Highland Fling

For the 1936 film, see Highland Fling (film). For the New Zealand trotter, see Highland Fling (horse).
A dancer performing a Highland Fling at the 2005 Pacific Northwest Highland Games

The Highland Fling is a solo Highland dance that gained popularity in the early 19th century. The word 'Fling' means literally a movement in dancing.[1] In John Jamieson's 1808 Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, the Highland Fling was defined as 'one species of movement' in dancing, not as one particular movement.[2] There is some speculation that the first solo Highland Fling dances simply showed off steps that individual dancers preferred in the Strathspey Reel, a social dance.[3]

This dance is now performed at dance competitions and events around the world. One goal of dancers today is to stay in the same spot throughout the dance. The Highland Fling is danced at almost all competition levels, from primary to premier. It is also performed for Highland and theory examinations. Dancers wear a kilt to perform the dance, which is in 4
4 time.

A version of a Fling in a percussive dance style was remembered and danced by John Gillis in Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, and those steps were written down in 1957 by Frank Rhodes.[4] Each step was preceded by a travelling step in a circular pathway danced to the first part of the tune Sterling Castle, while the individual Fling steps were danced to the second part of the tune.

  1. ^ Flett, JF and TM (1996). Traditional Step-Dancing in Scotland. Scottish Cultural Press. p. 29. ISBN 1898218455.
  2. ^ Emmerson, George S. (1995). A Handbook of Traditional Scottish Dance. Galt House Publications. p. 50. ISBN 0969065361.
  3. ^ Melin, Matts. H (2018). "A story to every dance: the role of lore in enhancing the Scottish solo dance tradition". University of Limerick Institutional Repository. hdl:10344/7264. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  4. ^ Flett, JF and TM (1996). Traditional Step-Dancing in Scotland. Scottish Cultural Press. pp. 199–200. ISBN 1898218455.