Over the years, our younger daughter has done Highland dancing with a wonderful teacher---- a woman of infinite patience and Scottish good cheer. At one point, both my daughters and I danced with her. It was a great deal of fun. Highland dance can be quite difficult but it looks amazing when done right. Picture elevating yourself by jumping on your toes over two crossed swords laying on the ground without rattling them. Scottish country dance is not as hard to learn, but again enormous fun. Again, picture yourself in a set with five, seven or even more dancers, crossing back and forth, swinging, linking arms and more. The woman who teaches the class does so with such enthusiasm and ease that all the girls (and sometimes boys) can't help but be hooked.
The unofficial motto of the dance facility is "....where people with two left feet are welcome...." Thank goodness! It's refreshing to be in a class where you can learn at your own pace and your aptitude for a skill does not matter; what matters is your desire to learn. And I prefer Scottish dance to other dance because the clothing worn for it at competitions or ceilidhs is child-appropriate: kilts and skirts in every colour imaginable, white blouses with lace, velvet vests and matching knee socks. I dislike going to a dance recital and seeing young girls dressed in scant clothing with lots of make-up on.
I have always been a fan of everything Scottish, whether it is bagpipe music, tartan clothes or the accents. (I am not Scottish, but sometimes I wish I was.) But I am a huge fan of this dance company because it encourages little girls and boys to love to dance. Whether they are good at it or not, they are appreciated. With this teacher's encouragement, they also learn to love themselves dancing and what could be better than that? And as Mike Myers said in the SNL "All Things Scottish" skit--- "If it's not Scottish, it's crrrap!"
The unofficial motto of the dance facility is "....where people with two left feet are welcome...." Thank goodness! It's refreshing to be in a class where you can learn at your own pace and your aptitude for a skill does not matter; what matters is your desire to learn. And I prefer Scottish dance to other dance because the clothing worn for it at competitions or ceilidhs is child-appropriate: kilts and skirts in every colour imaginable, white blouses with lace, velvet vests and matching knee socks. I dislike going to a dance recital and seeing young girls dressed in scant clothing with lots of make-up on.
I have always been a fan of everything Scottish, whether it is bagpipe music, tartan clothes or the accents. (I am not Scottish, but sometimes I wish I was.) But I am a huge fan of this dance company because it encourages little girls and boys to love to dance. Whether they are good at it or not, they are appreciated. With this teacher's encouragement, they also learn to love themselves dancing and what could be better than that? And as Mike Myers said in the SNL "All Things Scottish" skit--- "If it's not Scottish, it's crrrap!"
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