Going native

For a few months earlier this year the kids learnt Scottish Highland Dancing at school. It’s a traditional form of step dancing but unlike Irish dancing, it involves upper body movements as well. It’s a competitive dance rather than a social or barn dance and almost always performed at Scottish Highland Games. Dancers typically wear a kilt and special shoes called ghillies while dancing to pipe music. One of the dances is called the sword dance which involves movements around two swords placed on the ground – how cool is that?

Both kids loved learning Highland Dancing but unfortunately the teacher who took the class left the school over the summer and so it’s no longer offered. Yesterday I signed Elizabeth up for a Highland Dance class outside of school because she was so keen to continue. We also bought her a pair of ghillies and since then she hasn’t been able to stop dancing. We were reminded of the fairy tale about a pair of red shoes, which when worn, force the wearer to dance until eternity.