0:00:01 > 0:00:02One of the reasons for founding the society was of course to preserve the old dances.
0:00:02 > 0:00:05CEILIDH MUSIC
0:00:05 > 0:00:08In graceful measures handed down from generation to generation,
0:00:08 > 0:00:14the spirit of an old country endures and those who watch feel gathered to its hearth.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18There are different forms of dance in Scotland.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21You have the Highland dancing which is largely solo dancing.
0:00:21 > 0:00:28You have ceilidh dancing which is largely unregimented...
0:00:28 > 0:00:30very accessible.
0:00:30 > 0:00:33Scottish country dancing, I think, is the next step on from that.
0:00:33 > 0:00:36It's often been described as ceilidh ballet.
0:00:40 > 0:00:47Scottish country dancing, I think you can say, is much more controlled and much more elegant.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53You cannot throw people about the floor in a Scottish country dance as people do in ceilidh dances.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56I think a good dancer is someone who moves well with the music.
0:00:56 > 0:01:01I mean, it has to look as though it's easy, I would hope it looks controlled.
0:01:02 > 0:01:08Elegance, joy, listening to the music,
0:01:08 > 0:01:14and, as much as you can in terms of your ability, getting the steps right because the steps are precise.
0:01:16 > 0:01:22Pleasant things, handing, looking at people, dancing with the rest of the team, are all important.
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Yes.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27Nothing that stands out. You have to...you should blend, really.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32There's a lot of control of the movement and the rhythm and the preciseness of where you have to be,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37but also the abandonment of enjoying it and letting yourself go
0:01:37 > 0:01:39and getting into the rhythm and the moment and the flow if it.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42It's the balance between the two, and...
0:01:42 > 0:01:47So combining the technique aspect with the sociability aspect
0:01:47 > 0:01:49and how those two components can work together.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51If there was no abandon, it would be dull,
0:01:51 > 0:01:56and if there was no control, you'd be off the other end of the hall,
0:01:56 > 0:01:58everybody else would be doing something, you know...
0:01:58 > 0:02:01it wouldn't be a dance, it would just be people jumping about in a room.
0:02:08 > 0:02:10Music: "Caddam Woods" by 100 North East Fiddlers
0:02:10 > 0:02:12We love Scottish country dancing.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17At weddings, Hogmanay, local ceilidh or formal dinner dances,
0:02:17 > 0:02:25it can be an art form with the precision and nuance of ballet, or just a great big glorious hooley.
0:02:25 > 0:02:32When two women set up the Scottish Country Dance Society in 1923, they had no idea what they'd started.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Today it's not just the Scots who birl an eightsome reel.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40Scottish country dancing is popular worldwide.
0:02:42 > 0:02:44But where did it come from?
0:02:45 > 0:02:50Did the druids of Orkney perform religious reels?
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Are there blueprints for dances in their cryptic carvings.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Is this a fertility ritual mimicking the mating behaviour of a rutting stag?
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Scots have aye loved to dance.
0:03:04 > 0:03:05In medieval times,
0:03:05 > 0:03:07ring dancing was brought to Scotland
0:03:07 > 0:03:09by travellers from Europe.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14Dances could celebrate the harvest and tell stories about who we were.
0:03:16 > 0:03:20In the Highlands, the dances and tunes got more and more complex.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22Well, it's one way to keep warm!
0:03:24 > 0:03:27But dancing wasn't just for crofters.
0:03:27 > 0:03:32Mary Queen of Scots' court loved the fashionable dances she brought with her from France.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37These courtly dances have left a trace in today's Scottish country dancing.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Pas de basque,
0:03:39 > 0:03:40pousette, allemande.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46The Calvinists banned dancing as the work of the devil.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49After all, witches were known to dance.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54And even these killjoys couldn't stop the Scots.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56King James VI hated witches,
0:03:56 > 0:03:57but in 1580
0:03:57 > 0:04:01he is said to have paid the huge sum of ?100
0:04:01 > 0:04:03for dance lessons.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05By the 18th century,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09country dancing was the latest thing in the English court.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11The Scots of course had their own versions.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14The strathspey rhythm is unique to Scottish dancing,
0:04:14 > 0:04:18developed and popularised by the tunes of Neil Gow.
0:04:19 > 0:04:23Soldiers returning home from the Napoleonic Wars
0:04:23 > 0:04:26spread the influence of the waltz and the quadrille.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34In the 19th century, country dancing fell from favour across Europe.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37But Queen Victoria loved her Dashing White Sergeant
0:04:37 > 0:04:40so it remained as popular as ever here.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43And it became a big part of military life.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48Maybe they liked the discipline, the need for total mental and physical awareness...
0:04:48 > 0:04:52or maybe they just enjoyed the dressing-up.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57After the First World War, the new generation turned their back on tradition,
0:04:57 > 0:05:01and Scottish country dancing was finally swept aside
0:05:01 > 0:05:04by the sensational Charleston.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09Then, in 1923, two enthusiasts decided enough was enough.
0:05:09 > 0:05:10Ysobel Stewart and Jean Milligan
0:05:10 > 0:05:13formed the Scottish Country Dance Society
0:05:13 > 0:05:18to preserve, standardise and encourage the take-up of the tradition.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22In 1951, they even gained royal patronage.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23Oh, yes!
0:05:23 > 0:05:30Now, 90 years old, the society has tens of thousands of members in branches throughout the world.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33Are you ready? Go!
0:05:33 > 0:05:34And round...
0:05:34 > 0:05:42Together, these two women melded their vision to form a society which became worldwide.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45I think they were two very different types.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50Ysobel Stewart, I think, was quite a quiet lady, landed class, etc.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Miss Milligan, used to shouting at her students in Jordanhill
0:05:54 > 0:05:58when she was teaching them physical education,
0:05:58 > 0:06:00quite a rumbustious woman.
0:06:00 > 0:06:08Mrs Stewart eventually emigrated to South Africa, effectively leaving Miss Milligan in control.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12You've got to dance from your heart, you know.
