little more formal. Among the regular dancers, you will find that men usually choose to wear a kilt, as it is both stylish and more comfortable for a whole evening's dancing. 

GET INVOLVED

Newcomers are always welcome and you don't need to come with a partner. One of the great things you'll quickly discover is the variety of dances in the repertoire, fast and slow, simple and more complex. In fact every year there are new dances to learn, because Scottish Country Dancing is a living tradition with composers of dances all over the world adding new ideas, figures and movements to try. And all this danced to toe-tapping Scottish music of enormous variety.

So if you're not yet a dancer, get in touch with one of the groups here, and come along. Or just contact us for advice on where to begin. Beginners are always welcome.

If you are already dancing, then use this site to find both local and regional groups, search for dances and events on the calendar, and encourage others to join in the fun! There are also links to websites offering dance information, music and CDs, and even dance shoes. Let us know if we can improve the information provided on this site by using the contact and email links.

Take a Look - some video clips

Read about the History

Dance Types & Music

Steps & Formations

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