Scottish-Irish Reels
Looking wayyyy ahead to our Scottish-Irish Reel at the end of the play I wanted to share a brief history of the dance form and some video examples of different reels. These may not by exactly what we’ll be doing, but it gives you a idea of the form.
History of Traditional Scottish Reels
The Reel is a traditional Celtic dancing form. It's a type of country dance in which the dancers alternate between wandering figures and stationary "setting" movements. When dancing a Reel, there should be two or more couples in each set. Scottish Reels have been mentioned in history books since the 16th century. Except in the Scottish Highlands, where they vanished in the 17th century under the influence of the Presbyterian church before resurfacing in the Scottish Lowlands after 1700.
However, Scottish reeling gained most of its popularity in the 18th century, when lairds hosted balls incorporating the dance genre.
Reels used to be associated with high society and were normally only seen at aristocratic festivities. Scottish reels were still popular among British military leaders, who have historically included many aristocrats.How to Dance a Scottish Reel
The Gay Gordons, The Dashing White Sergeant, Hamilton House, the Duke of Perth, and the Reel of the 51st Division are among the 11,000 Scottish reels and dances recorded. With simple, repeating patterns, these are all quite simple to pick up.
Reels are the most popular type of Scottish Country Dance when it comes to tempo classification. They are usually performed to music in 4/4 time. Most reels involve dancing with groups of 2 or 3 in figures of 8.Video examples
Heptathlon Jig Scottish Country Dance
Jennifer’s Jig Scottish Country Dance