0:06:12 > 0:06:13You've got to feel that music.
0:06:13 > 0:06:15You've got to express the music.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Dancing is the physical expression of the music, you see.
0:06:19 > 0:06:24One of the reasons for founding the society was of course to preserve the old dances.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29They felt that they were in danger of disappearing,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33and unless you had some kind of central body that collected them,
0:06:33 > 0:06:39then, in coming generations they would be forgotten and they would not be able to be retrieved.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44It was in the age where ballroom dancing had Victor Silvester
0:06:44 > 0:06:50and everything was very formal and regimented and very...quite rigid in a way.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54There was very much a right and wrong way to do things.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58And that suited the time,
0:06:58 > 0:07:05because people, when they learned to dance, were looking for a discipline, they wanted to dance well.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07The phenomenon of suburbia came about.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09People started living in larger homes,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12and various new trends came about,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15and one of them was to send your wee girls to dance school.
0:07:16 > 0:07:22They would teach ballet and tap dancing and they would teach character dancing and so on,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25and among the things they would teach was Scottish dancing.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28And this wasn't as people in Scotland did it,
0:07:28 > 0:07:34but as it could be interpreted for that particular type of person and that particular type of context.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38The progressive step is known as the skip change of step.
0:07:38 > 0:07:39PIANO PLAYS THE TUNE
0:07:39 > 0:07:41Here it is in dance tempo.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44Each step occupies one bar of music as in the pas de basque.
0:07:48 > 0:07:50There's no doubt
0:07:50 > 0:07:54that Miss Milligan was an avid, avid enthusiast in her dance,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57and she wanted to conserve dance,
0:07:57 > 0:08:02but part of her hadn't realised that you get variants in tradition.
0:08:04 > 0:08:10No more could we standardise a form of speech or dialect than we might do with dance.
0:08:10 > 0:08:13She hadn't considered that if you speak a certain way,
0:08:13 > 0:08:16it doesn't mean to say that people in the next village are wrong.
0:08:16 > 0:08:22They might be different, but her aim was quite, I believe,
0:08:22 > 0:08:24to standardise dance.
0:08:24 > 0:08:32Miss Milligan, of course, at times is accused of having changed some of the steps of the dancing,
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and people, elderly people, particularly in the '30s and '40s,
0:08:36 > 0:08:39complained because they knew the dances they referred to...
0:08:39 > 0:08:44complained quite bitterly that she had done this kind of thing,
0:08:44 > 0:08:50but she felt at the same time that having drawn on quite a fluid tradition,
0:08:50 > 0:08:55that there had to be some kind of standardisation inside Scottish country dancing,
0:08:55 > 0:08:56and I think that this is correct.
0:08:56 > 0:09:02I mean, you can't really accuse Jean Milligan of having butchered dances.
0:09:02 > 0:09:05She took certain movements, she looked at them,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08and perhaps if she felt that they didn't fit into the framework
0:09:08 > 0:09:14of what she envisaged as a Scottish country dance then she could, with impunity, alter them.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17Ready, first couple, Petronella, go!
0:09:17 > 0:09:19And turn...
0:09:20 > 0:09:22You might compare it to dialect.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24For Scots speakers they saw this quite a lot.
0:09:24 > 0:09:30They had to learn to speak a certain way at school, and none of your dinna and winna and cannae,
0:09:30 > 0:09:35but the minute they were home they were doing their own dialect, and dance was a bit like that.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38You could fit in with the formality of school
0:09:38 > 0:09:42and you could fit in with the informality and the naturalness of home,
0:09:42 > 0:09:49and it didn't actually affect how you performed the dance on the Saturday night.
0:09:49 > 0:09:53I'm not sure whatever would have happened if Miss Jean Milligan had walked through the door!
0:09:55 > 0:09:58I imagine my grandmother would have made her a cup of tea and hoped she wouldn't speak.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Can you look a little more cheerful, some of you?
0:10:08 > 0:10:09Gay!
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Come on, up with those heads.
0:10:11 > 0:10:15There is no doubt in my mind that Miss Milligan is one of the most important people
0:10:15 > 0:10:17in the 20th century in Scotland.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19Think of it this way...
0:10:19 > 0:10:26Miss Milligan not just wants to start classes in Scotland,
0:10:26 > 0:10:28but she wants her organisation to go worldwide.
0:10:28 > 0:10:35This is a huge vision, and not only is it a huge vision, it's a tremendously benign vision,
0:10:35 > 0:10:40because you try and quantify the amount of joy and happiness
0:10:40 > 0:10:45that this woman has given to tens of thousands of people.
0:10:48 > 0:10:52Tell me about the strathspey, why is it named that?
0:10:52 > 0:10:57Well, it began, the first dancing to that type of music
0:10:57 > 0:11:00was done up across the River Spey.
0:11:00 > 0:11:06The soldiers were there and they danced on the banks of the River Spey and it was called the strathspey.
0:11:06 > 0:11:07That's as far as we know.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10And at that time everyone was a soldier and a dancer?
0:11:10 > 0:11:14Oh, yes, I'm afraid we were a fighting people in Scotland and also a dancing people.
0:11:18 > 0:11:24The strathspey was Miss Milligan's favourite dance form and she has one dedicated to her memory...
0:11:25 > 0:11:27..Miss Milligan's Strathspey.
0:11:32 > 0:11:36Unlike a reel, a strathspey is slow and stately.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38And here's how it's done...
0:11:39 > 0:11:41Strathspey is setting steps...
0:11:43 > 0:11:47..with the first couple casting off into reels on own sides,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50giving hands to one's partner in acknowledgement.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55Eye as well as hand contact is important here.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Taking hands
0:12:03 > 0:12:04while setting on the sides.
0:12:09 > 0:12:10The first and second couples
0:12:10 > 0:12:12turn partners halfway,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14then lead them down the set,
0:12:14 > 0:12:16crossing over to their own sides.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21The knot is a modern figure,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23not unlike the Gay Gordons hold.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27This movement requires good timing between the couples.
