The
Reel Club
since 1947
-
About us
- What is
Scottish Country Dancing?
Dance Equipment
Scottish
Country Dancing has the advantage of not needing much in the way of equipment
and so being relatively cheap. The only basic requirement is a pair of
comfortable soft-soled shoes, ideally Scottish dance shoes, and loose
clothing. However, there are things to spend your money on if you are
determined to do so, and this page points the way.
Shoes
Men normally wear ghillies, with laces crossing up the front and tying at the ankle. Women wear shoes that look like ballet pumps, except that they have a full sole. Some women prefer to wear ghillies - it's a matter of choice. Plain ballet shoes are fine too, although I find them less comfortable to dance in because of the leather bunched underneath the toes. Another alternative if you don't want to spend too much money at first is to get martial arts shoes from any branch of China Products. Get the soft suede-soled ones. You'll find them in the sports section rather than the shoe section.
Training shoes are not ideal to dance in; they can grip the floor too much and make dancing harder work. Anything with sharp heels or sole edges will not be appreciated by any of your partners if you should happen to stand on them. Note: if dancing in either the Cricket Club or the Hong Kong Park Sports Centre, some kind of sports shoes or dance shoes are essential. Outdoor shoes are not permitted in the dance rooms.
A wide range of ghillies and dancing pumps are available by mail order from James Senior of St Andrews. If you order by telephone and pay by credit card, the shoes are normally here in Hong Kong within a week.
Ghillies are often available from Paul's Ballet Supplies in Admiralty Centre, especially around the time of the St Andrew's Ball. If they don't have any in stock, they can get them made for you (though it may take longer and cost more than ordering from the UK). Paul's also has a plentiful supply of black ballet shoes.
Clothing
Scottish Country Dancing is hard work so it is a good idea to wear clothes in layers so that you can take the top layers off as you warm up. The basic rule is to keep things loose. Skirts are definitely cooler to dance in than trousers, but they should be wide enough to allow free movement. It pays to remove large rings before dancing, as they are likely to dig in painfully when someone grips your hand tightly.
For formal occasions or dance demonstrations, men wear kilts and women wear white dresses with tartan sashes.
Yuen's Tailor makes kilts locally in Hong Kong. Contact details are as follows:
Yuen's Tailor, 2nd Floor Shop, 233 Escalator Link Alley, 80 Des Voeux Road,
Central; Tel 2815 5388 Fax 2854 9649
Stewart's Highland Supplies has a mail order service for kilts and accessories.
Dance Instructions
There are literally thousands of different dances published around the world, often in books which are not widely available far from the original publication location. At social dances round the world, dances are rarely walked through. Sometimes they are "briefed", i.e. someone stands up and briefly reminds the dancers of the figures. Sometimes the name of the dance is announced, the sets form and the music starts. Many of the dancers attending these social dances can be seen peering at the indispensable Pillings "little green book", a pocket-sized diagrammatic reminder.
Instructions for all RSCDS published dances are available through the RSCDS members pages, as are various recordings, videos and other items. They also have Pillings.
TACBooks distributes dance instructions and the publications of the Teachers' Association of Canada. The address is: TACBooks, John & Shirley Lanktree, 550 Dickinson Avenue, Ottawa, ON, K1V 7J4, Canada
Another source of dance books, along with music and other items is the Scottish National Dance Company.
The WWW Scottish Country Dance Index has links to dances published on the web.
Recorded Music
A lot of strict tempo recorded music for Scottish dancing is available only on vinyl or cassette tape, but the number of CDs available is growing quickly.
A large selection of CDs and other recordings are available by mail order through Highlander Music.
All RSCDS recordings and a selection of others are available through the RSCDS.
The Scottish National Dance Company also has a selection of recorded music available by mail order.
Sheet Music
A range of sheet music is available through the RSCDS .
John Chambers' ABC tunes for Scottish Dances are available on the web.
All you ever wanted to know about Scottish music at Tulloch Gorm, including more ABC tunes.
Miscellaneous items
The RSCDS offer a range of miscellaneous items, such as notelets, shoebags etc.