Scottish Dance

October 2003

Re: Irish Dance
There are two youth Scottish Country Dancing in Berkeley on Friday nights, one at 6:30, one at 7:15. Scottish Country Dancing is danced with a partner in sets usually of 3-4 couples. It is not the individual high-stepping highland or sword dancing that a lot of people associate with Scottish dancing. But it is intricate, challenging, and a great social experience (and the music is terrific). Many of the figures and steps also have a relationship to ballet. See http://rscds-sf.org/classes.html for more information. Mimi

January 2003

Does anyone know of a place that teaches Scottish dancing? Laurie

There used to be regular Monday night Scottish dancing lessons at the Piedmont Community Center. You might also pop by the Starry Plough on a Monday night and ask the Irish dancers if they know of scottish dancing nearby! Starry Plough is a bar on Shattuck at Prince. There are sometimes children at the informal Irish dancing lessons (starting ~7). Cynthia

I've taken Highland Scottish Dance lessons for over 4 years through the Piedmont Adult School. They have beginning, intermediate, and advanced classes, and they are a great workout (mentally and physically.) Check out the adult school listings: http://www.piedmontadultschool.org/ Patty

There are several kinds of Scottish dancing. Scottish country dancing is done in couples gathered into ''sets''. It's sort of like ballroom dancing and sort of like square dancing. The music is beautiful. There's a very active Scottish country dancing community in the Bay Area. (I met my husband there !) For more information about what is it and where to find classes, see the web site for the local branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society at http://rscds-sf.org. Mimi