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Miss Milligan's Strathspey was published in 1973 for the Society's golden jubilee,
0:13:23 > 0:13:27a most elegant tribute to Miss Jean Milligan.
0:13:27 > 0:13:29It has become a favourite.
0:13:49 > 0:13:55In 1927, Miss Milligan set up the first Society Summer School here in St Andrews.
0:13:57 > 0:14:02Aside from a couple of breaks during wartime, it's been held every year since.
0:14:05 > 0:14:11Experts and beginners from all over the world arrive for a week or two of intensive jigging.
0:14:11 > 0:14:13It's like a massive family gathering.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18You're dancing in classes in the morning,
0:14:18 > 0:14:24you're practising various things in the afternoon, and in the evening you're dancing.
0:14:24 > 0:14:25It's a complete day.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30Time flies, it was absolutely wonderful, it was one of the best holidays we've ever had,
0:14:30 > 0:14:32even though we had to work so hard.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37Are you happy about where you're going, Andrew?
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Usually, it's the same people go the same weeks which is really good,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53so you can book a week and you know you'll see certain friends there,
0:14:53 > 0:14:56so it's catching up with people you haven't seen for a year
0:14:56 > 0:14:59and learning more about dancing
0:14:59 > 0:15:01and going swimming and walking in the sand dunes
0:15:01 > 0:15:03and partying away.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05It's a fantastic place to be.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11We cater for everybody, from all backgrounds, all classes.
0:15:11 > 0:15:14It's simply those who wish to enjoy the music
0:15:14 > 0:15:16and to move in time to the music
0:15:16 > 0:15:19and get a great deal of pleasure out of it.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24Yes, we try to teach the proper steps
0:15:24 > 0:15:27which means that you point your toes downwards at all times,
0:15:27 > 0:15:31you keep your heels forward, but we also encourage good posture.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35We encourage good use of hands.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39We particularly try to encourage the social aspect of the dance,
0:15:39 > 0:15:42which means you should look as if you're enjoying it,
0:15:42 > 0:15:45you should be smiling to your partner, smiling to others around,
0:15:45 > 0:15:49just acknowledging the presence of the others, because after all it's teamwork.
0:15:49 > 0:15:54Some of our more experienced dancers, they're really looking for the challenge,
0:15:54 > 0:15:58because they've mastered the steps, they've mastered the formations,
0:15:58 > 0:15:59they've mastered much of the technique,
0:15:59 > 0:16:03and they're really looking for the challenge to be in the dance itself.
0:16:03 > 0:16:11So it's ever-more complicated formations, ever-more complicated linkages between formations...
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Some people just live for that.
0:16:13 > 0:16:18Others much prefer to see just simple dances done well.
0:16:18 > 0:16:22At summer school, you can hone more than just your country dancing skills.
0:16:22 > 0:16:28There are also classes in ceilidh, ladies' step and highland dancing,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31including the ever-popular sword dance.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I'm Alina Petrisan.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I am from Bucharest, Romania.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51I'm coming here to study Scottish country dancing
0:16:51 > 0:16:54and to bring it back home.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57I'm trying to develop Scottish country dancing into my country.
0:16:57 > 0:17:04I just finished my Highland class and my practice for Thursday's demo.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07I'm going to have my first demo in Highland.
0:17:07 > 0:17:09I'm a little bit nervous.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19I was a little bit confused, let's say.
0:17:19 > 0:17:25I wasn't very sure if I'm going to get all the steps and all the technique.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31I don't think it's dangerous, no.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35No, all the swords are peaceful on the floor.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Nothing's going to happen, no, no.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40We're not fighting with them, we're just dancing above them.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT
0:17:58 > 0:18:03You have these three notes at the end of the phrase, that's a hornpipe, the reel to the hornpipe.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08Very characteristic type of tune and people like them. People like them, don't they?
0:18:08 > 0:18:09Things have changed since we started.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13When I started, there were probably only about 240 dances.
0:18:13 > 0:18:19So what you'd learned was quite easy to do, not a lot to remember,
0:18:19 > 0:18:26but now since the late '60s, hundreds of dances, about 15,000 now.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27You can't possibly know them all.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Just come in a little, take hands if you like.
0:18:31 > 0:18:32Dance out.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Round it off.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36Through the middle.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40I didn't start doing it till I was over 40, and a lot of people start doing it at school.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43So it's a lot different learning something when you're older,
0:18:43 > 0:18:48because, well, when you're younger it's quicker to learn things by heart,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51because there's less rubbish in yourself for it to get into your heart,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53to learn something by heart.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55When you get older, obviously, you get a lot of baggage in the way,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58and it's...you have to penetrate, push the stuff through the rubbish,
0:18:58 > 0:19:00to get it into your heart because you do have to learn it by heart.
0:19:00 > 0:19:05If you try to learn it mechanically and robotically, it just looks mechanical and robotic.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07It should flow from within, ideally.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19It seems to be indicative that a lot of the people that are involved in country dancing
0:19:19 > 0:19:21are involved in some kind of accurate work,
0:19:21 > 0:19:26whether it's legal, astronomy... programming is very common.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31Mostly precise work that involves sequencing and memory, for sure.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33Ready, and...
0:19:44 > 0:19:46The people that play for dancing regularly
0:19:46 > 0:19:49have to get to know how to play
0:19:49 > 0:19:53in that tempo that works for the dancing.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58It requires a great amount of precision with the tempo.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02I practise with a metronome to get it right,
0:20:02 > 0:20:07and the actual margin of error is quite small.
0:20:07 > 0:20:12Over a track that is 4 minutes and 32 seconds, that's a standard track,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15there's only a margin of error of about 3 or 4 seconds.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28It's been my life, I would say, it's been my family.
