Dancing Over Crossed Swords: An Ethnographic Exploration of Competitive Solo Highland Dancing

Highland dancing may be viewed as a form of dance and sport, as part of a competitive structure regulated by boards and associations (predominantly the Royal Scottish Official Board of Highland Dancing (RSOBHD)), and as a link to romantic notions of Scottish history. The practice is entwined with its country of origin and shaped by its historical and contemporary place within Scotland. Through an ethnographic study undertaken with one Highland dancing class in Glasgow, Scotland, I danced and conversed with the teacher and dancers to explore their experiences and opinions of Highland dancing in relation to the practice (the dance), locality (Scotland), and public perceptions (society).

Inductive analysis of observations and interviews revealed a confusion and tension, understood through the dramaturgical tools of Erving Goffman (1990 [1959]). A detailed study of the entwined dance and social “performance(s)” suggested that two “teams” were in existence (Goffman 1990 [1959]). One “team” (the teacher and older dancers) “honoured” the tradition of the regulated and standardised Highland set dances yet sympathised with the other “team” (the younger dancers), who sought a more creative experience.

I explore how the historical and performative nature of Highland dancing, for example, certain narratives, and technique required, shaped the “realities” (Goffman 1990 [1959]) within the class intersecting with notions of “Scottishness” and the place of Highland within the greater field of dance.