With a spring in their step and smiles all around, 10 dancers manoeuvre around a garden setting to some lively background music.
Their moves are choreographed, with pairs and trios meeting in the middle, travelling around the outside of the group, or forming a circle perimeter.
With a distinctly upbeat tempo, the instrumental-only music provides the perfect cadence for the dance, and even features some familiar tunes, including Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah. This is Scottish Country
Dancing, demonstrated in a YouTube video created by the Deep Cove Scottish Country Dance Club (see video at bottom of this story).
Originally from Scotland, the traditional dance is quite different from the more familiar Highland dancing, which is more athletic.
“(Scottish Country Dancing) is a social form of dancing that’s done in sets or with groups of other people,” explains Kay Sutherland, who teaches the advanced class at the club. She describes it as a “quite lively” form of dance done to Scottish-style music that is upbeat. Unlike some forms of dance, though, Scottish Country Dancing is not a solo pursuit.
“It’s a social interaction, it’s not meant to be in itself for performance. You’re doing it for yourself and the other people in your group,” says Sutherland. “It’s moving to music, lots of laughter with other people.”
And it’s not difficult to learn, notes Sutherland. There are common steps and routines, but dancers don’t have to be experts to have fun doing it.
There are two Scottish Country Dance Clubs on the North Shore, the other is Gleneagles in West Vancouver.
This year is the 30th anniversary of the Deep Cove branch. It is also the 30th year Sutherland has been doing Scottish Country Dancing. The Deep Cove club was started by Sutherland’s next-door neighbour Dorothy Hargreaves, who published a book in the spring called Deep Cove Collection of Dances Devised by Dorothy Hargreaves as part of the group’s 30th anniversary celebrations.
They will also hold a special afternoon party in October for current and former members.
Scottish Country Dancing is suitable for all ages and Sutherland encourages anyone to give it a try. The next regular season of classes at the club starts in September, with the first introductory class free for those who just want to check it out. There are also kids classes offered through North Vancouver Recreation.
So what does it take to be a good Scottish Country Dancer? “It’s very sociable. You need to be friendly, you need to want to have fun. To be a really, really good dancer you need to have some attention to footwork and be able to remember the formations and be good at dancing with other people,” says Sutherland.
She also notes that you don’t have to show up with a partner. Dancing is done in pairs and small groups, and partners are shared around and change with each dance.
“For this kind of dancing you absolutely don’t need to have a partner to come and join in and have fun,” she says.
For more information about the group visit the website at rscdsvancouver.org/dancing-in-vancouver/clubs/deep-cove/.