0:20:29 > 0:20:31When I was working in school,
0:20:31 > 0:20:33it was my release of tension,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36and...because when you're dancing
0:20:36 > 0:20:38you don't think about anything else but dancing.
0:20:38 > 0:20:42It's one of the great joys of my life, I'd say.
0:20:55 > 0:20:58The music helps you.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01Quite often you walk through a dance...
0:21:01 > 0:21:02in fact we always walk through a dance,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05because we can't remember what we have to do without walking through,
0:21:05 > 0:21:08and it doesn't work very well,
0:21:08 > 0:21:13but once the music is there and you fit in your movements to the music,
0:21:13 > 0:21:16then that's much, much easier.
0:21:16 > 0:21:22The rhythms are different in the different styles that we have.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24A reel is a very even beat,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28you have four even beats so it goes one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.
0:21:28 > 0:21:33A jig is an uneven beat, so it goes one and two and three and four and one...
0:21:33 > 0:21:41And a strathspey is half the speed of a reel, so it's one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.
0:21:41 > 0:21:45They all fit very well and there's so much you can do within these rhythms.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05For ceilidhs and just, like, in sessions in pubs, you can play kind of any tempo,
0:22:05 > 0:22:09it's not so important, but for the dancing it has to be really, really strict tempo.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15The style of tunes you need to play needs to fit whatever steps they're doing,
0:22:15 > 0:22:17whatever figures they're learning.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22There's an awful lot of things that you need to sort of know and respond to within the class.
0:22:22 > 0:22:26If they're doing something that requires small steps and something that requires large steps,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28you can really emphasise and play a bit louder,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32to give them the push they need to do the large steps, that kind of thing.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35You're really giving them the impetus when they need it in the dance.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43I just...I love dancing and just to be able to actually play for dancing,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and people get so much enjoyment from dancing and to be able to play for that,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49and get the enjoyment from people is really great and I love the music.
0:22:49 > 0:22:52Scottish music has always been my real passion.
0:23:00 > 0:23:04Our next dance is one you'll definitely know, Strip The Willow.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07Also known as Drops Of Brandy, it's a real favourite
0:23:07 > 0:23:10for both ceilidh and Scottish country dancers.
0:23:10 > 0:23:11The first couple turn
0:23:11 > 0:23:13by the right hand at the top,
0:23:13 > 0:23:15usually a birl at ceilidhs.
0:23:15 > 0:23:19The first lady turns second man left hand,
0:23:19 > 0:23:24her partner right hand, working her way down the line of men and turning her partner in between.
0:23:27 > 0:23:34The first man then dances up the ladies' side, turning them by the left hand, partner by the right.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Here, unlike in ceilidhs, the turn is controlled.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46First man and his partner then go down the set on opposite sides...
0:23:48 > 0:23:54..turning partners as well, until they arrive at the bottom, when the new top couple starts.
0:24:09 > 0:24:14As the dancing couple turn, they take a controlled hand grip for safety as well as elegance,
0:24:14 > 0:24:20since this dance, now most popular with ceilidh dancers, can be boisterous, leading to injury.
0:24:22 > 0:24:27This is a very old dance, but was given the blessing of Miss Milligan and Mrs Stewart
0:24:27 > 0:24:33by being included in their first book of dances, published in 1924.
0:24:34 > 0:24:41Books of new dances are issued by the Society on a regular basis, to date 48 and counting.
0:24:47 > 0:24:51The Queen, patron of the Society, is no stranger to the dance floor,
0:24:51 > 0:24:57as we can see here at the Society's Golden Jubilee Ball in 1973.
0:25:01 > 0:25:05The Queen is patron of the Royal Scottish Country Dancing...
0:25:05 > 0:25:10And here she is in 2013 meeting the Society's current generation.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12Are these dances that you do quite a bit?
0:25:12 > 0:25:13Yes, I would say so.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20Those intervening years have seen plenty of ups and downs in Scottish dancing's popularity.
0:25:23 > 0:25:29Over the years, it's been portrayed as too posh, too army, too old-fashioned
0:25:29 > 0:25:35or just too silly for successive generations of thrill-seekers. Ach!
0:25:35 > 0:25:38Come on, then, Tom! OK.
0:25:40 > 0:25:41CHEERING Oh, shut up!
0:25:42 > 0:25:45LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE All right, then.
0:25:55 > 0:25:56WOLF WHISTLE
0:25:59 > 0:26:01The freedom you girls have...
0:26:01 > 0:26:03It's lovely!
0:26:04 > 0:26:05All right, darling?
0:26:05 > 0:26:09Now, look, sort of point your feet and keep your legs as straight as you can.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11That's the secret of this.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13BAGPIPES PLAY Come on!
0:26:19 > 0:26:21Bad luck, you two,
0:26:21 > 0:26:25and well done, you two over there, and once again, Bill, thank you and your society.
0:26:25 > 0:26:27Thank you.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30There's a bit of a misunderstanding about Scottish country dancing
0:26:30 > 0:26:32that it's all about pointy toes
0:26:32 > 0:26:34and very specific arm movements.
0:26:34 > 0:26:40I think to our parents' generation... Yes. ..it has...
0:26:40 > 0:26:42it has quite a bad press,
0:26:42 > 0:26:50because of that image of white dresses, tartan sashes and long white gloves.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52It's not the kind of coolest of activity
0:26:52 > 0:26:58when you've got a constant exposure to all the different types of dance
0:26:58 > 0:27:01and the challenging dance, you know, through TV and the media.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06I think the positives of Scottish country dancing is its social nature,
0:27:06 > 0:27:09that you don't have to compete, you can go along
0:27:09 > 0:27:13and enjoy the dance and strive to be as good as you can be
0:27:13 > 0:27:17without that pressure that sometimes comes with other dance forms
0:27:17 > 0:27:20where people are always aspiring to get better and better
0:27:20 > 0:27:22and sit one kind of medal test after another.
0:27:26 > 0:27:29You get quite evangelical about it.
