Scottish Country Dancing Has a Young Soul.

SCOTTISH COUNTRY DANCING "flows from the soul," in the words of its main champion, the Royal Scottish Country Dancing Society (RSCDS). Ageold rhythms of the dance music, reflected in characteristic step patterns, resonate in young and old alike; the technique, like classical ballet, requires turnout and elongated posture.

Scottish country dance groups worldwide today continue the tradition of social dancing popularized by the Society since its founding in 1923. Scottish country dance is an art form that has typically attracted the young, and for decades it was taught in British school curricula around the world. However, those earlier generations are now older adults, and the Society is reaching out to develop a younger clientele.

"The future of Scottish country dancing is in the youth," explains Rebecca Blackhall-Peters, a Scottish country dancing teacher in the Vancouver, British Columbia, and northwest Washington areas.

Blackhall-Peters herself trained originally in classical music and ballet and received her preliminary certificate in Scottish country dancing last year. Most of her students are young people.

The teens "are eager to come to class, not to be competitive but just to have a good time," she says. "With my little ones, the 7-to 8-year-olds, they, too, are there for the social parts--they love the tea and biscuits afterwards, and involving their parents and siblings in the dance.

"But more than anything, it is the music"--lively reels and jigs and the stately Scottish strathspey, a slow traveling step with fiddle, accordion and piano as principal instruments--"that draws the young dancers to the class," she adds. "The music is as old, if not older than, the dancing--and the children love it."

Says Rosemary Read, a fully certified RSCDS instructor in the Bellingham, Washington, area, "The children are particularly fun to watch, because they let themselves go more than adults. They dance with incredible enjoyment. It is very important to get the children interested. As long as the children stay with it, the parents eventually get drawn in."

There is a strong push to bring in a whole new generation of dancers, Blackhall-Peters explains. As the Society's president, the Earl of Mansfield, said, an objective is to "embrace younger dancers ... [to] ensure that the Society flourishes in years to come." So the Society sponsors the Young Scottish Dancers Association, which prepares learning resources for young people, publishes a newsletter with children's comments and drawings, and sponsors a pen pal group for Scottish, American and Australian children. The Society also publishes dance instructional materials specifically for young people.

The roots of Scottish country dancing go back to at least the eighteenth century, and manuscripts indicate its considerable popularity historically. Yet by the beginning of the twentieth century, only a few dances were still practiced and many of the early ones had been forgotten. After the First World War, a resurgent interest led to the founding of the Scottish Country Dance Society-it was designated "Royal" in 1951-under QEII's patronage.

The society, headquartered in Edinburgh, has about 25,000 members. Thanks to its efforts, one can find the same dances, danced in the same way, all over the world. A network of local branches offers classes, workshops and social dances. The society also conducts its own summer school in St. Andrews, Scotland, with instruction in dance and music technique.

Although strongly social--all dancing is in sets of couples--Scottish country dancing also develops a technique not dissimilar from classical ballet. The technique is characterized by a strong hip turnout, maintained throughout the dance, and a clear vertical aspect to the upper body. It develops strong feet and calves due to the need to stay on the ball of the foot throughout much of the movement. In addition, says Blackhall-Peters, "teachers pay attention to the use of the hands in partnering, to deportment, full-body posture and teamwork within a set."

Scottish country dance hails more from a ballroom tradition than a folk heritage, and the etiquette also is well prescribed: Take your place at the foot of the line as the set is formed; begin and end every dance with bows and curtsies; do not dance with the same partner all evening.

"The technique is much easier for the little ones, since Scottish country dancing steps are based on ballet and many young girls also take ballet classes," says Read. "We perform exercises in all positions, all properly placed, and the students especially do a good job with skip change [a traveling step] and pas de Basque Ia weight-transferring step done in place as a series of four-beat balance-jetes]. The students are very capable, even handling complex formations as in the Dashing White Sergeant."

"My young people are attracted to it because it is relatively easy to learn and you can feel part of it almost immediately," says Blackhall-Peters, "and parents are supportive since they like their children learning to work in a group--in a healthy, noncompetitive atmosphere."

Another attractive feature is the cost. "It's part of the Society's mandate," says Rebecca Blackhall-Peters, "to keep classes, as well as other society initiatives, at a reasonable price. In the Seattle-Vancouver area, a class typically might cost three dollars, a dance or social five to six dollars, and a full-weekend workshop twenty dollars, with live music."

For Margo Popplewell, whose family boasts three generations of Scottish country dancers, the appeal includes developing a portable skill, being together as a family, and building self-confidence. "I studied Scottish country dancing as a child growing up in Edinburgh and came back to it only six years ago," says Popplewell. "That's a break of fifty years! My daughter started dancing recently because it's something that the whole family can do. My 6-year-old grand daughter has been studying with Rebecca for two years and she's gone to adult dances and shone like a brilliant diamond. She can dance the Flowers of Edinburgh at a social dance, without any instructions, just as easily as she can give a demonstration at her school in front of her peers. It is a thrill to watch her."

INSIGHTS AND INSPIRATION

Here are some resources on Scottish country dancing.

* www.rscds.org--The official Web site for members of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society contains a full diary of international Scottish country dance events, local associations, membership information, listings of qualified teachers, and information on the summer school in St. Andrews, as well as examination classes for preliminary testing and the Teachers Certificate.

* www.scottishdance.org--for general information on Scottish country dancing.

* Publications including the Collins Pocket Reference to Scottish Country Dancing (published by HarperCollins in 1996 and compiled in association with the RSCDS) are produced by the Society, in addition to the forty "Books" which compile dances for particular years or eras. (For example, "Book 1" includes dances from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, including the original tunes with music.)