Transcript of
Scottish country dancing
(Scottish country dance music)
We're going to learn Scottish country dancing.
Scottish country dancing's a really good way of keeping fit
while having fun and making friends and socialising.
We're going to learn the first step, because you need to travel,
which is skip change of step.
So can we demonstrate eight bars of skip change of step?
With the music, thanks, Ian.
Ready, and...
So we're going to walk that step for you now and it starts...
We'll use our right foot to start with. So stepping onto your right foot.
Step onto your right foot, close behind and step forward again.
And left foot comes through.
And step, close, step.
And step, close, step.
And step, close, step, close, step.
With a hop. Step, close, step. Hop, step, close, step.
Hop, step, close, step. And with the music.
Whatever you're doing, you forget what's gone on during the day.
You really get yourself into it and have great fun with great friends
and it's good exercise and keeps you healthy.
It exercises the mind as well as the body.
And you have a good laugh, so it gives you everything.
As well as travelling, we dance on the spot,
and the step we use for that is called pas de Basque.
So we're going to demonstrate eight bars of pas de Basque.
With the music. Ready, and...
So let's walk that
just to give an idea of how we can start building up the step.
Stepping onto your right foot first of all.
Step, bring your left foot in front and change the weight.
And step onto your left foot, in front and beat.
And step, beat and extend.
Bend this time, step and extend.
And spring, beat, beat and spring, beat, beat.
And on the spot and with the music.
It's not difficult if you think about where you've got to be.
And it's all about helping somebody else in the team to do the dance as well,
so if somebody's not sure you help them along.
When I first started dancing I went for a week to St Andrew's
and when I got home I walked up a hill without stopping,
whereas before I had to stop halfway up and catch my breath.
So far you've seen steps,
slipping step and pas de Basque, dancing on our own.
Now we're going to put that into a dance, starting in a set.
You normally dance with six or eight people.
I'm going to start...
The movement is crossing by the right hand, casting for two steps,
crossing by the left hand and casting back up.
I'll ask the ones and threes to dance that
while the twos and fours move up and down.
So with eight bars of music, ready, and...
So ones and threes change places with the twos and fours.
And just walk that, so you cross by the right hand,
giving a shake-hand hold as you pass, smiling at your partner as you go,
casting round while the twos and fours move up.
And then crossing by the left hand this time,
again smiling at your partner and casting back up.
So with eight bars of music, ready, and...
It's not like the effort of going to the gym.
You look forward to going to the class, meeting other people
and it's not like standing on the treadmill for 20 minutes,
which is a chore.
It's a form of exercise that uses all your body,
legs, arms, body and brain.
So far we've just used skip change of step.
Now we'll use skip change and pas de Basque.
I'm going to ask the dancers to turn by the right hand for two steps
and set for two.
So if we can have just four bars of music, please, Ian.
Ready, and...
Now, if you'd like to go back out to the sidelines.
This time we're going to do it with our left hand.
So left hand halfway round and then set.
And...
And it's very social, you meet a lot of people and it takes over your life.
And if you get home from work and you feel tired
and you think, "Maybe I won't go"
and you go and the music starts and the people are smiling,
you forget you were tired.
I think it's the music that's important too.
Very important. It gives you such a lift.
So far we've done steps and formations.
We're now going to put them together in a dance called St Andrew's Fair.
And...