0:27:29 > 0:27:34You can't understand why everybody else isn't out there enjoying themselves doing the same thing,
0:27:34 > 0:27:40and you can't understand why it took so long for us to get involved in that.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44You've exercised your body, you've exercised your mind.
0:27:44 > 0:27:51I can't think of a more pleasurable form of vertical exercise at any rate than country dancing.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56You can interpret that as you like. Not sure about that.
0:27:56 > 0:27:58It was a bit of a double entendre.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01Some cultures, they use dance
0:28:01 > 0:28:05to get into an altered state of consciousness.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10I have been in an altered state of consciousness on the dance floor in a Scottish country dance.
0:28:13 > 0:28:19In a Scottish country dance, you really understand how it's operating.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22You can therefore release your mind from your body,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26and then it's quite sad at the end of the dance when you realise it's all over,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29and you come back to earth and walk off the dance floor.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31You can actually go home quite high.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34You've still got adrenaline in you.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36I've heard of pop stars on the stage
0:28:36 > 0:28:42who are so high with adrenaline that they, you know, kind of trash the hotel rooms.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44It's not like that,
0:28:44 > 0:28:49but sometimes you cannot sleep for an hour or two because you've still got these chemicals in you.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52The chemicals of joy.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56Music: "The Dashing White Sergeant"
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Our next dance is another classic
0:29:13 > 0:29:15synonymous with celebration,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17The Dashing White Sergeant.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22To begin, dancers form up in lines of three,
0:29:22 > 0:29:25forming a circle, eight steps round and back.
0:29:25 > 0:29:27The centre person in the line
0:29:27 > 0:29:29faces the dancer on the right,
0:29:29 > 0:29:30sets to him or her,
0:29:30 > 0:29:32then turns with both hands.
0:29:32 > 0:29:38The dancer then turns and sets to the other person in the line, again a two-hand turn,
0:29:38 > 0:29:43followed by reels of three, a figure in so many Scottish country dances,
0:29:43 > 0:29:47the dancing couple giving left shoulder to the person they are facing.
0:29:47 > 0:29:51As the lines of three reform, you've time to draw breath,
0:29:51 > 0:29:56before sweeping through raised arms to form another set, another circle.
0:29:56 > 0:29:59The Dashing White Sergeant, with its very distinctive tune,
0:29:59 > 0:30:03is said to owe its origins to an 18th-century English general
0:30:03 > 0:30:07and to the tradition of Swedish circle dancing.
0:30:07 > 0:30:10It's another dance which is popular with ceilidh dancers,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13who usually use the elbow turn,
0:30:13 > 0:30:18though the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society prefers the more sedate reel of three,
0:30:18 > 0:30:25and without the foot stamping and clapping before the lines of three sweep forward to form new sets.
0:30:28 > 0:30:33As always, a bow and curtsey for the pleasure of the dance.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36You have to have stamina to do it.
0:30:36 > 0:30:40It's more the mental... remembering things.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45Remembering where you're meant to be and what formations come next and who's dancing where...
0:30:45 > 0:30:50You do rehearse enough that you kind of can do it in your sleep, usually,
0:30:50 > 0:30:52it gets into your head that much.
0:30:52 > 0:30:55Also because it's more just different formations that are just stringed together,
0:30:55 > 0:30:58and if you know the formations then you tend to not worry too much about it.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00It's what order the formations come in.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02Over the years, pupils and teachers have tried
0:31:02 > 0:31:07to come up with useful ways to remember the sometimes complicated steps and formations.
0:31:07 > 0:31:14In the 1950s, FL Pilling developed an elaborate system of visual annotation
0:31:14 > 0:31:16that became a big hit.
0:31:16 > 0:31:22Pilling's little green book is still a must-have accessory for the eager dancer.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26Its strange hieroglyphics are a language all of their own,
0:31:26 > 0:31:29although some find them completely impenetrable.
0:31:29 > 0:31:33As a programmer working I deal with a lot of code which is obviously cryptic...
0:31:33 > 0:31:38to most people it would be cryptic language written down in very structured and formulated ways,
0:31:38 > 0:31:41and I can read through that and very quickly see what's going on
0:31:41 > 0:31:46and draw conclusions from that, why something's not working, how to make it work better...
0:31:46 > 0:31:48what things need to be changed,
0:31:48 > 0:31:53and so reading through a software programme or a blueprint for something in engineering,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56I can quickly understand it.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01It was quite a shock coming to dancing and thinking these skills, these attributes that I have
0:32:01 > 0:32:04would be transferable to reading a crib sheet to understand a dance,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07but I found that wasn't the way. It was quite frustrating.
0:32:07 > 0:32:11It took me a while to realise that with the dancing I had to learn...
0:32:11 > 0:32:15maybe because my body was involved, I had to learn through experience and repetition
0:32:15 > 0:32:20and physically dancing a dance, usually a number of times, before I'd actually get it.
0:32:20 > 0:32:27There's a general feeling that if you are an experienced dancer, if you know what you're doing,
0:32:27 > 0:32:31and you are in a set of people with one or two people who are less experienced than you
0:32:31 > 0:32:35and don't have as good an idea of where they're going, that you will help them,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38you will point them in the right direction, a discreet nod...
0:32:38 > 0:32:43There's little hand signals, body language which we've learned now
0:32:43 > 0:32:49that indicates where you have to go in the dance so you don't muck it all up.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51But you also...
0:32:51 > 0:32:55the more you dance, the more you start to recognise the basic patterns of movement,
0:32:55 > 0:33:01you know that you're in a particular sequence which means you've got to go there at this point.
0:33:01 > 0:33:07You get to understand the rhythms of the dance much better,
0:33:07 > 0:33:14and the steer on the elbow just now becomes just a quick glance
0:33:14 > 0:33:18to make sure you're going in the right direction.
0:33:20 > 0:33:27Toyoki Toriyama from Tokyo is an excellent dancer and accredited RSCDS tutor.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31For years he's been making the annual pilgrimage to St Andrews.
0:33:31 > 0:33:37My first St Andrews occasion was 1991.
0:33:39 > 0:33:46I prefer easy dance, not complicated dance.
0:33:47 > 0:33:52Reel Of The 51st Division, I most...
0:33:52 > 0:33:54one of my most favourite dances.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Music: "Reel of the 51st Division"
0:33:58 > 0:34:06Great friendship with all together, but not so complicated.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09Very easy dance, but enjoyable.
0:34:14 > 0:34:20I'm teaching in the traditional-style country dancing
0:34:20 > 0:34:24because I like the traditional ones.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44I'm Andrea and I'm from Munich.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48My name is Helmut, I come from Munich.
0:34:48 > 0:34:53It's a Bavarian skirt, er, shirt
0:34:53 > 0:34:57and a Scottish kilt.
0:34:57 > 0:35:00He teach judo... Martial art.
0:35:00 > 0:35:01Martial arts,
0:35:01 > 0:35:09and the Scottish dancers are in the class before him and so he looked into the room.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Heard music, Scottish music.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15I look, "What's this?
0:35:15 > 0:35:17"Scottish dance. Oh, OK!"
0:35:19 > 0:35:23Martial arts is number one and dancing is number two.
0:35:28 > 0:35:32Summer school ends in an evening of dance demonstrations by the students.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36These displays of skill and technique are meant to be fun,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39but this performance is open to the public.
0:35:39 > 0:35:43There's also a real pressure to get things right.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57You might want one of these, dear.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04When you're dancing over swords,
0:36:04 > 0:36:06the worry is that you're going to kick the sword,
0:36:06 > 0:36:08and then it's out of position,
0:36:08 > 0:36:10and then everybody else is going to fall over it.
0:36:10 > 0:36:15So that's the kind of responsibility, and we're in a team, and we're all hopping over the swords
0:36:15 > 0:36:19one behind the other, so if you go wrong, then you've messed up for everybody else as well.
0:36:19 > 0:36:25You're in front of an audience of people who really know about dancing, so, if you mess it up, they'll know.
0:36:25 > 0:36:28The door is open, I can still run away!
0:36:28 > 0:36:29I still have time.
0:36:55 > 0:36:56You can stand there.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09It was OK. It wasn't perfect, but we got through it.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14Well, we had a few mistakes. A few slips.
0:37:16 > 0:37:18We saved each other.
0:37:18 > 0:37:20The key is being able to recover, I always think.
0:37:20 > 0:37:22We were really like a team.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26I mean, when somebody hesitated the others were there for them.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30It was nice teamwork.
0:37:30 > 0:37:34It went fine, but dancers know when dancers make mistakes.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38It's not about being the best. No, been doing it too long.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40It's about enjoying it and if you go and dance...
0:37:40 > 0:37:42when we used to dance in demonstrations,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45it isn't the individual that matters,
0:37:45 > 0:37:49it's the look of the whole team. Yes. And it's not necessarily the footwork,
0:37:49 > 0:37:55it's the covering, the handing, the pleasure you try and see on people's faces.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59It's not just who's a good dancer.
0:38:05 > 0:38:1290 years since the founding of the Society, Summer School 2013 draws to an end.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16Dancers from all over the world say their goodbyes...
0:38:16 > 0:38:18until next year anyway.
0:38:23 > 0:38:27Cultures have changed, and we've got to adapt to what's happening in society,
0:38:27 > 0:38:30and I don't think it's very easy to do.
0:38:30 > 0:38:33There are young people dancing, there are young people playing... But not in their 20s.
0:38:33 > 0:38:36You're back to the standard complaint of older people, dear,
0:38:36 > 0:38:38that more young people ought to be doing it.
0:38:38 > 0:38:44Does it matter if the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society has an average age of 70,
0:38:44 > 0:38:46if there's more people coming on?
0:38:46 > 0:38:52So long as it's vibrant and growing and people are writing new dances.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55But it is an interesting debate within the Society.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I mean, clearly there are some people who dance
0:38:58 > 0:39:00and who feel very passionately
0:39:00 > 0:39:05that it should be done in a particular way, in a particular style.
0:39:05 > 0:39:11One wouldn't ever want to assume either that it's got to remain the same, nothing does.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15In tradition, the whole point about it is that it evolves.
0:39:15 > 0:39:18You get the wear and tear, the repairs,
0:39:18 > 0:39:23the continuity that's kept and goes in different directions.
0:39:23 > 0:39:27The music's constantly evolving because you have young people writing tunes
0:39:27 > 0:39:33and using more probably contemporary influences when they write their music in exactly the same way...
0:39:33 > 0:39:36You could describe the dances in exactly the same way. Yeah.
0:39:36 > 0:39:41There's always people creating new formations and taking a different twist on set formations
0:39:41 > 0:39:45and combining that with the new music,
0:39:45 > 0:39:50so I do think it definitely is evolving and moving in a forward direction,
0:39:50 > 0:39:55but still maintaining and using the foundation knowledge.
0:39:55 > 0:39:56The first modern dance
0:39:56 > 0:39:59to be recognised and published by the Society
0:39:59 > 0:40:01was created during World War II,
0:40:01 > 0:40:04The Reel Of The 51st Division.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07Devised by a Scottish prisoner of war, James Atkinson,
0:40:07 > 0:40:12this much-loved dance symbolises Scottish patriotism and courage.
0:40:12 > 0:40:14The first couple set,
0:40:14 > 0:40:15cast off two places,
0:40:15 > 0:40:17and lead up to first corners.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21Arriving too early means standing instead of dancing.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23The first couple set to first corners
0:40:23 > 0:40:25and turn them by the right hand.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Then, left hand joined with partners,
0:40:27 > 0:40:32with the two corners they form part of a St Andrew's Cross.
0:40:32 > 0:40:34The first couple turn to second corners,
0:40:34 > 0:40:37set to them, and complete the cross formation.
0:40:37 > 0:40:39The dancing couple return to their own lines
0:40:39 > 0:40:42for six hands round and back...
0:40:45 > 0:40:49..with the first couple beginning the dance again from second place.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54The dance was originally for five couples, all men,
0:40:54 > 0:40:58but is now a four-couple dance for men and women.
0:40:58 > 0:41:03Atkinson recalls how, while trudging through France with fellow prisoners,
0:41:03 > 0:41:09he imagined a Highland dance based on the insignia of the Highland Brigade,
0:41:09 > 0:41:11in particular the St Andrew's Cross.
0:41:11 > 0:41:16It was published in Book 13, The Victory Book, at the end of the Second World War.
0:41:16 > 0:41:23When drawings describing the steps of the dance were sent home, the Germans thought they were code.
0:41:38 > 0:41:39It really is quite remarkable
0:41:39 > 0:41:45how Scottish...the Royal Society of Scottish Country Dance has literally spread the world over.
0:41:45 > 0:41:49You can hardly name a country where they haven't heard of it or where there isn't a team.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53You can find probably thousands in Japan or China...
0:41:53 > 0:41:58the United States, thousands and thousands, and with real enthusiasm,
0:41:58 > 0:42:01and for some people the only thing they know about Scotland
0:42:01 > 0:42:04is this is the dance and that's the costume they wear.
0:42:10 > 0:42:16The people that come to the summer school, and they come from all over the world,
0:42:16 > 0:42:22some of the best dancers are in fact Japanese and they take it very, very seriously.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26Now, you think about Japanese coming to St Andrews, it costs thousands of pounds.
0:42:26 > 0:42:29They are so clued up about the dancing,
0:42:29 > 0:42:33they wear kilts, they are very well aware of the sort of Scottish tradition.
0:42:33 > 0:42:39And Miss Milligan knew that the Germans and that those who came from other countries
0:42:39 > 0:42:41were really her worldwide ambassadors,
0:42:41 > 0:42:47so she had to send them away with the message that high standards had to be maintained.
0:42:47 > 0:42:51Music: "The Chequered Court" by James Gray
0:43:04 > 0:43:07HE SPEAKS JAPANESE
0:43:09 > 0:43:12I work as an office worker
0:43:12 > 0:43:19for importing or exporting industrial products.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27But I am not so good office worker.
0:43:27 > 0:43:32My interest is mainly Scottish country dancing,
0:43:32 > 0:43:35second is office working.
0:43:35 > 0:43:41So...and my manager always,
0:43:41 > 0:43:45"Come, do the work.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49"Do the work! No dancing, work."
0:43:55 > 0:44:03I like teamwork and eye contact and also...and the friendship.
0:44:10 > 0:44:15I'm using Japanese, English and Scottish words
0:44:15 > 0:44:18for the movements and formations.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21It was very difficult for me.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25I didn't know the words and the movement,
0:44:25 > 0:44:29set, cast off, first couple, second couple, third couple...
0:44:30 > 0:44:31..anything.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34But continuing is power, I think.
0:44:35 > 0:44:37Continuing is power,
0:44:37 > 0:44:44so day by day I knew the Scottish country dancing gradually.
0:44:47 > 0:44:53I always encourage eye contact to my classes.
0:44:53 > 0:44:59In summer school, eye contact, but when I return to Japan,
0:44:59 > 0:45:04I'm very, very disappointed.
0:45:04 > 0:45:09No eye contact. Always face down.
0:45:11 > 0:45:17I think most Japanese people like to learn.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23Japanese people have something in...
0:45:23 > 0:45:27like an etiquette and it's common...
0:45:27 > 0:45:32I think Scottish country dancing
0:45:32 > 0:45:39and Japanese people's mind have common things.
0:45:52 > 0:45:57The Hatchobori Royal Scottish Country Dance Society branch in Tokyo
0:45:57 > 0:46:00is celebrating its 15th anniversary.
0:46:56 > 0:47:00It's, like, elegant...elegant...
0:47:00 > 0:47:03and manly...how you say manly?
0:47:03 > 0:47:07Like a man and strong!
0:47:10 > 0:47:13I love strathspeys because,
0:47:13 > 0:47:18you know, some of the strathspeys called Ayr type of strathspeys...
0:47:18 > 0:47:20THEY SPEAK JAPANESE
0:47:20 > 0:47:26..like Robert Burns' tunes are so beautiful and amazing, and some are so sad.
0:47:26 > 0:47:32Dancing is to be social, to be very polite.
0:47:32 > 0:47:40When you are dancing, you must be more smiling and be polite and gentlemen and women,
0:47:40 > 0:47:45and we used to have that kind of custom before,
0:47:45 > 0:47:50but younger people don't know how to be polite.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02Our next dance is The Glasgow Highlanders.
0:48:02 > 0:48:06Devised by a Glasgow military man towards the end of the 19th century,
0:48:06 > 0:48:10this strathspey calls for skill and elegance.
0:48:10 > 0:48:11On the second chord,
0:48:11 > 0:48:13the first lady crosses
0:48:13 > 0:48:14to stand beside her partner.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16The second lady steps up,
0:48:16 > 0:48:18her partner crossing to join her.
0:48:18 > 0:48:19Right and left,
0:48:19 > 0:48:22bringing the dancer back to his or her original position,
0:48:22 > 0:48:25is a recurring figure in Scottish country dances.
0:48:28 > 0:48:33Is there a more attractive figure in the Scottish country dance repertoire?
0:48:33 > 0:48:35The strathspey travelling step.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38At the bottom of the set, in a fluid movement,
0:48:38 > 0:48:42the second man hands the two ladies over to the first man
0:48:42 > 0:48:44and follows the trio up the set.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48The two couples end in a line across the set, facing their partners.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03A reel of four across is the last figure in this appealing dance,
0:49:03 > 0:49:08but the dancers must get into their correct places for the repeat.
0:49:16 > 0:49:19The Glasgow Highlanders is one of the loveliest
0:49:19 > 0:49:22but most technically taxing dances in the repertoire.
0:49:23 > 0:49:27It was devised for a Highland Volunteer Regiment company in Glasgow,
0:49:27 > 0:49:33and was first performed in the city towards the close of the 19th century.
0:49:36 > 0:49:41Although the setting for the reel has a strathspey step common to both men and women,
0:49:41 > 0:49:43the men in this demonstration
0:49:43 > 0:49:44dance a rocking step
0:49:44 > 0:49:46on the second time through.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05This is a dance for the alert dancer,
0:50:05 > 0:50:09who must know where he or she is to end up after a movement.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15The Glasgow Highlanders has an original tune of the same name.
0:50:40 > 0:50:41The Munich Caledonians,
0:50:41 > 0:50:48a mix of ex-pats and German enthusiasts who meet each month to celebrate all things Scottish.
0:50:48 > 0:50:50BAGPIPES PLAY
0:50:56 > 0:51:01When we started in the '70s, there was six or seven, you know, bands,
0:51:01 > 0:51:04and by now you'll really find,
0:51:04 > 0:51:07I should say, 40 or 50 bands all over Germany.
0:51:07 > 0:51:11And they're really getting a good standard.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15I think for the size of the country, Scotland, you know,
0:51:15 > 0:51:19they have spread all over the world their culture and the dancing.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22My partner, she is a dancing teacher.
0:51:22 > 0:51:25She's got certificates from St Andrews and all that.
0:51:25 > 0:51:33Wherever she goes, Russia and Poland, dancing, Scottish dancing, country dancing is popular.
0:51:34 > 0:51:40For me, personally, I think after this terrible Second World War,
0:51:40 > 0:51:44nationalism wasn't very popular in my country, you know,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47so we weren't educated in that way,
0:51:47 > 0:51:49but you had to be proud of something,
0:51:49 > 0:51:55and this instrument and the costume and all this...kilt and stuff and all that...
0:51:55 > 0:51:57it makes you proud wearing it.
0:54:01 > 0:54:06Like no martial arts, like no Scottish dance!
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Our final dance was devised in 2000
0:55:02 > 0:55:03in honour of a famous dolphin,
0:55:03 > 0:55:07Pelorus Jack, who piloted ships through Cook Strait.
0:55:09 > 0:55:11The first couple cross by the right hand,
0:55:11 > 0:55:13cast off one place,
0:55:13 > 0:55:16then right hands across with the third couple.
0:55:18 > 0:55:20Now come the dolphin reels,
0:55:20 > 0:55:22involving the dancers changing places
0:55:22 > 0:55:26as they go round four corners with skip-change steps.
0:55:26 > 0:55:31These reels are intended to show the grace and agility of dolphins.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48It's a modern composition by New Zealand dancer Barry Skelton.
0:56:04 > 0:56:09Pelorus Jack calls for good timing and consideration for one's partner,
0:56:09 > 0:56:12so that the corner change doesn't become too tight.
0:56:28 > 0:56:33Well, I hope 90 years from now it will still continue.
0:56:33 > 0:56:37Scottish country dancing is definitely a kind of living, breathing entity.
0:56:37 > 0:56:40It's constantly evolving.
0:56:40 > 0:56:47To be able to do this on autopilot, that's the objective, the ideal, that's the dream.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49Occasionally, you get the flashes,
0:56:49 > 0:56:55particularly around some of the simpler movements when you do think, "Yes, I am doing that!"
0:56:55 > 0:56:59The ideal would be to be able to feel like that for movement after movement.
0:56:59 > 0:57:03We're a way off that yet. Oh, I don't think I'll ever get there, actually.
0:57:03 > 0:57:05I mean, I have to think really hard where I'm going.
0:57:19 > 0:57:23Sometimes there's an atmosphere built up by the band.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28You know, the band is phenomenal that evening, the people are in a particularly happy mood,
0:57:28 > 0:57:34the venue is beautiful and just something happens, and you go into another zone.
0:57:35 > 0:57:37I mean, there's a lot of stuff going on in life
0:57:37 > 0:57:40and a lot of things happening, you know, career-wise and family-wise and things,
0:57:40 > 0:57:43and then getting into a dance and really getting into the music and the vibe,
0:57:43 > 0:57:46and everyone else sort of joining in and really getting into the flow of things,
0:57:46 > 0:57:48and it can just totally go out the window.
0:57:48 > 0:57:51It's like being in a different world, yeah, it can be at times.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55It totally separates everything else off and you sort of put all the rubbish away,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58and, you know, enjoy this now and it's happening now,
0:57:58 > 0:58:02there's nothing to worry about the future, nothing to regret about the past, this is happening now.
0:58:02 > 0:58:05So what will we do when we can't dance?
0:58:05 > 0:58:10Well, this is something that one looks forward to... one does not look forward to.
0:58:10 > 0:58:14The idea of the future is trepidation and fear,
0:58:14 > 0:58:18because it will not be enough to sit and watch YouTube
0:58:18 > 0:58:22and watch other people of a younger generation doing these dances.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26I really have to say quite frankly, and this is not being macabre,
0:58:26 > 0:58:31this is the preferred, our preferred choice of leaving this blessed earth.
0:58:31 > 0:58:35If you could just slowly sink to your knees in a strathspey
0:58:35 > 0:58:37and that was the end of your life,
0:58:37 > 0:58:39then, wouldn't that be wonderful?
0:58:39 > 0:58:43That would be absolutely wonderful, instead of ending up in a home.
0:58:43 > 0:58:46Dying on the dance floor seems to me blissful.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49Maybe not to die in an eightsome reel, it's a bit strenuous!
0:58:49 > 0:58:50It has to be at the end of the dance,
0:58:50 > 0:58:52so it doesn't disturb the whole dance for other people.
0:58:52 > 0:58:54So they can just carry you off the floor
0:58:54 > 0:58:57and get on with the programme! They can just carry on.